Torah

The Torah is the Hebrew word (meaning ‘teaching’ or ‘instruction) for the first five books of the Bible – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. They are sometimes called by the Greek word Pentateuch (meaning ‘Five Scrolls’), or the books of Moses, or simply ‘the Law’ (Deuteronomy 31:24, Joshua 8:31, 2 Chronicles 34:14, Mark 12:26, Galatians 3:10, Matthew 5:17). The Torah tells the history of God’s interaction with human beings, from creation through to the edge of the entry of His chosen people Israel into the Promised Land of Canaan. It includes the giving of God’s Law, including the Ten Commandments, through Moses at Mount Sinai. In the New Testament, Jesus comes to another mountain where He delivers His new Kingdom law as a new Moses in the Sermon on the Mount. Here Jesus says that He has not come to abolish the Law but to fulfil it (Matthew 5:17) and shows how His people should keep the Law of God today.