“Torah”, the Hebrew word for instruction or law, is the collective name for the first five Books of the Tanakh, or Jewish Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. They first appeared widely in written form among English-speaking Christians with the Geneva Bibles of the 16th century. This 21st century modernization of that text is called the Revised Geneva Translation. It is intended to make the Received Text as actionable as possible to a modern audience.

It is impossible to overstate the importance of the Torah in Judeo-Christian history. It is more central to the Jewish faith than any other institution, certainly more any other text. The “Book of the Torah” is referenced no less than 20 times by 6 different authors throughout the rest of the Old Testament, from Joshua 1:8 to Malachi 4:4. And it is referenced in the New Testament (as “The Law of Moses”) at least 11 times by the Apostles John, Luke, and Paul. In fact, the Torah is so highly regarded in Judaism, that one may encounter descriptions of it like this one by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman:

"Rabbi Shimon Ben Lakish...taught that 'the Torah preceded the creation of the world by two thousand years.' Obviously, he could not have meant chronological time, since time is also a creation. Rather, the meaning is ontological. The Torah provides a higher context that cannot be known from the world itself, a context of meaning and purpose."

It's also easy to see the Torah’s influence on the founding of relatively modern democratic republics like the United States. The Book of Deuteronomy is widely regarded as the most-quoted text by the US Founding Fathers in both their personal diaries and official writings. Furthermore, of all the possible inscriptions for the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, they chose this one:

"... proclaim liberty in the land to all its inhabitants." (Leviticus 25:10, RGT)

The author of the Torah is Moses. Both the Old and New Testament references logically lead one to that conclusion. But this is especially the case with Joshua 1:8, in which Moses’ mentee and immediate successor openly proclaims the existence of the completed “Torah” (H8451) within his first 200 words.

"Let not this Book of the Torah depart from out of your mouth. But meditate on it day and night, so that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then shall you make your way prosperous. And then shall you have good success." (Joshua 1:8)

We thank God that He has appointed this time for you to engage with His Word—simply, openly and honestly. We do not take lightly our responsibility to present that Word passionately and reverently, in the pursuit of His peace. We expectantly pray that the Holy Spirit will make His Word as fruitful for you as Joshua predicted.

Steve Cook