View source for Torah

{{short description|First five books of the Hebrew Bible}}
{{about|the Hebrew Torah|Samaritanism|Samaritan Pentateuch|other uses}}
{{redirect|Pentateuch}}
{{distinguish|Hebrew Bible{{!}}Tanakh}}
{{pp-move|small=yes}}
{{protection padlock|small=yes}}

[[File:Тора._Нацыянальная_бібліятэка_Беларусі.jpg|thumb|An opened Torah scroll ([[Book of Genesis]] part).]]
{{Tanakh OT}}
{{Jews and Judaism sidebar|expanded=texts}}
{{Bible-related|CB}}

The '''Torah''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɔːr|ə|,_|ˈ|t|oʊ|r|ə}};<ref>{{OED|Torah |access-date=30 September 2024}}</ref> {{langx|hbo|{{wikt-lang|he|תורה|תּוֹרָה}}|tōrā|instruction, teaching, or law}}) is the compilation of the first five books of the [[Hebrew Bible]], namely the books of [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]], [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]], [[Leviticus]], [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] and [[Deuteronomy]].<ref name=":0">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Torah {{!}} Definition, Meaning, & Facts |url=https://britannica.com/topic/Torah |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |language=en |access-date=2021-09-11}}</ref> The Torah is also known as the '''Pentateuch''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɛ|n|t|ə|ˌ|t|(|j|)|uː|k}}) or the '''Five Books of Moses'''. In [[Rabbinic Judaism|Rabbinical Jewish]] tradition it is also known as the '''Written Torah''' ({{lang|he|תּוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָב}}, {{transliteration|he|Tōrā šebbīḵṯāv}}). If meant for liturgic purposes, it takes the form of a Torah scroll ({{langx|he|ספר תורה}} ''[[Sefer Torah]]''). If in [[Codex|bound book form]], it is called ''[[Chumash (Judaism)|Chumash]]'', and is usually printed with the [[Rabbinic Judaism|rabbinic]] commentaries ({{Transliteration|he|[[Rabbinic literature#Meforshim|perushim]]}}).

In [[rabbinic literature]], the word ''Torah'' denotes both the five books ({{lang|he|תורה שבכתב}}, "Torah that is written") and the Oral Torah ({{lang|he|תורה שבעל פה}}, "Torah that is spoken"). It has also been used, however, to designate the entire [[Hebrew Bible]]. The Oral Torah consists of interpretations and amplifications which according to [[Rabbinic literature|rabbinic tradition]] have been handed down from generation to generation and are now embodied in the [[Talmud]] and [[Midrash]].{{sfn|Birnbaum|1979|p=630}} Rabbinic tradition's understanding is that all of the teachings found in the Torah (both written and oral) were given by [[God]] through the prophet [[Moses]], some at [[Mount Sinai (Bible)|Mount Sinai]] and others at the [[Tabernacle]], and all the teachings were [[Mosaic authorship|written down by Moses]], which resulted in the Torah that exists today. According to the Midrash, the Torah was created prior to the [[Genesis creation narrative|creation of the world]], and was used as the blueprint for Creation.<ref>Vol. 11 Trumah Section 61</ref> Though hotly debated, the general trend in biblical scholarship is to recognize the final form of the Torah as a literary and ideological unity, based on earlier sources, largely complete by the [[Persian period]],{{sfn|Blenkinsopp|1992|p=1}}{{sfn|McDermott|2002|p=21}}{{sfn|Schniedewind|2022|page=23}} with possibly some later additions during the Hellenistic period.<ref>Schmid, Konrad; Lackowski, Mark; Bautch, Richard. "How to Identify a Persian Period Text in the Pentateuch". R. J. Bautch / M. Lackowski (eds.), On Dating Biblical Texts to the Persian Period, FAT II/101, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2019, 101–118. "There are, however, a few exceptions regarding the pre-Hellenistic dating of the Pentateuch. The best candidate for a post-Persian, Hellenistic text in the Pentateuch seems to be the small 'apocalypse' in Num 24:14-24, which in v. 24 mentions the victory of the ships of the כִּתִּים over [[Ashur (Bible)|Ashur]] and [[Eber]]. This text seems to allude to the battles between [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]] and the [[Persians]], as some scholars suggested. Another set of post-Persian text elements might be the specific numbers in the genealogies of Gen 5 and 11. These numbers build the overall chronology of the Pentateuch and differ significantly in the various versions. But these are just minor elements. The substance of the Pentateuch seems pre- Hellenistic."</ref><ref>Römer, Thomas "How "Persian" or "Hellenistic" is the Joseph Narrative?", in T. Römer, K. Schmid et A. Bühler (ed.), The Joseph Story Between Egypt and Israel (Archaeology and Bible 5), Tübinngen: Mohr Siebeck, 2021, pp. 35-53. "The date of the original narrative can be the late Persian period, and while there are several passages that fit better into a Greek, Ptolemaic context, most of these passages belong to later revisions."</ref>

The words of the Torah are written on a [[scroll]] by a scribe ([[sofer]]) in Hebrew. A [[Weekly Torah portion|Torah portion]] is read every Monday morning and Thursday morning at a shul (synagogue) and as noted later in this article a part is also read on Saturdays. In some synagogues, but not all, the reading is done only if there are ten males above the age of thirteen. Today most "movements" of Judaism accept ten adult Jews as meeting the requirement for reading a Torah portion. Reading the Torah publicly is one of the bases of Jewish communal life. The Torah is also considered a sacred book outside Judaism; in [[Samaritanism]], the [[Samaritan Pentateuch]] is a text of the Torah written in the [[Samaritan script]] and used as sacred scripture by the [[Samaritans]]; the Torah is also common among all the different versions of the Christian [[Old Testament]]; in [[Islam]], the ''[[Tawrat]]'' ({{langx|ar|توراة‎}}) is the Arabic name for the Torah within its context as an [[Islamic holy book]] believed by [[Muslims]] to have been given by [[God in Islam|God]] to the [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|prophets and messengers]] amongst the [[Israelites|Children of Israel]].{{sfn|Lang|2015|p=98}}

==Meaning and names==
The word "Torah" in [[Biblical Hebrew|Hebrew]] is derived from the root {{lang|he|ירה}}, which in the ''[[hif'il]]'' [[grammatical conjugation|conjugation]] means 'to guide' or 'to teach'.<ref>cf. {{bibleverse|Lev|10:11}}</ref> The meaning of the word is therefore "teaching", "doctrine", or "instruction"; the commonly accepted "law" gives a wrong impression.<ref name="EJ">{{Cite EJ | last1=Rabinowitz | first1=Louis | author1-link=Louis Isaac Rabinowitz | last2=Harvey | first2=Warren | title=Torah | volume=20 | pages=39–46 | url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/philosophy-and-religion/judaism/judaism/torah}}</ref> The [[Alexandrian Jews]] who translated the [[Septuagint]] used the Greek word ''nomos'', meaning norm, standard, doctrine, and later "law". Greek and Latin Bibles then began the custom of calling the Pentateuch (five books of Moses) The Law. Other translational contexts in the English language include [[tradition|custom]], [[theory]], [[guide|guidance]],{{sfn|Birnbaum|1979|p=630}} or [[system]].{{sfnp|Alcalay|1996|p=2767}}

The term "Torah" is also used in the general sense to include both [[Rabbinic Judaism]]'s written and [[oral law]], serving to encompass the entire spectrum of authoritative Jewish religious teachings throughout history, including the [[Oral Torah]] which comprises the [[Mishnah]], the [[Talmud]], the Midrash and more. The inaccurate rendering of "Torah" as "Law"{{sfn|Scherman|2001|pp=164–165|loc=Exodus 12:49}} may be an obstacle to understanding the ideal that is summed up in the term ''talmud torah'' ({{lang|he|תלמוד תורה}}, "study of Torah").{{sfn|Birnbaum|1979|p=630}} The term "Torah" is also used to designate the entire [[Hebrew Bible]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Torah#:~:text=The%20term%20Torah%20is%20also,Law%20and%20the%20Written%20Law | title=Torah &#124; Definition, Meaning, & Facts &#124; Britannica | date=28 December 2023 }}</ref>

The earliest name for the first part of the Bible seems to have been "The Torah of Moses". This title, however, is found neither in the Torah itself, nor in the works of the [[Babylonian Exile|pre-Exilic]] literary [[Nevi'im|prophets]]. It appears in [[Book of Joshua|Joshua]]<ref>Joshua 8:31–32; 23:6</ref> and [[Books of Kings|Kings]],<ref>I Kings 2:3; II Kings 14:6; 23:25</ref> but it cannot be said to refer there to the entire corpus (according to academic Bible criticism). In contrast, there is every likelihood that its use in the post-Exilic works<ref>Malachi 3:22; Daniel 9:11, 13; Ezra 3:2; 7:6; Nehemiah 8:1; II Chronicles 23:18; 30:16</ref> was intended to be comprehensive. Other early titles were "The Book of Moses"<ref>Ezra 6:18; Neh. 13:1; II Chronicles 35:12; 25:4; cf. II Kings 14:6</ref> and "The Book of the Torah",<ref>Nehemiah 8:3</ref> which seems to be a contraction of a fuller name, "The Book of the Torah of God".<ref>Nehemiah 8:8, 18; 10:29–30; cf. 9:3</ref><ref name="sarna">{{cite EJ|last=Sarna|first=Nahum M.|display-authors=etal|title=Bible|volume=3|pages=576–577}}</ref>

==={{Anchor|Pentateuch}}Alternative names===
Scholars usually refer to the first five books of the [[Hebrew Bible]] as the 'Pentateuch' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɛ|n|.|t|ə|ˌ|t|juː|k}}, {{respell|PEN|tə|tewk}}; {{langx|grc|πεντάτευχος}} {{Transliteration|grc|pentáteukhos}}, 'five scrolls'), a term first used in the [[Hellenistic Judaism]] of [[Alexandria]].{{sfn|Merrill|Rooker|Grisanti|2011|p=163|loc=Part 4. The Pentateuch by Michael A. Grisanti|ps=: "The Term 'Pentateuch' derives from the Greek ''pentateuchos'', literally, ... The Greek term was apparently popularized by the Hellenized Jews of Alexandria, Egypt, in the first century AD..."}} The term comes via Latin ''pentateuchus'' from Greek πεντάτευχος ''(pentáteuchos)'', literally "five-volume [work]" (πέντε "five", τεῦχος "scroll" / "book"). In Hellenistic usage it denoted the Torah's five scrolls.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pentateuch |access-date=19 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=No document found |website=Perseus Digital Library (LSJ) |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=teu=chos |access-date=19 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of PENTATEUCH |website=Merriam-Webster Dictionary |date=30 August 2025 |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Pentateuch |access-date=19 October 2025}}</ref>

The "[[Tawrat]]" (also Tawrah or Taurat; {{langx|ar|توراة‎}}) is the Arabic name for the Torah, which [[Muslims]] believe is an [[Islamic holy book]] given by [[God in Islam|God]] to the [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|prophets and messengers]] amongst the [[Israelites|Children of Israel]].{{sfn|Lang|2015|p=98}}

==Contents==
[[File:Page Pointers for reading of Torah.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Reading pointers, or [[yad]], to ensure more ordinal reading of the Torah.]]

The Torah starts with [[God]] [[Genesis creation narrative|creating the world]], then describes the beginnings of the [[Israelites|people of Israel]], their descent into Egypt, and the giving of the Torah at [[Mount Sinai (Bible)|Mount Sinai]]. It ends with the death of [[Moses]], just before the people of Israel cross to the [[Promised Land]] of [[Canaan]]. Interspersed in the narrative are the specific teachings (religious obligations and civil laws) given explicitly (i.e. [[Ten Commandments]]) or implicitly embedded in the narrative (as in [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] 12 and 13 laws of the celebration of [[Passover]]).

In Hebrew, the five books of the Torah are identified by the [[incipit]]s in each book;<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pattanaik |first=David |date=9 July 2017 |title=The Fascinating Design Of The Jewish Bible |work=Mid-Day |location=Mumbai |url=https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/Devdutt-Pattanaik--The-fascinating-design-of-the-Jewish-Bible-18406175}}</ref> and the common English names for the books are derived from the [[Greek language|Greek]] [[Septuagint]]{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} and reflect the essential theme of each book:

* ''Bəreshit'' ({{lang|hbo|בְּרֵאשִׁית}}, literally "In the beginning")—[[Book of Genesis|Genesis]], from {{lang|grc|Γένεσις}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Génesis}}, "Creation")
* ''Shəmot'' ({{lang|hbo|שְׁמוֹת}}, literally "Names")—[[Book of Exodus|Exodus]], from {{lang|grc|Ἔξοδος}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Éxodos}}, "Exit")
* ''Vayikra'' ({{lang|hbo|וַיִּקְרָא}}, literally "And He called")—[[Leviticus]], from {{lang|grc|Λευιτικόν}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Leuitikón}}, "Relating to the Levites") 
* ''Bəmidbar'' ({{lang|hbo|בְּמִדְבַּר}}, literally "In the desert [of]")—[[Book of Numbers|Numbers]], from {{lang|grc|Ἀριθμοί}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Arithmoí}}, "Numbers")
* ''Dəvarim'' ({{lang|hbo|דְּבָרִים}}, literally "Things" or "Words")—[[Deuteronomy]], from {{lang|grc|Δευτερονόμιον}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Deuteronómion}}, "Second-Law")

===Genesis===
{{Main|Book of Genesis}}

The Book of Genesis is the first book of the Torah.{{sfn|Hamilton|1990|p=1}} It is divisible into two parts, the [[Primeval history]] (chapters 1–11) and the [[Patriarchal age|Ancestral history]] (chapters 12–50).{{sfn|Bergant|2013|p=xii}} The primeval history sets out the author's (or authors') concepts of the nature of the deity and of humankind's relationship with its maker: God creates a world which is good and fit for mankind, but when man corrupts it with sin God decides to destroy his creation, using the flood, saving only the righteous [[Noah]] and his immediate family to reestablish the relationship between man and God.{{sfn|Bandstra|2008|p=35}} The Ancestral history (chapters 12–50) tells of the prehistory of Israel, God's chosen people.{{sfn|Bandstra|2008|p=78}} At God's command Noah's descendant [[Abraham]] journeys from his home into the God-given land of [[Canaan]], where he dwells as a sojourner, as does his son [[Isaac]] and his grandson [[Jacob]]. Jacob's name is changed to Israel, and through the agency of his son [[Joseph (son of Jacob)|Joseph]], the [[children of Israel]] descend into Egypt, 70 people in all with their households, and God promises them a future of greatness. Genesis ends with Israel in Egypt, ready for the coming of [[Moses]] and [[the Exodus]]. The narrative is punctuated by a series of [[Covenant (biblical)|covenants with God]], successively narrowing in scope from all mankind (the [[Noahic Covenant|covenant with Noah]]) to a special relationship with one people alone (Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob).{{sfn|Bandstra|2004|pp=28–29}}

===Exodus===
{{main|Book of Exodus}}

The Book of Exodus is the second book of the Torah, immediately following Genesis. The book tells how the ancient [[Israelites]] leave slavery in Egypt through the strength of [[Yahweh]], the God who has chosen Israel as his people. Yahweh inflicts horrific harm on their captors via the legendary [[Plagues of Egypt]]. With the prophet [[Moses]] as their leader, they journey through the wilderness to [[biblical Mount Sinai|Mount Sinai]], where Yahweh promises them the land of [[Canaan]] (the "[[Promised Land]]") in return for their faithfulness. Israel enters into a [[Mosaic covenant|covenant]] with Yahweh who gives them their laws and instructions to build the [[Tabernacle]], the means by which he will come from [[heaven]] and dwell with them and lead them in a [[holy war]] to possess the land, and then give them peace.

Traditionally [[Mosaic authorship|ascribed to Moses]] himself, modern scholarship sees the book as initially a product of the [[Babylonian captivity|Babylonian exile]] (6th century BCE), from earlier written and oral traditions, with final revisions in the [[Yehud Medinata|Persian post-exilic period]] (5th century BCE).{{sfn|Johnstone|2003|p=72}}{{sfn|Finkelstein|Silberman|2002|p=68}} [[Carol Meyers]], in her commentary on Exodus suggests that it is arguably the most important book in the Bible, as it presents the defining features of Israel's identity: memories of a past marked by hardship and escape, a binding covenant with God, who chooses Israel, and the establishment of the life of the community and the guidelines for sustaining it.{{sfn|Meyers|2005|p=xv}}

===Leviticus===
{{Main|Book of Leviticus}}

The Book of Leviticus begins with instructions to the Israelites on how to use the [[Tabernacle]], which they had just built (Leviticus 1–10). This is followed by rules of [[tumah and taharah|clean and unclean]] (Leviticus 11–15), which includes the laws of slaughter and animals permissible to eat (see also: [[Kashrut]]), the [[Yom Kippur|Day of Atonement]] (Leviticus 16), and various moral and ritual laws sometimes called the [[Holiness Code]] (Leviticus 17–26). Leviticus 26 provides a detailed list of rewards for following God's commandments and a detailed list of punishments for not following them. Leviticus 17 establishes sacrifices at the Tabernacle as an everlasting ordinance, but this ordinance is altered in later books with the Temple being the only place in which sacrifices are allowed.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

===Numbers===
[[File:Beth_Yaacov_Torah.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|An opened Torah scroll ([[Book of Numbers]] part), and a reading pointer (yad).]]
{{Main|Book of Numbers}}

The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Torah.{{sfn|Ashley|1993|p=1}} The book has a long and complex history, but its final form is probably due to a [[Priestly source|Priestly]] redaction (i.e., editing) of a [[Yahwist]]ic source made some time in the early [[Yehud medinata|Persian period]] (5th century BCE).{{sfn|McDermott|2002|p=21}} The name of the book comes from the two censuses taken of the Israelites.

Numbers begins at [[Mount Sinai]], where the Israelites have received their [[Covenant (biblical)|laws and covenant from God]] and God has taken up residence among them in the [[Tabernacle|sanctuary]].{{sfn|Olson|1996|p=9}} The task before them is to take possession of the Promised Land. The people are counted and preparations are made for resuming their march. The Israelites begin the journey, but they "murmur" at the hardships along the way, and about the authority of [[Moses]] and [[Aaron]]. For these acts, God destroys approximately 15,000 of them through various means.  They arrive at the borders of Canaan and send spies into the land. Upon hearing the spies' fearful report concerning the conditions in Canaan, the Israelites refuse to take possession of it. God condemns them to death in the wilderness until a new generation can grow up and carry out the task. The book ends with the new generation of Israelites in the "[[plains of Moab]]" ready for the crossing of the [[Jordan River]].{{sfn|Stubbs|2009|pp=19–20}}

Numbers is the culmination of the story of [[The Exodus|Israel's exodus from oppression in Egypt]] and their [[Conquest of Canaan|journey to take possession of the land God promised their fathers]]. As such it draws to a conclusion the themes introduced in Genesis and played out in Exodus and Leviticus: God has promised the Israelites that they shall become a great (i.e. numerous) nation, that they will have a special relationship with Yahweh their god, and that they shall take possession of the land of Canaan. Numbers also demonstrates the importance of holiness, faithfulness and trust: despite God's presence and [[Kohen|his priests]], Israel lacks faith and the possession of the land is left to a new generation.{{sfn|McDermott|2002|p=21}}

===Deuteronomy===
{{Main|Book of Deuteronomy}}

The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Torah. Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to the Israelites by Moses on the [[plains of Moab]], shortly before they enter the Promised Land. The first sermon recounts the [[Moses#The years in the wilderness|forty years of wilderness wanderings]] which had led to that moment, and ends with an exhortation to observe the law (or teachings), later referred to as the [[Law of Moses]]; the second reminds the Israelites of the need to follow Yahweh and the laws (or teachings) he has given them, on which their possession of the land depends; and the third offers the comfort that even should Israel prove unfaithful and so lose the land, with [[repentance]] all can be restored.{{sfn|Phillips|1973|pp=1–2}} The final four chapters (31–34) contain the [[Song of Moses]], the [[Blessing of Moses]], and narratives recounting the passing of the mantle of leadership from Moses to [[Joshua]] and, finally, the death of Moses on [[Mount Nebo]].

Presented as the words of Moses delivered before the conquest of Canaan, a broad consensus of modern scholars see its origin in traditions from [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Israel (the northern kingdom)]] brought south to the [[Kingdom of Judah]] in the wake of the [[Assyrian conquest of Aram]] (8th century BCE) and then adapted to a program of nationalist reform in the time of [[Josiah]] (late 7th century BCE), with the final form of the modern book emerging in the milieu of the return from the [[Babylonian captivity]] during the late 6th century BCE.{{sfn|Rogerson|2003|pp=153–154}} Many scholars see the book as reflecting the economic needs and social status of the [[Levite]] caste, who are believed to have provided its authors;{{sfn|Sommer|2015|p=18}} those likely authors are collectively referred to as the [[Deuteronomist]].

One of its most significant verses is Deuteronomy 6:4,<ref>{{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|6:4|HE}}</ref> the [[Shema Yisrael]], which has become the definitive statement of [[Jewish identity]]: "Hear, O Israel: the [[Tetragrammaton|{{LORD}}]] our God, the {{LORD}} is one." Verses 6:4–5 were also quoted by [[Jesus]] in Mark 12:28–34<ref>{{bibleverse||Mark|12:28–34}}</ref> as part of the [[Great Commandment]].

==Composition==
{{Main|Composition of the Torah|Mosaic authorship}}

The [[Talmud]] states that the Torah was written by Moses, with the exception of the last eight verses of Deuteronomy, describing his death and burial, being written by [[Joshua]].<ref>[[Bava Basra]] 14b</ref>  According to the [[Mishnah]] one of the essential tenets of Judaism is that God transmitted the text of the Torah to&nbsp;Moses<ref>Mishnah, Sanhedrin 10:1</ref> over the span of the 40 years the Israelites were in the desert<ref>Talmud Gitten 60a,</ref> and Moses was like a scribe who was dictated to and wrote down all of the events, the stories and the commandments.<ref>language of Maimonides, Commentary on the Mishnah, Sanhedrin 10:1</ref>

According to [[Jewish tradition]], the Torah was recompiled by [[Ezra]] during [[Second Temple period]].<ref>Ginzberg, Louis (1909). ''[[Legends of the Jews|The Legends of the Jews]] [http://www.swartzentrover.com/cotor/e-books/misc/Legends/Legends%20of%20the%20Jews.pdf Vol. IV: Ezra]'' (Translated by Henrietta Szold) Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.</ref>{{sfn|Ross|2004|p=192}} The Talmud says that Ezra changed the script used to write the Torah from the older [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew script]] to  the [[Ktav Ashuri|"Assyrian" script]], so called according to the Talmud, because they brought it with them from Assyria.<ref>[[Sanhedrin (tractate)|Sanhedrin]] 21b</ref> [[Maharsha]] says that Ezra made no changes to the actual text of the Torah based on the Torah's prohibition of making any additions or deletions to the Torah in Deuteronomy 12:32.<ref>Commentary on the Talmud, Sanhedrin 21b</ref>

[[File:Modern document hypothesis.svg|thumb|upright=0.75|One common formulation of the documentary hypothesis.]]

By contrast, the modern scholarly consensus rejects Mosaic authorship, and affirms that the Torah has multiple authors and that its composition took place over centuries.{{sfn|McDermott|2002|p=21}} The precise process by which the Torah was composed, the number of authors involved, and the date of each author are hotly contested. Throughout most of the 20th century, there was a scholarly consensus surrounding the [[documentary hypothesis]], which posits four independent sources, which were later compiled together by a redactor: J, the [[Jahwist]] source, E, the [[Elohist]] source, P, the [[Priestly source]], and D, the [[Deuteronomist]] source. The earliest of these sources, J, would have been composed in the late 7th or the 6th century BCE,{{citation needed|date=February 2025}} with the latest source, P, being composed around the 5th century BCE.

[[File:Diagram of the Supplementary Hypothesis.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|The [[supplementary hypothesis]], one potential successor to the documentary hypothesis.]]

The consensus around the documentary hypothesis collapsed in the last decades of the 20th century.{{sfn|Carr|2014|p=434}} The groundwork was laid with the investigation of the origins of the written sources in oral compositions, implying that the creators of J and E were collectors and editors and not authors and historians.{{sfn|Thompson|2000|p=8}} [[Rolf Rendtorff]], building on this insight, argued that the basis of the Pentateuch lay in short, independent narratives, gradually formed into larger units and brought together in two editorial phases, the first Deuteronomic, the second Priestly.{{sfn|Ska|2014|pp=133-135}} By contrast, [[John Van Seters]] advocates a [[supplementary hypothesis]], which posits that the Torah was derived from a series of direct additions to an existing corpus of work.{{sfn|Van Seters|2004|p=77}} A "neo-documentarian" hypothesis, which responds to the criticism of the original hypothesis and updates the methodology used to determine which text comes from which sources, has been advocated by biblical historian Joel S. Baden, among others.{{sfn|Baden|2012}}{{sfn|Gaines|2015|p=271}} Such a [[hypothesis]] continues to have adherents in Israel and North America.{{sfn|Gaines|2015|p=271}}

The majority of scholars today continue to recognize Deuteronomy as a source, with its origin in the law-code produced at the court of [[Josiah]] as described by De Wette, subsequently given a frame during the exile (the speeches and descriptions at the front and back of the code) to identify it as the words of Moses.{{sfn|Otto|2014|p=605}} However, since the 1990s, the biblical description of Josiah's reforms (including his court's production of a law-code) have become heavily debated among academics.<ref>[[Lester L. Grabbe|Grabbe, Lester]] (2017). ''Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?''. T&T Clark. p. 249-250. "It was once conventional to accept Josiah's reform at face value, but the question is currently much debated (Albertz 1994: 198–201; 2005; Lohfink 1995; P. R. Davies 2005; Knauf 2005a)."</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pakkala |first1=Juha |title=One God – One Cult – One Nation |chapter=Why the Cult Reforms In Judah Probably Did Not Happen |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/382385 |editor-last=Kratz |editor-first=Reinhard G. |editor2-last=Spieckermann |editor2-first=Hermann |publisher=De Gruyter |year=2010 |pages=201–235 |isbn=9783110223576 |accessdate=2024-01-25 |via=Academia.edu }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Conversations on Canaanite and Biblical Themes: Creation, Chaos and Monotheism |last=Hess |first=Richard S. |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |year=2022 |isbn=978-3-11-060629-4 |pages=135–150 |editor-last=Watson |editor-first=Rebecca S. |chapter=2 Kings 22-3: Belief in One God in Preexilic Judah? |editor-last2=Curtis |editor-first2=Adrian H. W. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YUR6EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA135}}</ref> Most scholars also agree that some form of Priestly source existed, although its extent, especially its end-point, is uncertain.{{sfn|Carr|2014|p=457}} The remainder is called collectively non-Priestly, a grouping which includes both pre-Priestly and post-Priestly material.{{sfn|Otto|2014|p=609}}

===Date of compilation===
The final Torah is widely seen as a product of the [[Persian period]] (539–332 BCE, probably 450–350 BCE).{{Sfn|Frei|2001|p=6}} This consensus echoes a traditional Jewish view which gives [[Ezra]], the leader of the Jewish community on its return from Babylon, a pivotal role in its promulgation.{{sfn|Romer|2008|p=2 and fn.3}} Many theories have been advanced to explain the composition of the Torah, but two have been especially influential.{{sfn|Ska|2006|p=217}} The first of these, Persian Imperial authorisation, advanced by Peter Frei in 1985, holds that the Persian authorities required the Jews of Jerusalem to present a single body of law as the price of local autonomy.{{sfn|Ska|2006|p=218}} Frei's theory was, according to Eskenazi, "systematically dismantled" at an interdisciplinary symposium held in 2000, but the relationship between the Persian authorities and Jerusalem remains a crucial question.{{sfn|Eskenazi|2009|p=86}} The second theory, associated with Joel P. Weinberg and called the "Citizen-Temple Community", proposes that the Exodus story was composed to serve the needs of a post-exilic Jewish community organised around the Temple, which acted in effect as a bank for those who belonged to it.{{sfn|Ska|2006|pp=226–227}}

A minority of scholars would place the final formation of the Pentateuch somewhat later, in the [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] (332–164 BCE) or even [[Hasmonean Kingdom|Hasmonean]] (140–37 BCE) periods.{{sfn|Greifenhagen|2003|pp=206–207, 224 fn.49}} Russell Gmirkin, for instance, argues for a Hellenistic dating on the basis that the [[Elephantine papyri]], the records of a Jewish colony in Egypt dating from the last quarter of the 5th century BCE, make no reference to a written Torah, [[the Exodus]], or to any other biblical event, though it does mention the festival of [[Passover]].{{sfn|Gmirkin|2006|pp=30, 32, 190}}

==Adoption of Torah law==
[[File:Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 123.png|thumb|upright=1.2|Josiah hearing the reading of [[Book of Deuteronomy]] (illustration by [[Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld]]).]]

{{Further|Origins of Judaism}}

In his seminal ''[[Prolegomena zur Geschichte Israels]]'', [[Julius Wellhausen]] argued that Judaism as a religion based on widespread observance of the Torah and [[#Biblical law|its laws]] first emerged in 444 BCE when, according to the biblical account provided in the [[Book of Nehemiah]] (chapter 8), a priestly scribe named [[Ezra]] read a copy of the Mosaic Torah before the populace of Judea assembled in a central Jerusalem square.{{sfn|Wellhausen|1885|pp=405–410}} Wellhausen believed that this narrative should be accepted as historical because it sounds plausible, noting: "The credibility of the narrative appears on the face of it."{{sfn|Wellhausen|1885|p=408 n. 1}} Following Wellhausen, most scholars throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries{{Like whom?|date=January 2024}} have accepted that {{Clarify span|widespread Torah observance began sometime around the middle of the 5th century BCE.|It is not established that Wellhausen held this view.|date=January 2024}}{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

More recently, Yonatan Adler has argued that in fact there is no surviving evidence to support the notion that the Torah was widely known, regarded as authoritative, and put into practice prior to the middle of the 2nd century BCE.{{sfn|Adler|2022}} Adler explored the likelihhood that Judaism, as the widespread practice of Torah law by Jewish society at large, first emerged in Judea during the reign of the [[Hasmonean dynasty]], centuries after the putative time of Ezra.{{sfn|Adler|2022|pp=223–234}} However, [[John J. Collins]] has argued that [[Hecataeus of Abdera]] recorded that the written Mosaic law was already "known and accepted as the authoritative expression of the Jewish way of life at the beginning of the Hellenistic period". According to Collins, this implies that Jews were already observing the Torah since the [[Persian period]].<ref>{{cite book |title=A Vision of the Days: Studies in Early Jewish History and Historiography: In Honor of Daniel R. Schwartz |last=Collins |first=John J. |publisher=BRILL |year=2024 |isbn=978-90-04-68556-7 |pages=334–335 |editor-last=Brody |editor-first=Robert |chapter=Hecataeus as a Witness to Judaism |editor-last2=Hacham |editor-first2=Noah |editor-last3=Piotrkowski |editor-first3=Meron M. |editor-last4=van Henten |editor-first4=Jan Willem |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M0YgEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA334}}</ref>

==Significance in Judaism==
[[File:Toras in Istanbul Ashkenazi Sinagogue.JPG|upright=0.75|left|thumb|Torahs in [[Ashkenazi Synagogue]] ([[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]]).]]
{{Judaism |texts}}

===Traditional views on authorship===
Rabbinic writings state that the Oral Torah was given to Moses at [[Biblical Mount Sinai|Mount Sinai]], which, according to the tradition of [[Orthodox Judaism]], occurred in 1312&nbsp;BCE. The Orthodox rabbinic tradition holds that the Written Torah was recorded during the following forty years,<ref name="Timeline">{{Cite web |last=Spiro |first=Ken |date=9 May 2009 |title=History Crash Course #36: Timeline: From Abraham to Destruction of the Temple |url=http://www.aish.com/jl/h/48944541.html |access-date=2010-08-19 |website=Aish.com}}</ref> though many non-Orthodox Jewish scholars affirm the modern scholarly consensus that the Written Torah has multiple authors and was written over centuries.{{sfn|Berlin|Brettler|Fishbane|2004|pp=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195297515/page/3 3–7]}}

All classical rabbinic views hold that the Torah was entirely Mosaic and of divine origin.<ref>For more information on these issues from an Orthodox Jewish perspective, see ''Modern Scholarship in the Study of Torah: Contributions and Limitations'', Ed. [[Shalom Carmy]], and ''Handbook of Jewish Thought'', Volume I, by [[Aryeh Kaplan]].</ref> Present-day [[Reform Judaism|Reform and Liberal]] Jewish movements all reject Mosaic authorship, as do most shades of [[Conservative Judaism]].{{sfn|Siekawitch|2013|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=EVSVAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA19 19]–30}}

===Ritual use===
{{more citations needed|section|date=January 2024}}

[[File:Présentation de la Loi, Edouard Moyse (1860) - Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaïsme.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|''Presentation of The Torah'', by Édouard Moyse, 1860, [[Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme|Museum of Jewish Art and History]].]]
{{Main|Torah reading}}

Torah reading ({{Hebrew name 1|קריאת התורה|K'riat HaTorah|"Reading [of] the Torah"}}) is a Jewish religious [[ritual]] that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a [[Sefer Torah|Torah scroll]]. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the Torah scroll (or scrolls) from the [[ark (synagogue)|ark]], chanting the appropriate excerpt with traditional [[Hebrew cantillation|cantillation]], and returning the scroll(s) to the ark. It is distinct from academic [[Torah study]].

Regular public reading of the Torah was introduced by [[Ezra]] the Scribe after the return of the Jewish people from the [[Babylonian captivity]] ({{circa|537&nbsp;BCE}}), as described in the [[Book of Nehemiah]].<ref>[http://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt35b08.htm Neh. 8]</ref> In the modern era, adherents of Orthodox Judaism practice Torah-reading according to a set procedure they believe has remained unchanged in the two thousand years since the destruction of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] (70&nbsp;CE). In the 19th and 20th centuries CE, new movements such as [[Reform Judaism]] and [[Conservative Judaism]] have made adaptations to the practice of Torah reading, but the basic pattern of Torah reading has usually remained the same:

As a part of the morning prayer services on certain days of the week, fast days, and holidays, as well as part of the afternoon prayer services of Shabbat, Yom Kippur, a section of the Pentateuch is read from a Torah scroll. On [[Shabbat]] (Saturday) mornings, a weekly section ("''[[parashah]]''") is read, selected so that the entire Pentateuch is read consecutively each year. The division of ''parashot'' found in the modern-day Torah scrolls of all Jewish communities (Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Yemenite) is based upon the systematic list provided by Maimonides in [[Mishneh Torah]], ''Laws of Tefillin, Mezuzah and Torah Scrolls'', chapter 8. Maimonides based his division of the {{Transliteration|he|parashot}} for the Torah on the [[Aleppo Codex]]. [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] and [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] synagogues may read ''parashot'' on a triennial rather than annual schedule,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rogovin |first=Richard D. |date=2006 |title=The Authentic Triennial Cycle: A Better Way to Read Torah? |url=http://www.uscj.org/The_Authentic_Trienn7085.html |url-status=dead |journal=United Synagogue Review |volume=59 |issue=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090906074201/http://uscj.org/The_Authentic_Trienn7085.html |archive-date=6 September 2009 |via=The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Fields |first=Harvey J. |title=Bechol Levavcha: with all your heart |date=1979 |publisher=Union of American Hebrew Congregations Press |location=New York |pages=106–111 |chapter=Section Four: The Reading of the Torah |chapter-url=http://urj.org/worship/letuslearn/s7bechol/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050219173736/http://urj.org/worship/letuslearn/s7bechol/ |archive-date=19 February 2005 |via=Union for Reform Judaism}}</ref> On Saturday afternoons, Mondays, and Thursdays, the beginning of the following Saturday's portion is read. On [[Jewish holidays]], the beginnings of each month, and [[ta'anit|fast days]], special sections connected to the day are read.

Jews observe an annual holiday, [[Simchat Torah]], to celebrate the completion and new start of the year's cycle of readings.

[[File:Coffre et rouleau de Torah ayant appartenu à Abraham de Camondo chef de la communauté juive de Constantinople 1860 - Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Silver Torah case, [[Ottoman Empire]], displayed in the [[Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme|Museum of Jewish Art and History]].]]

Torah scrolls are often dressed with a sash, a special Torah cover, various ornaments, and a {{Transliteration|he|keter}} (crown), although such customs vary among synagogues. Congregants traditionally stand in respect when the Torah is brought out of the ark to be read, while it is being carried, and lifted, and likewise while it is returned to the ark, although they may sit during the reading itself.

===Biblical law===
{{See also|Biblical law|613 commandments}}

The Torah contains narratives, statements of law, and statements of ethics. Collectively these laws, usually called [[biblical law]] or commandments, are sometimes referred to as the [[Law of Moses]] (''Torat Moshɛ'' {{lang|hbo|תּוֹרַת־מֹשֶׁה}}), [[Mosaic Law]], or [[Sinaitic covenant|Sinaitic Law]].

==The Oral Torah==
{{more citations needed|section|date=January 2024}}
{{main|Oral Torah}}

Rabbinic tradition holds that Moses learned the whole Torah while he lived on Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights and both the Oral and the written Torah were transmitted in parallel with each other. Where the Torah leaves words and concepts undefined, and mentions procedures without explanation or instructions, the reader is required to seek out the missing details from supplemental sources known as the Oral Law or Oral Torah.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rabbi Jonathan Rietti &#124; New York City &#124; Breakthrough Chinuch |url=https://www.breakthroughchinuch.com/ |website=breakthroughchunich}}</ref> Some of the Torah's most prominent commandments needing further explanation are:

* [[Tefillin]]: As indicated in Deuteronomy 6:8 among other places, tefillin are to be placed on the arm and on the head between the eyes. However, there are no details provided regarding what tefillin are or how they are to be constructed.
* [[Kashrut]]: As indicated in Exodus 23:19 among other places, a young goat may not be boiled in its mother's milk. In addition to numerous other problems with understanding the ambiguous nature of this law, there are no vowelization characters in the Torah; they are provided by the oral tradition. This is particularly relevant to this law, as the Hebrew word for ''milk'' (חלב) is identical to the word for ''animal fat'' when vowels are absent. Without the oral tradition, it is not known whether the violation is in mixing meat with milk or with fat.
* [[Shabbat]] laws: With the severity of Sabbath violation, namely the death penalty, one would assume that direction would be provided as to how exactly such a serious and core commandment should be upheld. However, most information regarding the rules and traditions of Shabbat are dictated in the Talmud and other books deriving from Jewish oral law.

According to classical rabbinic texts this parallel set of material was originally transmitted to Moses at Sinai, and then from Moses to Israel. At that time it was forbidden to write and publish the oral law, as any writing would be incomplete and subject to misinterpretation and abuse.<ref>Talmud, [[Gittin]] 60b</ref>

However, after exile, dispersion, and persecution, this tradition was lifted when it became apparent that in writing was the only way to ensure that the Oral Law could be preserved. After many years of effort by a great number of [[tannaim]], the oral tradition was written down around 200&nbsp;CE by Rabbi [[Judah ha-Nasi]], who took up the compilation of a nominally written version of the Oral Law, the [[Mishnah]] ({{lang|he|משנה}}). Other oral traditions from the same time period not entered into the Mishnah were recorded as ''[[Baraitot]]'' (external teaching), and the [[Tosefta]]. Other traditions were written down as [[Midrashim]].

After continued persecution more of the Oral Law was committed to writing. A great many more lessons, lectures and traditions only alluded to in the few hundred pages of Mishnah, became the thousands of pages now called the ''[[Gemara]]''. Gemara is written in Aramaic (specifically [[Jewish Babylonian Aramaic]]), having been compiled in Babylon. The Mishnah and Gemara together are called the Talmud. The rabbis in the [[Land of Israel]] also collected their traditions and compiled them into the [[Jerusalem Talmud]]. Since the greater number of rabbis lived in Babylon, the Babylonian Talmud has precedence should the two be in conflict.

Orthodox and Conservative branches of Judaism accept these texts as the basis for all subsequent ''halakha'' and codes of Jewish law, which are held to be normative. Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism deny that these texts, or the Torah itself for that matter, may be used for determining normative law (laws accepted as binding) but accept them as the authentic and only Jewish version for understanding the Torah and its development throughout history.{{citation needed|date=October 2012}} Humanistic Judaism holds that the Torah is a historical, political, and sociological text, but does not believe that every word of the Torah is true, or even morally correct. Humanistic Judaism is willing to question the Torah and to disagree with it, believing that the entire Jewish experience, not just the Torah, should be the source for Jewish behavior and ethics.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FAQ for Humanistic Judaism, Reform Judaism, Humanists, Humanistic Jews, Congregation, Arizona, AZ |url=http://oradam.org/OAC/FAQ |access-date=2012-11-07 |publisher=Oradam.org}}</ref>

==Divine significance of letters, Jewish mysticism==
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2024}}
[[File:2008-09-26 torarolle-jhwh.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Closeup of Torah scroll showing a verse from Numbers with ''[[Tag (Hebrew writing)|tagin]]'' markings decorating letters written in ''[[Ktav Ashuri]]''.]]
{{Further|Kabbalah}}

Kabbalists hold that not only do the words of Torah give a divine message, but they also indicate a far greater message that extends beyond them. Thus they hold that even as small a mark as a ''kotso shel yod'' ({{lang|hbo|קוצו של יוד}}), the [[serif]] of the Hebrew letter ''[[Yodh|yod]]'' (י), the smallest letter, or decorative markings, or repeated words, were put there by God to teach scores of lessons. This is regardless of whether that yod appears in the phrase "I am the LORD thy God" ({{lang|hbo|אָנֹכִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ}}, Exodus 20:2) or whether it appears in "And God spoke unto Moses saying" ({{lang|hbo|וַיְדַבֵּר אֱלֹהִים, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה; וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו, אֲנִי יְהוָה.}} Exodus 6:2). In a similar vein, [[Rabbi Akiva]] ({{circa|50|135 CE|lk=no}}), is said to have learned a new law from every ''et'' ({{lang|hbo|את}}) in the Torah (Talmud, tractate Pesachim 22b); the [[grammatical particle|particle]] ''et'' is meaningless by itself, and serves only to mark the [[Object (grammar)|direct object]]. In other words, the [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] belief is that even apparently contextual text such as "And God spoke unto Moses saying&nbsp;..." is no less holy and sacred than the actual statement.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

==Production and use of a Torah scroll==
{{unreferenced section|date=January 2024}}
[[File:Open Torah Case with Scroll.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|An old open Torah case with scroll.]]
{{Main|Sefer Torah}}

[[Manuscript]] Torah [[scroll]]s are still scribed and used for ritual purposes (i.e., [[Jewish services|religious services]]); this is called a ''[[Sefer Torah]]'' ("Book [of] Torah"). They are written using a painstakingly careful method by highly qualified [[Sofer|scribes]]. It is believed that every word, or marking, has divine meaning and that not one part may be inadvertently changed lest it lead to error. The fidelity of the Hebrew text of the Tanakh, and the Torah in particular, is considered paramount, down to the last letter: translations or transcriptions are frowned upon for formal service use, and transcribing is done with painstaking care. An error of a single letter, ornamentation, or symbol of the 304,805 stylized letters that make up the Hebrew Torah text renders a Torah scroll unfit for use, hence a special skill is required and a scroll takes considerable time to write and check.

According to Jewish law, a ''sefer Torah'' (plural: ''Sifrei Torah'') is a copy of the formal Hebrew text handwritten on ''[[gevil]]'' or ''[[klaf]]'' (forms of [[parchment]]) by using a [[quill]] (or other permitted writing utensil) dipped in ink. Written entirely in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], a ''sefer Torah'' contains 304,805 letters, all of which must be duplicated precisely by a trained ''[[sofer]]'' ("scribe"), an effort that may take as long as approximately one and a half years. Most modern Sifrei Torah are written with forty-two lines of text per column ([[Yemenite Jews]] use fifty), and very strict rules about the position and appearance of the [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew letters]] are observed. See for example the [[Mishnah Berurah]] on the subject.<ref>[http://www.geniza.net/ritual/mb/letterforms.shtml Mishnat Soferim The forms of the letters] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080523195538/http://www.geniza.net/ritual/mb/letterforms.shtml |date=2008-05-23 }} translated by Jen Taylor Friedman (geniza.net)</ref> Any of several Hebrew scripts may be used, most of which are fairly ornate and exacting.

The completion of the Sefer Torah is a cause for great celebration, and it is a [[mitzvah]] for every Jew to either write or have written for him a Sefer Torah. Torah scrolls are stored in the [[holy|holiest]] part of the [[synagogue]] in the [[Torah ark|Ark]] known as the "Holy Ark" ({{lang|hbo|אֲרוֹן הקֹדשׁ}} ''aron hakodesh'' in Hebrew.) ''Aron'' in Hebrew means "cupboard" or "closet", and ''kodesh'' is derived from "kadosh", or "holy".

==Torah translations==
[[File:Mikraot Gedolot Jiddisch.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A page from a ''[[Mikraot Gedolot]]'' including text in [[Yiddish]].]]

===Aramaic===
{{Main|Targum}}

The [[Book of Ezra]] refers to translations and commentaries of the Hebrew text into [[Aramaic]], the more commonly understood language of the time. These translations would seem to date to the 6th century BCE. The Aramaic term for ''translation'' is ''Targum''.{{sfn|Chilton|1987|p=xiii}} The ''[[Encyclopaedia Judaica]]'' has: {{blockquote|At an early period, it was customary to translate the Hebrew text into the vernacular at the time of the reading (e.g., in Palestine and Babylon the translation was into Aramaic). The targum ("translation") was done by a special synagogue official, called the meturgeman {{omission}} Eventually, the practice of translating into the vernacular was discontinued.<ref>{{Cite EJ |title=Torah, Reading of}}</ref>
}}

However, there is no suggestion that these translations had been written down as early as this. There are suggestions that the Targum was written down at an early date, although for private use only. {{blockquote|The official recognition of a written Targum and the final redaction of its text, however, belong to the post-Talmudic period, thus not earlier than the fifth century C.E.<ref>{{Cite EJ |title=Bible: Translations}}</ref>}}

===Greek===
{{Main|Septuagint}}

One of the earliest known translations of the first five books of Moses from the Hebrew into Greek was the Septuagint. This is a [[Koine Greek]] version of the Hebrew Bible that was used by Greek speakers. This Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures dates from the 3rd century BCE, originally associated with [[Hellenistic Judaism]]. It contains both a translation of the Hebrew and additional and variant material.{{sfn|Greifenhagen|2003|p=218}}

Later translations into Greek include seven or more other versions. These do not survive, except as fragments, and include those by [[Aquila of Sinope|Aquila]], [[Symmachus the Ebionite|Symmachus]], and [[Theodotion]].<ref>{{Cite EJ |last=Greenspoon |first=Leonard J. |title=Greek: The Septuagint |volume=3 |page=597}}</ref>

===Latin===
Early translations into Latin—the [[Vetus Latina]]—were ad hoc conversions of parts of the Septuagint. With Saint [[Jerome]] in the 4th century CE came the [[Vulgate]] Latin translation of the Hebrew Bible.<ref>{{Cite EJ |last1=Harkins |first1=Franklin T. |last2=Harkins |first2=Angela Kim |title=Old Latin/Vulgate |volume=3 |page=598}}</ref>

===Arabic===
From the eighth century CE, the cultural language of Jews living under Islamic rule became [[Arabic]] rather than Aramaic. "Around that time, both scholars and lay people started producing translations of the Bible into [[Judeo-Arabic]] using the Hebrew alphabet." Later, by the 10th century, it became essential for a standard version of the Bible in Judeo-Arabic. The best known was produced by [[Saadiah]] (the Saadia Gaon, aka the Rasag), and continues to be in use today, "in particular among Yemenite Jewry".<ref>{{Cite EJ |last=Sasson |first=Ilana |title=Arabic |volume=3 |page=603}}</ref>

Rav Sa'adia produced an Arabic translation of the Torah known as ''Targum Tafsir'' and offered comments on Rasag's work.{{sfn|Robinson|2008|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=X54NS-Lc-OcC&pg=PA167 167]–|ps=: "Sa'adia's own major contribution to the Torah is his Arabic translation, ''Targum Tafsir''."}} There is a debate in scholarship whether Rasag wrote the first Arabic translation of the Torah.{{sfn|Zohar|2005|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=4vg0RdqjNV0C&pg=PA106 106]–|ps=: "Controversy exists among scholars as to whether Rasag was the first to translate the Hebrew Bible into Arabic."}}

===Modern languages===

====Jewish translations====
The Torah has been translated by Jewish scholars into most of the major European languages, including English, German, Russian, French, Spanish and others. The most well-known German-language translation was produced by [[Samson Raphael Hirsch]]. A number of [[Jewish English Bible translations]] have been published, for example by Artscroll publications.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://jps.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/study_guide-1.docx | title=Jewish Bible Translations: Personalities, Passions, Politics,Progress | first=Leonard J. | last=Greenspoon | publisher=Jewish Publication Society | year=2020 | format=DOCX}}</ref>

====Christian translations====
As a part of the [[Christian biblical canons]], the Torah has been translated into [[List of Bible translations by language|hundreds of languages]].

==In other religions==
===Samaritanism===
[[File:Gerizim_Samaritan_Torah_IMG_2118.JPG|thumb|[[Samaritan Torah|Samaritan Torah scrolls]], Mount Gerizim Samaritan synagogue, at [[Mount Gerizim]].]]
{{see also|Samaritan Pentateuch}}

The '''Samaritan Torah''' ({{script|Samr|‮ࠕࠫ‎‬ࠅࠓࠡࠄ‎}}, {{Transliteration|smp|Tōrāʾ}}), also called the ''Samaritan Pentateuch'', is the scripture of [[Samaritanism]], which is slightly different from the Torah of [[Judaism]]. The ''Samaritan Pentateuch'' was written in the [[Samaritan script]], a direct descendant of the [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet]] that emerged around 600 BCE. Some 6,000 differences exist between the Samaritan and [[Masoretic Text|Jewish Masoretic Text]], most of which are minor spelling and [[Grammatical construction|grammar]] variations, while others involve significant [[semantic]] changes, such as the uniquely Samaritan commandment to construct an altar on [[Mount Gerizim]].<ref>{{cite book|publisher=Society of Biblical Literature|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt32bzhn|title=The Samaritan Pentateuch: an introduction to its origin, history, and significance for Biblical studies|last1=Giles|first1=Terry|last2=T. Anderson|first2=Robert|series=Resources for Biblical Study|year=2012|doi=10.2307/j.ctt32bzhn |jstor=j.ctt32bzhn |isbn=978-1-58983-699-0 }}</ref> Nearly 2,000 textual variations are found to be consistent with the [[Koine Greek]]<ref>The common supra-regional form of Greek used during the [[Hellenistic period]], the eras of the [[Roman Empire]] and early [[Byzantine Empire]].</ref> [[Septuagint]], some with the [[Vulgate|Latin Vulgate]].<ref>A late-4th-century [[Bible translations into Latin|Latin translation]] of the [[Bible#Christian Bible|Bible]].</ref> It is reported that Samaritans translated their Pentateuch into [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]], Greek and [[Arabic]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Florentin |author-first=Moshe |year=2013 |title=Samaritan Pentateuch |editor1-last=Khan |editor1-first=Geoffrey |editor1-link=Geoffrey Khan |editor2-last=Bolozky |editor2-first=Shmuel |editor3-last=Fassberg |editor3-first=Steven |editor4-last=Rendsburg |editor4-first=Gary A. |editor4-link=Gary A. Rendsburg |editor5-last=Rubin |editor5-first=Aaron D. |editor5-link=Aaron D. Rubin |editor6-last=Schwarzwald |editor6-first=Ora R. |editor7-last=Zewi |editor7-first=Tamar |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |doi=10.1163/2212-4241_ehll_EHLL_COM_00000282 |isbn=978-90-04-17642-3}}</ref>

===Christianity===
{{See also|Biblical law in Christianity|Development of the Old Testament canon}}

Although different [[Christian denomination]]s have slightly different versions of the [[Old Testament]] in their Bibles, the Torah as the "Five Books of Moses" (or "the [[Mosaic Law]]") is common among them all.

===Islam===
{{See also|Torah in Islam|Islamic–Jewish relations}}

[[Islam]] states that the Torah was sent by God. The "[[Tawrat]]" ({{langx|ar|توراة}}) is the Arabic name for the Torah within its context as an [[Islamic]] holy book believed by [[Muslims]] to be given by God to Prophets among the Children of Israel, and often refers to the entire Hebrew Bible.{{sfn|Lang|2015|p=98}} According to the Quran, [[God in Islam|God]] says, "It is He Who has sent down the Book (the Quran) to you with truth, confirming what came before it. And He sent down the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)." ([[Q3:3]]) However, the Muslims believe that this original revelation was corrupted ''([[tahrif]])'' (or simply altered by the passage of time and human fallibility) over time by Jewish scribes.<ref>[http://www.ahmed-deedat.co.za/bible/07.html Is the Bible God's Word] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513034243/http://www.ahmed-deedat.co.za/bible/07.html |date=2008-05-13 }} by Sheikh Ahmed Deedat</ref> The Torah in the Quran is always mentioned with respect in Islam. The Muslims' belief in the Torah, as well as the prophethood of Moses, is one of the [[six articles of belief|fundamental tenets]] of Islam.

The Islamic methodology of {{Transliteration|ar|tafsir al-Qur'an bi-l-Kitab}} ({{langx|ar|تفسير القرآن بالكتاب}}) refers to interpreting the Qur'an with/through the Bible.{{sfn|McCoy|2021}} This approach adopts canonical [[Bible translations into Arabic|Arabic versions of the Bible]], including the Torah, both to illuminate and to add exegetical depth to the reading of the Qur'an. Notable Muslim {{Transliteration|ar|mufassirun}} (commentators) of the Bible and Qur'an who weaved from the Torah together with Qur'anic ones include Abu al-Hakam Abd al-Salam bin al-Isbili of [[Al-Andalus]] and [[Ibrahim ibn Umar al-Biqa'i|Ibrahim bin Umar bin Hasan al-Biqa'i]].{{sfn|McCoy|2021}}

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Aliyah (Torah)]]
* [[Haftara]]
* [[Hebrew Bible]]
* [[Heptateuch]]
* [[Hexapla]]
* [[Jewish Publication Society]]  
* [[Jewish Publication Society of America Version]]
* [[Ketef Hinnom]]
* [[Ketuvim]]
* [[Nevi'im]]
* [[New Jewish Publication Society of America Tanakh]] 
* [[Torah Judaism]]
* [[Samaritan Torah]]
* [[Torah scroll (Yemenite)]]
* [[Weekly Torah portion]]
{{Div col end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{Cite book |last=Adler |first=Yonatan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k8KREAAAQBAJ |title=The Origins of Judaism: An Archaeological-Historical Reappraisal |date=2022 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=9780300254907}}
* {{Cite book |last=Alcalay |first=Reuben |title=The Complete Hebrew – English dictionary |date=1996 |publisher=Hemed Books |isbn=978-965-448-179-3 |volume=2 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ashley |first=Timothy R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6hBSceHiuAAC |title=The Book of Numbers |date=1993 |publisher=Eerdmans |isbn=9780802825230}}
* {{Cite book |last=Baden |first=Joel S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Beg7LeeNGlkC&q=composition+pentateuch&pg=PR9 |title=The Composition of the Pentateuch: Renewing the Documentary Hypothesis |date=2012 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=9780300152647 |location=New Haven & London}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bandstra |first=Barry L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vRY9mTUZKJcC&q=Bandstra,+Barry+L+%282004%29.+Reading+the+Old+Testament:+an+introduction+to+the+Hebrew+Bible&pg=PA489 |title=Reading the Old Testament: an introduction to the Hebrew Bible |date=2004 |publisher=Wadsworth |isbn=9780495391050}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bandstra |first=Barry L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vRY9mTUZKJcC |title=Reading the Old Testament |date=2008 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-0495391050}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bergant |first=Dianne |author-link=Dianne Bergant |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRCwAQAAQBAJ |title=Genesis: In the Beginning |date=2013 |publisher=Liturgical Press |isbn=978-0814682753}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195297515 |title=The Jewish Study Bible |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0195297515 |editor-last=Berlin |editor-first=Adele |location=New York City |editor-last2=Brettler |editor-first2=Marc Zvi |editor-last3=Fishbane |editor-first3=Michael |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Birnbaum |first=Philip |title=Encyclopedia of Jewish Concepts |date=1979 |publisher=Wadsworth |author-link=Philip Birnbaum}}
* {{Cite book |last=Blenkinsopp |first=Joseph |title=The Pentateuch: An introduction to the first five books of the Bible |date=1992 |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=978-0-385-41207-0 |series=[[Anchor Bible Series|Anchor Bible]] Reference Library |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Blenkinsopp |first=Joseph |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wq0YsOpTjKIC&q=Treasures+old+and+new:+essays+in+the+theology+of+the+Pentateuch |title=Treasures old and new: essays in the theology of the Pentateuch |date=2004 |publisher=Eerdmans |isbn=9780802826794}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Campbell |first1=Antony F |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cwhICpcHBsQC&q=Sources+of+the+bible&pg=PR3 |title=Sources of the Pentateuch: texts, introductions, annotations |last2=O'Brien |first2=Mark A |date=1993 |publisher=Fortress Press |isbn=9781451413670}}
* {{Cite book |last=Carr |first=David M |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8UJctZxFHikC&q=Reading+the+fractures+of+Genesis:+historical+and+literary+approaches |title=Reading the fractures of Genesis |date=1996 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=9780664220716}}
* {{Cite book |last=Carr |first=David M. |title=Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. III: From Modernism to Post-Modernism. Part II: The Twentieth Century – From Modernism to Post-Modernism |date=2014 |publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht |isbn=978-3-525-54022-0 |editor-last=Sæbø |editor-first=Magne |chapter=Changes in Pentateuchal Criticism |editor-last2=Ska |editor-first2=Jean Louis |editor-last3=Machinist |editor-first3=Peter |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8fcxBgAAQBAJ&q=could+be+presupposed+as+a+givenfor+over+a+hundred+years&pg=PA434}}
* {{Cite book |title=The Isaiah Targum: Introduction, Translation, Apparatus and Notes |date=1987 |publisher=Michael Glazier, Inc. |editor-last=Chilton |editor-first=B.D.}}
* {{Cite book |last=Clines |first=David A |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z45ullcFRG8C&q=Clines+Theme+of+the+Pentateuch |title=The theme of the Pentateuch |date=1997 |publisher=Sheffield Academic Press |isbn=9780567431967}}
* {{Cite book |last=Davies |first=G.I |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordbiblecomme0000unse |title=Oxford Bible Commentary |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780198755005 |editor-last=John Barton |chapter=Introduction to the Pentateuch |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3surkLVdw3UC&q=Oxford+Bible+Commentary+Introduction+to+the+Pentateuch&pg=PA12 |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Eskenazi |first=Tamara Cohn |title=Exile and Restoration Revisited: Essays on the Babylonian and Persian Periods |date=2009 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=9780567465672 |editor-last=Grabbe |editor-first=Lester L. |chapter=From Exile and Restoration to Exile and Reconstruction |editor-last2=Knoppers |editor-first2=Gary N. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E-XeBAAAQBAJ&q=%22Frei%27s+influential+theory+has+been+essentially+and+effectively+deconstructed%22&pg=PA86}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Finkelstein |first1=Israel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lu6ywyJr0CMC |title=The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts |last2=Silberman |first2=Neil Asher |date=2002 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=9780743223386 |author-link=Israel Finkelstein |author-link2=Neil Asher Silberman}}
* {{Cite book |last=Frei |first=Peter |title=Persia and Torah: The Theory of Imperial Authorization of the Pentateuch |date=2001 |publisher=SBL Press |isbn=9781589830158 |editor-last=Watts |editor-first=James |location=Atlanta, GA |pages=6 |chapter=Persian Imperial Authorization: A Summary}}
* {{Cite book |last=Friedman |first=Richard Elliot |title=Commentary on the Torah With a New English Translation |date=2001 |publisher=Harper Collins Publishers}}
*{{Cite book |last=Gaines |first=Jason M.H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pnHhCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA271 |title=The Poetic Priestly Source |date=2015 |publisher=Fortress Press |isbn=978-1-5064-0046-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gmirkin |first=Russell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CKuoAwAAQBAJ&q=%22no+reference+to+a+written+torah%22&pg=PA32 |title=Berossus and Genesis, Manetho and Exodus |date=2006 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-0-567-13439-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gooder |first=Paula |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=49XpvvO-Oq0C&q=The+Pentateuch+Paula+Gooder |title=The Pentateuch: a story of beginnings |date=2000 |publisher=T&T Clark |isbn=9780567084187}}
* {{Cite book |last=Greifenhagen |first=Franz V. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r1evAwAAQBAJ&q=%22final+form+sometime+in+the+Persian+period%22&pg=PA207 |title=Egypt on the Pentateuch's Ideological Map |date=2003 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-0-567-39136-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hamilton |first=Victor P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WW31E9Zt5-wC&pg=PR3 |title=The Book of Genesis: chapters 1–17 |date=1990 |publisher=Eerdmans |isbn=978-0802825216}}
* {{Cite book |last=Jacobs |first=Louis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l1u-_VMDM80C |title=The Jewish Religion: a companion |date=1995 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-826463-7 |access-date=27 February 2012}}
* {{Cite book |last=Johnstone |first=William D. |title=Eerdmans Bible Commentary |date=2003 |publisher=Eerdmans |isbn=9780802837110 |editor-last=Dunn |editor-first=James D. G. |chapter=Exodus |editor-last2=Rogerson |editor-first2=John William |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&pg=PA72}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Kugler |first1=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L8WbXbPjxpoC&q=Robert+Kugler,+Patrick+Hartin |title=An Introduction to the Bible |last2=Hartin |first2=Patrick |date=2009 |publisher=Eerdmans |isbn=9780802846365}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lang |first=Isabel |title=Intertextualität als hermeneutischer Zugang zur Auslegung des Korans: Eine Betrachtung am Beispiel der Verwendung von Israiliyyat in der Rezeption der Davidserzählung in Sure 38: 21–25 |date=31 December 2015 |publisher=Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH |isbn=9783832541514 |language=de}}
* {{Cite book |last=Levin |first=Christoph L |url=https://archive.org/details/oldtestamentbrie00levi |title=The Old testament: a brief introduction |date=2005 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=9780691113944|url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=McCoy |first=R. Michael |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004466821/front-8.xml |title=Interpreting the Qurʾān with the Bible (Tafsīr al-Qurʾān bi-l-Kitāb) |date=2021-09-08 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-46682-1 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |last=McDermott |first=John J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dkr7rVd3hAQC |title=Reading the Pentateuch: a historical introduction |date=2002 |publisher=Pauline Press |isbn=978-0-8091-4082-4 |access-date=2010-10-03}}
*{{Cite book |last=McEntire |first=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VwOs9f1FpmsC&q=william+propp+exodus+1-18&pg=PA87 |title=Struggling with God: An Introduction to the Pentateuch |date=2008 |publisher=Mercer University Press |isbn=9780881461015}}
* {{Cite book |last=Meyers |first=Carol |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0QHHITXsyskC |title=Exodus |date=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521002912 |author-link=Carol Meyers}}
* {{Cite book |title=The World and the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament |date=2011 |editor-last=Merrill |editor-first=Eugene H. |editor-last2=Rooker |editor-first2=Mark |editor-last3=Grisanti |editor-first3=Michael A.}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nadler |first=Steven |title=Hebrew Bible/Old Testament: The History of its Interpretation, II: From the Renaissance to the Enlightenment |date=2008 |publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht |isbn=978-3525539828 |editor-last=Sæbø |editor-first=Magne |chapter=The Bible Hermeneutics of Baruch de Spinoza |access-date=18 September 2015 |editor-last2=Ska |editor-first2=Jean Louis |editor-last3=Machinist |editor-first3=Peter |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OMlT-FViF40C&q=death+of+moses+abraham+ibn+ezra&pg=PA829}}
* {{Cite book |last=Neusner |first=Jacob |title=The Emergence of Judaism |date=2004 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |location=Louisville}}
* {{Cite book |last=Olson |first=Dennis T |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rus0KUTNUg4C |title=Numbers |date=1996 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=9780664237363}}
* {{Cite book |last=Otto |first=Eckart |title=Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. III: From Modernism to Post-Modernism. Part II: The Twentieth Century – From Modernism to Post-Modernism |date=2014 |publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht |isbn=978-3-525-54022-0 |editor-last=Sæbø |editor-first=Magne |chapter=The Study of Law and Ethics in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament |editor-last2=Ska |editor-first2=Jean Louis |editor-last3=Machinist |editor-first3=Peter |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8fcxBgAAQBAJ&q=%22This+change+of+research+paradigms%22&pg=PA609}}
* {{Cite book |last=Phillips |first=Anthony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LRA4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PR7 |title=Deuteronomy |date=1973 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=9780521097727}}
* {{Cite book |last=Robinson |first=George |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X54NS-Lc-OcC |title=Essential Torah: A Complete Guide to the Five Books of Moses |date=17 December 2008 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-48437-6}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rogerson |first=John W. |title=Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible |date=2003 |publisher=Eerdmans |isbn=9780802837110 |editor-last=James D. G. Dunn |chapter=Deuteronomy |editor-last2=John William Rogerson |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&pg=PA153}}
*{{Cite journal |last=Romer |first=Thomas |date=2008 |title=Moses Outside the Torah and the Construction of a Diaspora Identity |url=http://www.jhsonline.org/Articles/article_92.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=[[Journal of Hebrew Scriptures]] |volume=8, article 15 |pages=2–12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021035437/http://www.jhsonline.org/Articles/article_92.pdf |archive-date=2020-10-21 |access-date=2019-09-27}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ross |first=Tamar |title=Expanding the Palace of Torah: Orthodoxy and Feminism |date=2004 |publisher=UPNE |page=192}}
* {{Cite book |title=Tanakh, Vol. I, The Torah |date=2001 |publisher=Mesorah Publications, Ltd. |editor-last=Scherman |editor-first=Nosson |edition=Stone |location=New York}}
* {{cite book |title=Torah: Functions, Meanings, and Diverse Manifestations in Early Judaism and Christianity |last=Schniedewind |first=William M. |publisher=SBL Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-62837-504-6 |editor-last=Schniedewind |editor-first=William M. |chapter=Diversity and Development of ''tôrâ'' in the Hebrew Bible |editor-last2=Zurawski |editor-first2=Jason M. |editor-last3=Boccaccini |editor-first3=Gabriele |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GaxiEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA17}}
* {{Cite book |last=Siekawitch |first=Larry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EVSVAQAAQBAJ |title=The Uniqueness of the Bible |date=2013 |publisher=Cross Books |isbn=9781462732623}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ska |first=Jean-Louis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7cdy67ZvzdkC&q=Introduction+to+reading+the+Pentateuch+Jean+Louis+Ska |title=Introduction to reading the Pentateuch |date=2006 |publisher=Eisenbrauns |isbn=9781575061221}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ska |first=Jean Louis |title=Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. III: From Modernism to Post-Modernism. Part II: The Twentieth Century – From Modernism to Post-Modernism |date=2014 |publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht |isbn=978-3-525-54022-0 |editor-last=Sæbø |editor-first=Magne |chapter=Questions of the 'History of Israel' in Recent Research |editor-last2=Ska |editor-first2=Jean Louis |editor-last3=Machinist |editor-first3=Peter |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8fcxBgAAQBAJ&q=%22Persian+period+as+the+most+important%22&pg=PA430}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sommer |first=Benjamin D. |title=Revelation and Authority: Sinai in Jewish Scripture and Tradition |date=30 June 2015 |series=Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library}}
* {{Cite book |last=Stubbs |first=David L |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J0KgujFp45QC |title=Numbers (Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible) |date=2009 |publisher=Brazos Press |isbn=9781441207197}}
* {{Cite book |last=Thompson |first=Thomas L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RwrrUuHFb6UC&q=long+folk+history+long+antedating&pg=PA8 |title=Early History of the Israelite People: From the Written & Archaeological Sources |date=2000 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-9004119437}}
* {{Cite book |last=Van Seters |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=owwhpmIVgSAC&q=The+Hebrew+Bible+today:+an+introduction+to+critical+issues |title=The Hebrew Bible today: an introduction to critical issues |date=1998 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=9780664256524 |editor-last=Steven L. McKenzie, Matt Patrick Graham |chapter=The Pentateuch}}
* {{Cite book |last=Van Seters |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T-Vi9eK_vS0C&q=Sources+of+the+bible&pg=PA7 |title=The Pentateuch: a social-science commentary |date=2004 |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group |isbn=9780567080882}}
* {{Cite book |last=Walsh |first=Jerome T |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hGeXrcQTZ2kC&q=style+and+structure+in+biblical+hebrew+narrative |title=Style and structure in Biblical Hebrew narrative |date=2001 |publisher=Liturgical Press |isbn=9780814658970}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wellhausen |first=Julius |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f061b0TKi-UC&q=Prolegomena+to+the+History+of+Israel |title=Prolegomena to the History of Israel |date=1885 |publisher=Black |isbn=9781606202050}}
* {{Cite book |last=Zohar |first=Zion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4vg0RdqjNV0C |title=Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewry: From the Golden Age of Spain to Modern Times |date=June 2005 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=978-0-8147-9705-1}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
*{{Cite web |last=Adler |first=Yonatan |date=16 February 2023 |title=When Did Jews Start Observing Torah? – TheTorah.com |url=https://www.thetorah.com/article/when-did-jews-start-observing-torah |access-date=23 February 2023 |website=thetorah.com}}
*Rothenberg, Naftali, (ed.), ''Wisdom by the week – the Weekly Torah Portion as an Inspiration for Thought and Creativity'', Yeshiva University Press, New York 2012
*Friedman, Richard Elliott, ''Who Wrote the Bible?'', HarperSanFrancisco, 1997
*Welhausen, Julius, ''Prolegomena to the History of Israel'', Scholars Press, 1994 (reprint of 1885)
*Kantor, Mattis, ''The Jewish time line encyclopedia: A year-by-year history from Creation to the present'', Jason Aronson Inc., London, 1992
*Wheeler, Brannon M., ''Moses in the Quran and Islamic Exegesis'', Routledge, 2002
*DeSilva, David Arthur, ''An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry'', InterVarsity Press, 2004
*Heschel, Abraham Joshua, Tucker, Gordon & Levin, Leonard, ''Heavenly Torah: As Refracted Through the Generations'', London, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005
*Hubbard, David "The Literary Sources of the Kebra Nagast" ''Ph.D. dissertation St Andrews University, Scotland, 1956''
*[[Eugene H. Peterson|Peterson, Eugene H.]], ''Praying With Moses: A Year of Daily Prayers and Reflections on the Words and Actions of Moses'', [[HarperCollins]], New York, 1994 {{ISBN|9780060665180}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Torah}}
{{Wiktionary|Torah|Pentateuch}}
*[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14446-torah/ Jewish Encyclopedia: Torah]
*[http://www.interlinearbible.com/ Berean Interlinear Bible]
*[https://www.jstor.org/stable/593745 Jstor.org: Bibliography of Morris Jastrow, Jr.]
*{{cite NIE |wstitle=Pentateuch |last=Jastrow |first=Morris |author-link=Morris Jastrow |year=1905 |short=x}}

{{Jews and Judaism}}
{{Weekly Torah Portions}}
{{Characters and names in the Quran}}
{{Religious books}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Torah| ]]
[[Category:Hebrew words and phrases]]
[[Category:Hebrew Bible words and phrases]]
[[Category:Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law]]
[[Category:Texts attributed to Moses]]
[[Category:Sifrei Kodesh| ]]