The Pentateuch is the heart of the Hebrew Bible and the foundational document of Judaism. It is also the focus of tremendous scholarly debate regarding the complex history of its composition. This history will be explored along with analysis of the historical background and ancient Near Eastern parallels for its primeval history, its ancestry narratives and laws, the theological purposes of its final redaction, and its diverse interpretation in communities today.
This textbook introduces students to the contents of the Torah and orients them to the key interpretive questions and methods shaping contemporary scholarship, inviting readers into the work of interpretation today. Pedagogical features include images, maps, timelines, reading lists, and a glossary.
Part One: Introduction to the Pentateuch
1. Literature of the Pentateuch
Part Two: Composition of the Pentateuch
2. Authors of the Pentateuch: From Moses to the New Documentary Hypothesis
3. Tradents of the Pentateuch: Comparative Literature, Oral Stories, and Tradition History
4. Contemporary Return to the Literature of the Pentateuch
Part Three: Books of the Pentateuch
5. Genesis
6. Exodus
7. Leviticus
8. Numbers
9. Deuteronomy
Part Four: Reading the Pentateuch
10. Pentateuch and Torah
11. Pentateuch and History
12. Pentateuch and Theology
13. Pentateuch and Reception History
Terms and Definitions
The most comprehensive survey of studies of the Pentateuch ever written.
"This is probably the most comprehensive survey of studies of the Pentateuch ever written. An invaluable starting point for work on the Torah."
Will quickly become the most up-to-date and thorough introduction on the market today.
"This volume integrates the multidimensional study of the Pentateuch into one very readable textbook that will quickly become the most up-to-date and thorough introduction on the market today. It is well written, and will serve as a valuable resource for students for many years to come. It provides clear discussion of contemporary issues relevant to Pentateuchal studies. Thomas B. Dozeman’s textbook does a service to faculty and students alike for bringing together in one place the many facets that contribute to scholarly understanding of the Pentateuch. In an era of inflated book costs, the price of the book is another feature that will make it attractive to students of the Torah/Pentateuch."
Readable and comprehensive
"Thomas Dozeman does a great service to both beginning and advanced students (and their instructors) in this readable and comprehensive work. He attends to the major issues in modern study of the Pentateuch, giving his readers a sense of the variety and—even more importantly—the significance of modern theories about the Pentateuch's origins, meanings, and uses in Jewish and Christian tradition. He succeeds in showing how, and also why, the Pentateuch became Torah. This is an outstanding introduction to the Pentateuch as ancient literature and as Scripture."
A valuable tool for both students and scholars.
"This book offers a welcome, well-written and up-to-date synthesis of current research on the first five books of the Bible, covering all the major sub-fields of scholarship on the Pentateuch. It will serve as a valuable tool for both students and scholars."
