Introduction to the Pentateuch
and Historical Books
William Ngowi, OFM Cap
Morogoro 2012
Introduction to the Pentateuch and Historical Books
Published by SALVATORIANUM
Year of Publication: 2012
ISBN 978-9987-645-30-5
Cover design: Bernard Witek
 Jordan University College
P. O. Box 1878
Morogoro – Tanzania
Tel.: +255 23 2604854
E-mail:
Web:
jordanunivcollege@yahoo.com
www.morogoro.sds.org
facebook.com/jordanmorogoro
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................. 5
PART ONE: THE PENTATEUCH ........................................................... 7
1.1 The Source and Redaction Criticism of the Pentateuch ..................... 13
1.1.1 Literary Problems in the Pentateuch ............................................ 13
1.1.2 Source and Redaction Criticism .................................................. 14
1.1.3 The Priestly Document (P) is Exilic or Early Post Exilic Period . 15
1.1.4 The Yahwist Document (J) .......................................................... 17
1.1.5 The Elohist Document (E) ........................................................... 20
1.1.6 The Deuteronomist Document (D) .............................................. 22
1.1.7 Conclusive Remarks of the Documentary Sources ...................... 22
1.1.8 Basic Laws Underlying the Documentary Theory....................... 24
1.1.9 Criticism of the Documentary Theory by Modern Critics ........... 38
1.2 Main Literary Genres in the Pentateuch and Historical Books .......... 40
1.2.1 Definition of Narrative Genre ...................................................... 40
1.2.2 The Legal Genre .......................................................................... 41
1.2.3 Excursus: The Decalogue – Ten Commandments ....................... 45
1.2.4 Excursus: The Background of Covenant Theology ..................... 50
1.3 Division and Structure of the Pentateuch ........................................... 52
1.4 The Book of Genesis .......................................................................... 53
1.4.1 Content Outline............................................................................ 55
1.4.2 Exposition .................................................................................... 57
1.4.3 Exegesis of Selected Texts: Gen 1–3 ........................................... 57
1.5 The Book of Exodus .......................................................................... 84
1.5.1 Content Outline............................................................................ 84
1.5.2 Exposition .................................................................................... 86
1.5.3 Theology ...................................................................................... 89
1.6 The Book of Leviticus........................................................................ 90
1.6.1 Content Outline............................................................................ 90
1.6.2 Exposition .................................................................................... 92
1.6.3 Theology ...................................................................................... 95
1.7 The Book of Numbers ........................................................................ 95
1.7.1 Structure ...................................................................................... 95
1.7.2 Content Outline............................................................................ 97
1.7.3 Exposition .................................................................................... 97
1.7.4 Theology .................................................................................... 102
1.8 The Book of Deuteronomy .............................................................. 102
1.8.1 Content Outline.......................................................................... 103
1.8.2 Exposition .................................................................................. 105
1.8.3 Theology .................................................................................... 108
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W. Ngowi – The Pentateuch and Historical Books
1.8.4 Conclusion ................................................................................. 111
1.9 Summary of the Theology of the Pentateuch ................................... 111
PART TWO: THE HISTORICAL BOOKS ......................................... 117
2.1 Excursus: The Main Features of Deuteronomistic History .............. 117
2.2 The Book of Joshua ......................................................................... 119
2.2.1 Content Outline ......................................................................... 121
2.2.2 Exposition ................................................................................. 122
2.2.3 Theology ................................................................................... 125
2.3 The Book of Judges ......................................................................... 127
2.3.1 Composition of the Book .......................................................... 128
2.3.2 Content Outline ......................................................................... 128
2.3.3 Exposition ................................................................................. 129
2.3.4 Theology ................................................................................... 133
Conclusion
.................................................................................... 134
2.4 The First and Second Book of Samuel ............................................ 134
2.4.1 Content Outline ......................................................................... 135
2.4.2 Exposition of 1 Samuel ............................................................. 136
2.4.3 2Sam 1:1–24:25......................................................................... 137
2.4.4 Exposition of 2 Samuel ............................................................. 139
2.4.5 Theology of 1 and 2 Samuel...................................................... 140
2.5 The First and Second Book of Kings ............................................... 144
2.5.1 Content Outline of First Kings .................................................. 144
2.5.2 Content Outline of Second Kings .............................................. 146
2.5.3 Exposition of 1 & 2 Kings ......................................................... 148
2.5.4 Theology of 1 & 2 Kings ........................................................... 150
Conclusion
.................................................................................... 151
2.6 Summary of the Theology of the Historical Books ......................... 152
2.7 Chronological Table of the Kings of Israel and Judah ..................... 152
Bibliography ............................................................................................ 155
Index of Topics ........................................................................................ 159
Biblical Index ........................................................................................... 161
Introduction
This book is the product of teaching for several years a course on
an introduction to the Pentateuch and the Historical Books of the
Bible at the Jordan University College. The study covers almost one
quarter of the Old Testament, i.e. the five books of the Pentateuch:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. This is
followed by the six Historical books: Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2
Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings. Because of the importance of these
books in both Jewish and Christian theology, the study lays a
foundation for the study of the Old Testament. It is not a
commentary on these books; rather it introduces the reader to the
most important and essential aspects for the proper understanding of
this part of the sacred Scripture. I hope, therefore, that theology
students will find it helpful for their biblical studies.
The study elucidates and discusses key issues that have been
raised by scholarship in the Pentateuchal and Historical Books, such
as: historical, structural, semantic, narrative, redactive, and source
criticism. The book then provides a summary of the theology of each
of the books dealt with here. It also contains an exegetical and
theological analysis of Genesis 1 - 3 as an example for students. It
also attempts to indicate the contemporary state of scholarship for
this part of the Holy Bible. Since many questions are raised by the
study, serious readers and exegetes are invited to continue to advance
the scholarship.
The sheer number, literary genres, and theological diversity of the
books demands that the study be divided into two parts: first, the
Pentateuch and, second, the Historical books. Each book is treated
from four different perspectives: its compositional structure, its
literary genre, a brief exposition of its content, and a short discussion
of its main theological themes.
Finally, I am indebted to Rev. Dr. Bernard Witek, SDS, the
Principal of Jordan University College, who patiently edited the
work and wonderfully designed the book cover. I also thank my
theology students whose relevant and information seeking questions
prompted me to write the book for all those who may be interested in
reading this part of the Holy Bible in an informed manner. The rich
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W. Ngowi – The Pentateuch and Historical Books
bibliography at the end of the book is intended to provide further
reading for all those who are interested in serious and detailed
treatment of the pertinent literary and theological themes in these
books.
William Ngowi, OFMCap
Jordan University College
Morogoro
October 2012
PART ONE
THE PENTATEUCH
Introduction
The name Pentateuch is a composite Greek word Pentateuchos
deriving from pe,nte (pente, “five”) and teu,coj (teuchos, “vessel”,
“receiver”, “container” or “instrument”). The word teuchos gradually
came to be understood as “scroll”. The Pentateuch contains the first
five books or scroll of the Hebrew Bible (Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy), thus the Greek word pente.
These five books are known in Hebrew as hamisha humshe hattora –
“the five fifth of the Torah or the fivefold Torah”.1 The names of the
five books derive from the LXX and taken over by the Vulgate.
The Hebrew titles of the books derive from the key word in the
first verse of the book:
• Genesis is known as the “Beginning” (tyviareB., berē’shît, Gen
1:1);
• Exodus is known as the “Names” (tAmv., shemôt, Ex 1:1);
• Leviticus is known as “And He Called” (ar'q.YIw:, wayyiqrā’,
Lev 1:1);
• Numbers is known as “In the Wilderness” (rB;d>miB., bemidbar,
Num 1:1);
• Deuteronomy is known as the “Words” (~yrIb'D>h;, haddebārîm,
Deut 1:1).
1
The word “Torah” derives from the Hebrew verb hry, yarah, “to
instruct or teach”. Hence the Torah for the Jews is not simply the modern
understanding of Law; rather, it has the wider sense of “instruction or
teaching”. It seems the Israelites divided the narrative into five books or
scrolls just as they did with the Psalms. Also practically five scrolls would
have been easier to carry around since one whole skin parchment would
have been too heavy. See G.J. WENHAM, Exploring the Old Testament, I: A
Guide to the Pentateuch, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2003, 4-6; J.
BLENKINSOPP, “Introduction to the Pentateuch”, in The New Interpreter’s
Bible, I, 305-318.
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W. Ngowi – The Pentateuch and Historical Books
The Pentateuch is known as the Torah in Jewish tradition in
contradistinction from the other Hebrew Biblical books, such as the
Historical (Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles,
Ezra and Nehemiah) and Prophetic ones.
The book of Deuteronomy is sometimes known in Patristic
writings as Protrectic or “Exhortation”, a title which is proper for its
content. The book is also known in Jewish tradition as “the copy of
the Law” (hr'ATh; hnEv.mi, mishnēh hattôrâ) from Deut 17:18, which
the king was supposed to read every day. The normal translation of
the expression would be deuteros nomos and not the Septuagint
translation as deuteronomion. There are various positions as to what
makes the Pentateuch:
• Some authors, like G. von Rad, have proposed the name
Hexateuch – “six scrolls”, suggesting the inclusion of the
Book of Joshua. The rationale is that the fulfilment of the
whole story of Israel’s origin was the acquisition of the
Promised Land, which is narrated Joshua. Therefore, the short
historical creed of Israel found in Deut 6:21-23 and 26:5-9 is
repeated in Josh 24:2-13, concluding it with the mentioning
the gift of the Promised Land.
• Another suggestion came from Martin Noth who spoke of
Tetrateuch – “four scrolls”, and excluded the book of
Deuteronomy from the Pentateuch. He found no
deuteronomistic material in Genesis – Numbers. Therefore
there was no connection between Genesis – Numbers and
Deuteronomy. He refuted the previous proposal of G. von Rad
because the major sources of the Pentateuch: J (Yahwist), E
(Elohist), P (Priestly) and D (Deuteronomist) are not present in
the book of Joshua. Instead he regarded the book of
Deuteronomy as the preface for the deuteronomistic history in
Joshua to 2 Kings. The story of Israel in Deut 1–3 which
already known in the book of Numbers makes no sense if it is
not understood as the beginning of a new level of Israel’s
history that would unravel in Josh–2Kgs. Joshua can only
conquer the Promised Land if he remains faithful to the Law
of Moses (Josh 1:7-8; 23:6). And when Israel became
Part One: The Pentateuch
9
unfaithful she was punished with the loss of the Promised
Land (2Kgs 17:7-23).
In short, the deuteronomistic history is the story of Israel’s
faithfulness and unfaithfulness to the Law of Moses. The first
four books (Gen–Num) was the work of the Priestly scribes
who collected material from oral traditions, while the book of
Deuteronomy was the work of Deuteronomistic scribes.
• Others suggested the term Enneateuch – nine scrolls: which
included all the books from Genesis to 2 Kings. They
understood the block as beginning from Creation to the
Babylonian Exile. The main motif of the story is the Promised
Land:
o YHWH promised the Land to the Patriarchs (Gen),
o Israel sojourned toward it in the desert (Ex–Num),
o Joshua conquered it (Josh),
o Judges defended it (Jdg),
o The kings made it a kingdom (1-2Sam–1-2Kgs), first a
united kingdom and later a divided one (the Northern and
the Southern kingdom),
o Finally, Israel lost its Promised Land and the destruction of
the Temple by being exiled to Babylon.
The books of Genesis–2 Kings narrate the “principle
history” of Israel, while 1-2 Chronicles and Ezra and
Nehemiah are in the Writings Part of the Hebrew Bible for
they give the “secondary history”, which account the postexilic events, i.e. the return from the Babylonian Exile and the
reconstruction of the Temple.
• The use of Pentateuch in the canon of the Hebrew Bible is
based on various reasons:
o Deut 34:10-12 gives the most fundamental demarcation for the
Pentateuch, for it specifically puts Moses above any other
prophetic figure in Israel’s history.
o And Moses’ Law is superior to all legislations because of its
relation with YHWH (cf. Ex 33:11; Num 12:6-8. Moses had
direct contact with YHWH without intermediary or schemes
like visions or dreams (Num 12:6-8).
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W. Ngowi – The Pentateuch and Historical Books
o The Exodus is the most important event in Israel’s history, and
no other event can be compared to it. Therefore, the
foundation of Israel goes back to Moses, and not to David or
Solomon.
The importance of Moses is demonstrated in the other
parts of the Hebrew Bible as witnessed by the following texts:
A.
The second part of the Hebrew Bible which contains the Earlier
2
Prophets in the Historical Books and Later Prophets, both Major
and Minor Prophets (~yaiybin>)
1. In Josh 1:1-8 we get four pieces of information:
a. Joshua is the successor of Moses, and his task is to conquer the
Promised Land and distribute the land to the fathers.
b. Moses is the servant of YHWH (hw"hy> db,[,ä, ‘ebed YHWH);
Joshua is given another title as the minister of Moses (hv,mo
trev'm., meshāret Mosheh). In other words, Moses is described
by his relationship with YHWH, while Joshua is described by
his relationship with Moses. Therefore, the book of Joshua
deals with another level of revelation and relationship with
YHWH. Joshua does not the place of Moses as the “Servant of
YHWH”.
c. There is continuity from Moses to Joshua: Joshua will be to
Moses just as Moses was to YHWH (Josh 1:5). God will fulfil
the promise he made to Moses by giving the land to Israel
(Josh 1:3), which means that the foundation of the history of
Israel is Moses, and not Joshua.
d. The success of Joshua would depend on his faithfulness to the
Law of Moses (Josh 1:7-8). The law was written on a book,
and become the cornerstone for any of Israel’s undertakings.
The history of Israel would subsequently be the story of their
faithfulness or unfaithfulness to the Law of Moses.
2
Earlier or Former Prophets are found in the Historical Books, and they
do not have their own writings, while the Later Prophets, both Major and
Minor have their own writings.