Lesson 2 Flashcards
When was the Pentateuch written? Why was it written? And what is its genre?
A. When was it written?
1. The Pentateuch was “basically” completed before Moses’ death
2. Written before the entry of Israel into Canaan
3. Israel is on the eve of conquest
B. Purpose:To teach the people that Israel’s God, who is both Creator and Redeemer, will fulfill his promises to his people by establishing his rule (kingdom) through the covenant in the land he has promised them
C. The literary character of the Pentateuch
1. Multiple types of literature, or genres
2. The two main genres are narrative and law
3. The narrative genre is the context for the law passages
a. Stories frame the law passages
b. Stories give unity to law passages
4. The genre of the Pentateuch as a whole is historical narrative with a didactic function
5. The poems have a literary and theological function
a. Smaller poems:
Early in Genesis the poems tend to come near the end of sections as the last
words of a central character expressing the character’s own reflections on
the events recounted.
i. Gen 2:23 Creation of Adam/Eve
ii. Gen 3:14-19 Account of the Fall
iii. Gen 4:23-24 Story of Cain
iv. Gen 5:29 Story of Adam’s offspring
v. Gen 9:24-27 Account of the flood
b. Larger poems:
Three major poetic texts of the Pentateuch are united with a similar function
and structure. A central figure proclaims what will happen in the last days.
i. Gen 49 Jacob
ii. Num 24 Balaam
iii. Deut 32-34 Moses
iv. Many of the poems focus on the seed and its development
v. Gen 3:15 The seed of the woman
vi. Gen 5:29 One who will bring rest
vii. Gen 9:26 The blessed line of Shem
viii. Gen 49:8-12 The tribe of Judah
ix. Num 24:7 The future king
x. Deut 33:4-5,7 A king will unite the tribes
6. Conclusion: The Pentateuch has an eschatological orientation with an intentional link between "in the beginning" and "in the last days," with an emphasis on the coming of a future king
What is the evidence for the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch? What are some possible
difficulties with Mosaic authorship?
C. Arguments in favor of Mosaic authorship
1. References to Moses’ writing activity
a. Historical acts
i. Concerning the Amalekites: “write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure Joshua hears it” (Exod 17:14)
ii. “At the Lord’s command Moses recorded the stages of their journey” (Num 33:2)
iii. “Moses finished writing in a book the words of the law, from beginning to end, and the book was placed in the ark of the covenant” (Deut 31:24-26)
iv. The “Song of Moses” poem (Deut 31:22-32:43)
b. Laws (Exod 24:4; 34:27; Deut 5:1b-28:69; 31:9)
c. Poetry - the “Song of Moses” (Deut 31:22-32:34)
2. Exodus reflects an eyewitness account
a. Abundance of historical details suggest eyewitness account (Exod 15:27)
b. Accurate knowledge of Egyptian customs
c. Perspective of the text: God’s people are currently on their way to the Promised Land
3. Later OT books attest to Mosaic authorship
a. “All the laws which Moses my servant commanded you” (Josh 1:7-8)
b. “Written in the Law, in the Books of Moses” (2 Chr 25:4)
4. NT evidence
a. Jesus and the early church connected the Torah with Moses (Matt 19:7)
b. “Moses said…” (Mark 7:10)
c. “the law of Moses” (John 1:17; 5:46; 7:23)
5. The Jewish and Christian traditional view of Mosaic authorship was virtually uncontested until the Enlightenment
D. Problems with Mosaic authorship
1. a-Mosaica
a. Passages that are awkward if Moses wrote them
b. E.g., Moses was the most humble man who ever lived (Num 12:3)
2. Post-Mosaica
a. The record of his death (Deut 34)
b. Anachronistic terminology that reflects a later period
i. “Ur of the Chaldeans” (Gen 11:31)
ii. “Dan” (Gen 14:14)
What are the different view concerning the relationship of Moses to the Pentateuch?
E. Different views on the relationship of Moses to the Pentateuch
1. Moses is the fundamental or real author (EJ Young; Sailhammer; Pratt)
a. Explanation of a-Mosaica and post-Mosaica
i. Language and geography changes over a 1,000 year period (roughly mid-15th Century to the 5th Century)
ii. Over a long period of time some geographical and language changes would need to be made in the Pentateuch for later Jewish audiences
iii. Instances of editorial activity, most of which make Scripture more clear to later generations
iv. Modern day examples
b. Moses used sources in his writing of the Pentateuch
c. The original audience is the children of Israel as they are on the verge of entering into the land of Canaan
2. Moses is the substantial author of the Pentateuch (Dillard/Longman)
a. Affirm much of the evidence for Mosaic activity in the Pentateuch, including Jesus and the early church connecting much, if not all, of the Torah to Moses.
b. Later redactional activity could be extensive.
3. Mosaic origin for some of the material of the Pentateuch (Waltke; Alexander)
a. Unknown final author
b. Moses wrote an earlier version but is not the final author
c. Impacts original reading audience
i. No longer the Israelites about to take the land
ii. Instead, written to give hope to those affected by the destruction of Jerusalem
Give a possible model for the composition of the Pentateuch. What is meant by “Mosaic authorship” of the Pentateuch according to the conclusions of this lecture?
F. A model for the composition of the Pentateuch
1. It is specifically stated that Moses wrote significant portions of the Pentateuch, especially the law in Exodus and major sections of Deuteronomy
2. It is reasonable to assume that Moses wrote other sections of the Pentateuch that may not specifically mention his writing activity
3. Moses authored the Primeval History (Gen 1-11) and the Patriarchal Narratives—through revelation, sources, or both—and incorporated them into Genesis and the Pentateuch
4. Moses delegated the authority of preserving the legal material to the priests (Deut 31:9-13, 24-26; 24:8), who were also responsible to teach the law to the people
5. The scribes (Levites) of the monarchy studied and preserved the ancient texts, and could have been responsible for some of the post-Mosaica materials and for the spelling changes introduced into the text (2 Sam 8:16-17)
6. The role of Ezra the scribe in Neh 8:8 was to explain and interpret the law, and he could be responsible for the movement toward a standardized text
7. What do we mean by Mosaic authorship?
a. We do not mean he wrote every word, but we do mean he was the fundamental (Young 1952, 51) or essential author (Dillard 1994, 40)
b. The whole process of inspiration might have included any authorized scribal activity, but when the canon was closed, such activity necessarily ceased
c. The vast majority of the words of the Pentateuch were written by Moses
