The Pentateuch: A Literary-Theological Introduction

Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church | Summer 2022

If you have any questions, contact Roy Bradley.
The spiritual life of the church would be greatly enriched by kindling a love of the Old Testament through a more thorough program of adult Christian education.
Bruce K. Waltke, An Old Testament Theology, p. 16
...[T]he cryptic conciseness of biblical narrative is a reflection of profound art, not primitiveness.
Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, p. 18

Overview and purpose

The Pentateuch1 is the literary and theological foundation upon which all subsequent biblical revelation rests. To miss the message of the Pentateuch is to, in a certain sense, miss the message of Christian scripture and the Gospel of Jesus Messiah to which it attests. This course proceeds from the conviction that the Pentateuch was originally composed as a single book, and therefore, it “hangs together” as a unified whole, and should be studied as such.

This course of study intends to orient the student to the nature of Hebrew narrative as exemplified in the Pentatuech, and to discover how its literary design functions to convey theological truth. We will explore major literary themes and attempt to ascertain their theological import. In particular, we want to become more intimately familiar with the literary nuances, rhetorical strategy, and theological contribution of the Pentateuch so that we may more deeply appreciate how Jesus is the embodiment and fulfillment of what is revealed here. In so doing, we want to promote and model the ethos of a patient, humble, and careful approach to reading scripture,2 to delight in the artistic beauty of the Bible, to glory in the Triune God whom it reveals, and to mature in our sanctification.

Texts

Required
Alexander, T. Desmond. From Paradise to the Promise Land: An Introduction to the Pentateuch. 4th ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2022.
Purchase

 

Optional
Sailhamer, John H. The Pentateuch as Narrative: A Biblical-Theological Commentary. Library of Biblical Interpretation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992.
Purchase

 

Optional
Dorsey, David A. The Literary Structure of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1999.
Purchase

 

Structure and content

Module 1
  • An Overview of the Pentateuch
  • An Introduction to Pentateuchal Criticism
    • Source criticism
    • Form criticism
    • Traditio-historical criticism
    • Literary criticism
M1 Assignments

 

Module 2
  • God's temple-city
  • The Royal Lineage in Genesis
  • The rise of the Documentary Hypothesis
M2 Assignments

 

Module 3
  • The Blessing of the Nations
  • Paradise Lost
  • The Documentary Hypothesis under threat
M3 Assignments

 

Module 4
  • By Faith Abraham...
  • Who is the LORD?
  • The Passover
M4 Assignments

 

Module 5
  • The Covenant at Sinai
  • The Tabernacle
  • Exodus 19:1-31:18---A Test Case of Source Criticism
M5 Assignments

 

Module 6
  • Be Holy
  • The Sacrificial System
  • The Clean and the Unclean Foods
M6 Assignments

 

Module 7
  • Toward the Promised Land
  • Murmurings
  • Love and Loyalty
M7 Assignments

 

Module 8
  • Why Israel?
  • The Pentateuch and the Biblical Metanarrative
M8 Assignments

 

Schedule

There are eight scheduled meetings (Mondays @ 7-9 p.m.) from June to August 2022, where we will come together for guided discussion and enjoy Christian fellowship with one another.

schedule

Notes

  1. Meaning “five books,” and referring to the first five books of the Jewish and Christian scriptures: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Dueteronomy. In the Hebrew canon, this collection of scrolls is referred to as the Torah (“instruction”). Our English word “Pentateuch” derives from the Greek, Pentateuchos, through the Latin, Pentateuchus, and then through the Middle English, Penteteuke. ↩

  2. This is in contrast to what may be called the “instruction manual” approach, which fails to reckon with the particularities and constraints of literary genre and rhetorical strategy. This tends to foster a passive attitute toward the study of scripture that diminishes the reader’s sense of responsibility to seriously engage (even wrestle) with the text. The Bible does, indeed, give “instructions” for life, but the way in which it communicates this instructional content contrasts greatly with the way an instruction manual portrays its information. Because of this, the analogy of an instruction manual runs the risk of being a dangerous half-truth—unhelpful at best and misleading at worst (though I do acknowledge the benign intention of those who may employ it). It is important to pay attention to not just what the Bible says, but how it says what it says. ↩