Theo 1301 / 3301

Topics for the Assessment (Exam)

LM 2

1. Etymology of the word “Torah”.

literal meaning “five cases” (Penta means five: 5) that appears to
refer to the sheaths or boxes in which the 5 separate Hebrew rolls or
volumes were kept
2. Etymology of the word “Pentateuch”.
Implying a division of the law into five parts,
3. Three particular rabbinical titles of three books of the Torah.
Leviticus: torah kohanim, or law of priests
Numbers: the homesh happiqqudhim, or book of census
Deuteronomy: the mishneh thorah, or repetition of the law.
4. Know and Identify the Narrative outline of the Torah or Pentateuch.
They give us the history of the Chosen People from the creation of
the world to the death of Moses, while acquainting us with the civil
and religious legislation of the Israelites during the life their great
lawgiver. These books are not completely independent, meaning
their stories (narratives) are connected one with the other, so their
authors/editors intended to create the complete and continuous
story of the people of Israel right from the beginning of creation until
the arrival to the borders of the promise Land.
5. The authorship of the Torah: traditional view.
The Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch is inseparably connected
with the question related to whether and in what sense Moses was
the author or intermediary of the Old Testament legislation, and the
bearer of pre-Mosaic tradition. Prior to the 17th century both Jews
 and Christians accepted the traditional view that Moses had written
the Torah under the direct inspiration—even dictation—of God.
6. Beginning of Biblical Criticism.
In the Middle Ages some rabbis had voiced doubts about the
traditional view, but in the 17th century it came under increasing
and detailed scrutiny.
7. Thomas Hobbes and the Leviathan
Wrote a political book, Leviathan, in chapter 33 of Leviathan,
marshaled a battery of passages such as Deut 34,6 (“nobody knows
where he is buried until this day,” implying an author living long
after Moses’ death); Gen 12,6 (“and the Canaanite was then in the
land,” implying an author living in a time when the Canaanite was
no longer in the land); and Num 21,14 (referring to a lost collection
of songs or stories), and concluded that none of these could be by
Moses.
8. Jean Astruc
Two sources in Genesis
Elohim and YHWH
He then ruled columns and assigned verses to these, the “Elohim”
verses in one column, the “YHWH” verses in another column, and
the members of the doublets in their own columns beside these. The
parallel columns thus constructed contained two long narratives,
each dealing with the same incidents.
9. Wilhem de Wette.
He concluded that Deuteronomy represented a third independent
source. According to De Wette, D was the result of an independent
author, and its theology, vocabulary, and style was different from
the other books of the Torah. For this reason, De Wette limited the D
source to exclusively the book of Deuteronomy
10. Hermann Hupfeld.
 The Elohist was really two sources and should be split, thus isolating
the Priestly source; Hupfeld also emphasized the importance of the
Redactor, or final editor, in producing the Torah from the four
sources
11. The sources: J – E – D – P
Yahwistic
Elohist
Deuteronomistic
Priest
12. Literary problems of the Torah: Anachronism: definition and examples.
Chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in
regard to each other or in regard to a particular historical context
narrated in the story.
Real time (actual writing) narrated time (time the story is based)
Example:
The death of Moses: Dt 34,5-6
Gn 36, which was elaborated from the point of view of the
Monarchy: cf. Gn 36,31: “The following are the kings who reigned in
the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites”.
13. Literary problems of the Torah: Contradictions: definition and
examples.
Logical incongruity in the biblical narrative
Contradictions present situations in which inherent factors, action, or
propositions are inconsistent or contrary to one another disrupting
the logic of the story.
Example:
Creation of the animals: Gn 1,20-25 (before creation of man) // Gn
2,18-21(after the creation of man)
 Duration of the Flood: 40 days, i. e., Gn 7,12: “for forty days and
forty nights heavy rain poured down on the earth”. Gn 7,17: “ the
Flood continued upon the earth for forty days”. Gn 8,6: “Then it
came about at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window
of the ark which he had made”. 150 days: Gn 7 (8),24: “The waters
maintained their crest over the earth for one hundred and fifty
days”: Gn 8,3-5: “Gradually the waters receded from the earth. At
the end of one hundred and fifty days, the waters had so diminished
…”. Gn 8,6: “At the end of the forty days…”
14. Literary problems of the Torah: Duplets: definition and examples.
Story or episode that is narrated twice within the same book or
collection of books
Example:
The Creation: Gn 1,1-4 // Gn 2,4b-25.
The Covenant with Abraham: Gn 15 and 17 (covenant of
circumcision)
The expulsion of Agar: Gn 16 and 21,9-21
Three (3) narratives of the wife of the patriarch who is represented as
a sister and then saved from the harem of the foreigner king: Gn
12,10-20; Gn 20; Gn 26,6-14
15. Literary problems of the Torah: Lack of fluidity in the narrative:
definition and examples.
Narrative is abruptly interrupted by a unit containing information that
is independent or loosely connected with the story is narrated.

An example of this editorial work can be seen when inside of a

narrative, the text is interrupted by the addition of an information, and
then at the end of the inserted information, the authorredactor retakes
the same information of the point of interruption and repeats it in
order to continue the interrupted story. E.g.: Gn 7,6 and 7,11
16. Literary problems of the Torah: Divine names: definition and
examples.

Elohim and Yhwh, function as literary markers that determine the

theological character, the style, and vocabulary of the sections or
periscopes where the reader may find them.

Example:

Canaanites for the inhabitants of Palestine, whereas the Elohist uses

Amorites • Reuel or Hobab for Moses’s father-in-law, whereas the
Elohist uses Jethro • Sinai for the residence of Yahweh, whereas the
Elohist calls it Horeb • Israel rather than the name Jacob for the third
patriarch

17. Literary problems of the Torah: Vocabulary and Style: definition and
examples.
Different sections within a book can manifest different styles of
narrating and describing God. In the same way, each narrative section
may have different names for the same biblical places, characters, and
God himself. The Divine names of Yhwh and Elohim are the most
characteristics markers of the changes that a reader may encounter
inside the books of Torah; however, the diverse style of describing the
supernatural reality are remarkable as well.
Example:
The narrations often manifest the change of vocabulary accompanied
by the different divine names as well, like for example the use of
different divine names, or names of places and characters.
The mountain of God is Horeb (Ex 3,1; 17,6; Dt) or Sinai (Ex 19,1).
Moses’ father-in-law is Jethro (Ex 3,1; 18,1) or Reuel (2,18).