Torah and Instruction The word “Pentateuch” comes from a Greek term meaning "the five (penta) books." The Pentateuch includes the first five books of the Bible—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These books are often called “the Law,” but in addition to legal materials they include poems, songs, and stories about the people of God. The Hebrew word used for these books is “Torah,” which means “instruction.”

These books have sometimes been called the five books of Moses, although many writers have concluded that the first five books of the bible were probably written over a period of many centuries. The Torah tells a story that extends from the Creation (Genesis 1) to the time when the people of Israel are encamped on the edge of the promised land (Deuteronomy 34) or modern-day Israel.

Questions 1 and 2

What word is equivalent to "Torah" in naming the first five books of the Bible? Who does your Teen Bible say wrote Genesis (see p. 1)? Does it matter?

Genesis and the Creation Acount in Gen. 1

Genesis 1-11 Pre-history God creates a good world, but sin enters the world through human disobedience. Adam and Eve eat fruit that was forbidden to them, and Cain murders his brother Abel. God commands Noah to build an ark in which pairs of all living things are preserved from the great flood that God sends to purge the earth. Afterward, people build a tower that would reach to heaven, but God confuses their speech and scatters them. Genesis 12-25: Abraham and his family God promises that Abraham will receive a land and many descendents, and that through him all the families of the earth will be blessed. Abraham’s wife Sarah is barren, so he fathers a son Ishmael through Sarah’s servant Hagar. Messengers repeat God’s promise, and in advanced old age, Sarah gives birth to Isaac. God tests Abraham by commanding him to sacrifice Isaac, but before Abraham completes the sacrifice God intervenes. Isaac marries Rebekah, who bears Jacob and Esau. Genesis 26-36: Jacob Stories Jacob barters for his brother’s birthright and tricks his father Isaac into blessing him. He dreams of a ladder stretching to heaven, and God promises him land and descendants. Question 3 What promise does Jacob receive after the dream regarding his descendants (p. 37, Teen Bible) Jacob marries Laban’s daughters Rachel and Leah and has twelve sons. Jacob wrestles with an angel and is named “Israel.” Genesis 37-50 Stories of Joseph and his brothers Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son. His brothers become jealous and sell him as a slave into Egypt. There Joseph is imprisoned on false charges, but after successfully interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams, he is given responsibility over Egypt’s food stores. During a famine, Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt for food. At first Joseph hides his identity, but later reveals that he is their brother and brings the family to Egypt.

Creation p. 2 Abraham and Isaac p. 26   Jacob wrestles the angel p. 43   Joseph and his coat of many colors p. 49

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning-the first day. 6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning-the third day. 14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great lights-the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, [2] and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning-the sixth day.

Questions 4-6

What happens to Joseph and why do his brothers do this to him (p. 49, Teen Bible) God keeps assessing the creation--what is his assessment of it? In whose image is the man and the woman created in the creation account in Gen. 1?

 

Go to the Joseph Story Sequence