Editing Torah (section)

{{short description|First five books of the Hebrew Bible}}
{{about|the Hebrew Torah|Samaritanism|Samaritan Pentateuch|other uses}}
{{redirect|Pentateuch}}
{{distinguish|Hebrew Bible{{!}}Tanakh}}
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[[File:Тора._Нацыянальная_бібліятэка_Беларусі.jpg|thumb|An opened Torah scroll ([[Book of Genesis]] part).]]
{{Tanakh OT}}
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The '''Torah''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɔːr|ə|,_|ˈ|t|oʊ|r|ə}} {{respell|TAWR|ə|,_|TOH|rə}};<ref>{{Cite OED|Torah|access-date=30 September 2024}}</ref> {{langx|hbo|תּוֹרָה}} {{Transliteration|he|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 web |title=Torah {{!}} Definition, Meaning, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Torah |access-date=2021-09-11 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> The Torah is also known as the '''Pentateuch''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɛ|n|t|ə|tj|uː|k}} {{respell|PEN|tə|tewk}}) 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) but only if there are ten males above the age of thirteen. 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}}