Reference: Hexateuch
Hastings
The first five books of the OT were known in Jewish circles as 'the five-fifths of the Law.' Christian scholars as early as Tertullian and Origen adopted the name Pentateuch, corresponding to their Jewish title, as a convenient designation of these books. 'The Law' was regarded as a unique and authoritative exposition of all individual and social conduct within Israel: a wide gulf seemed to divide it from the Book of Joshua, which inaugurated the series of historical books known as 'the Latter Prophets.' As a matter of fact, this division is wholly artificial. The five books of the Law are primarily intended to present the reader not with a codification of the legal system, but with some account of the antiquities and origins of Israel, as regards their religious worship, their political position, and their social arrangements. From this standpoint, nothing could be more arbitrary than to treat the Book of Joshua as the beginning of an entirely new series: 'its contents, and, still more, its literary structure, show that it is intimately connected with the Pentateuch, and describes the final stage in the history of the Origines of the Hebrew nation' (Driver, LOT [Note: OT Introd. to the Literature of the Old Testament.] 103). Critics have accordingly invented the name Hexateuch to emphasize this unity; and the name has now become universally accepted as an appropriate description of the first six volumes of the OT. In this article we propose to consider (I.) the composition, (II.) the criticism, and (III.) the characteristics of the Hexateuch.
I. Composition of the Hexateuch.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
These are the generations of heaven and earth when they were created, in the time when the LORD God created heaven and earth and all the shrubs of the field before they were in the earth. And all the herbs of the field before they sprang: for the LORD God had yet sent no rain upon the earth, neither was there yet any man to till the earth. read more. But there arose a mist out of the ground and watered all the face of the earth. Then the LORD God shope man, even of the mold of the earth, and breathed into his face the breath of life. So man was made a living soul. The LORD God also planted a garden in Eden from the beginning, and there he set man whom he had formed. And the LORD God made to spring out of the earth, all manner trees beautiful to the sight and pleasant to eat; and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and also the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And there sprung a river out of Eden to water the garden, and thence divided itself, and grew into four principal waters. The name of the one is Pishon; he it is that compasseth all the land of Havilah, where gold groweth. And the gold of that country is precious; there is found bdellium and a stone called Onyx. The name of the second river is Gihon, which compasseth all the land of Cush. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel, which runneth on the east side of the Assyrians; And the fourth river is Euphrates. And the LORD God took Adam and put him in the garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded Adam, saying, "Of all the trees of the garden see thou eat: But of the tree of knowledge of good and bad see that thou eat not: For even the same day thou eatest of it, thou shalt surely die. And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man should be alone. I will make him a helper to bear him company." And after that the LORD God had made of the earth all manner beasts of the field, and all manner fowls of the air, he brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them. And as Adam called all manner living beasts: even so are their names. And Adam gave names unto all manner cattle, and unto the fowls of the air, and unto all manner beasts of the field. But there was no help found unto Adam to bear him company. Then the LORD God cast a slumber on Adam, and he slept. And then he took out one of his ribs, and in stead thereof he filled up the place with flesh. And the LORD God made of the rib which he took out of Adam, a woman, and brought her unto Adam. Then said Adam, "This is once bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. This shall be called woman: because she was taken of the man." For this cause shall a man leave father and mother and cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. And they were either of them naked, both Adam and his wife, and were not ashamed.
But I will make mine covenant with thee, that both thou shalt come into the ark and thy sons, thy wife and thy sons' wives with thee. "And of all that liveth, whatsoever flesh it be, shalt thou bring into the ark, of every thing a pair, to keep them alive with thee.
"And of all that liveth, whatsoever flesh it be, shalt thou bring into the ark, of every thing a pair, to keep them alive with thee. And male and female see that they be, of birds in their kind, and of beasts in their kind, and of all manner of worms of the earth in their kind: a pair of every thing shall come unto thee to keep them alive. read more. And take unto thee of all manner of meat that may be eaten and lay it up in store by thee, that it may be meat both for thee and for them." And Noah did according to all that God commanded him.
Of all clean beasts take unto thee seven of every kind, the male and his female, and of unclean beasts a pair, the male and his female: likewise of the birds of the air seven of every kind, male and female to save seed upon all the earth.
And they came unto Noah into the ark by couples, of all flesh that had breath of life in it.
Abram went forth into the land till he came unto a place called Shechem, and unto the oak of Moreh. And the Cananites dwelled then in the land.
These are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king among the children of Israel.
And a certain man found him wandering out of his way in the field, and asked him what he sought. And he answered, "I seek my brethren, tell me, I pray thee, where they keep sheep." read more. And the man said, "They are departed hence, for I heard them say, 'Let us go unto Dothan.'" Thus went Joseph after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. And when they saw him afar off before he came at them, they took counsel against him, for to slay him, and said one to another, "Behold, this dreamer cometh; come now and let us slay him and cast him into some pit, and let us say that some wicked beast hath devoured him, and let us see what his dreams will come to."
Then said the LORD unto Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is hardened, and he refuseth to let the people go.
And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh. But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land.
And the LORD said unto Moses, "Write this for a remembrance in a book and tell it unto Joshua, for I will put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven."
Then Moses wrote all the words of the LORD and rose up early and made an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars according to the number of the twelve tribes of Israel,
And he took the book of the covenant and read it in the audience of the people. And they said, "All that the LORD hath said, we will do and hear."
But Moses was a very meek man, above all the men of the earth.
When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee and enjoyest it and dwellest therein: If thou shalt say, 'I will set a king over me, like unto all the nations that are about me':
When Moses had made an end of writing out the words of this law in a book, unto the end of them,
But there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face;
And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone and pitched it on end in the said place, even under an oak that stood in the sanctuary of the LORD.