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The Torah (Five Books of Moses)
Traditionally from Moses; compiled c. 600–400 BC (scholars)· Scripture or text· Judaism, Christianity & Islam
Debated by scholarsHistorians and scholars disagree.
The first five books of the Hebrew Bible, Genesis to Deuteronomy: Judaism's most sacred text, holding its story, law and covenant.
See it on the World Religions map →What it is
Genesis tells of creation, the flood and the patriarchs; Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy tell of slavery in Egypt, Sinai and the wilderness, with 613 commandments by rabbinic count. Jewish tradition teaches that God gave it to Moses. Most scholars see it as woven from several sources over centuries and largely complete by about 400 BC. Synagogues read through a handwritten scroll every year. 'Torah' also means Jewish teaching as a whole.
Why it matters
It is the foundation of Judaism, opens the Christian Old Testament, and the Quran retells many of its stories, making it a scriptural root for over half of humanity.
Sources and history
The Dead Sea Scrolls (c. 250 BC–AD 70) hold the oldest substantial copies; the Ketef Hinnom silver amulets (c. 600 BC) quote the priestly blessing from Numbers.
Questions and debates
The classic four-source theory (J, E, D, P) is now heavily revised; scholars debate how much predates the exile and how to read its history.
Connections (12)
▸Epic of Gilgamesh parallels the flood story in The Torah (Five Books of Moses)Mostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Tablet 11 of Gilgamesh tells of Utnapishtim, warned by a god to build a boat, take animals aboard and survive a world-drowning flood; the boat lands on a mountain and he releases birds to find dry land. Genesis tells Noah's story in the same sequence, but one just God replaces quarreling gods.
When and where
The flood tablet came from Ashurbanipal's library at Nineveh; George Smith of the British Museum announced the match in London in 1872.
How do we know?
Close, detailed parallels: the dove and raven, the mountain landing and the sacrifice afterwards. Older Mesopotamian flood stories, like Atrahasis (c. 1700 BC), show the tradition predates Genesis.
Questions and debates
Whether Genesis borrowed directly or both drew on shared Near Eastern tradition, perhaps during the exile, and whether a real ancient flood lies behind them.
▸Enuma Elish, the Babylonian creation epic is often compared with Genesis in The Torah (Five Books of Moses)Mostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Both open with dark, watery chaos, then create sky and earth, the heavenly lights and finally humans. Genesis even calls the deep tehom, a word related to Tiamat. But in Genesis one God creates by word alone, without battle, and humans bear God's image rather than serving as the gods' laborers.
When and where
Tablets found at Nineveh in the 1840s–50s; George Smith published them in 1876. The comparison fueled Germany's 'Babel and Bible' controversy of 1902–05.
How do we know?
The shared sequence and the Tiamat–tehom word link are widely noted. Many scholars think Genesis 1 was written during or after the exile, partly as a reply to Babylonian myth.
Questions and debates
Some scholars find the parallels loose and Canaanite myths a closer source; whether Genesis 1 deliberately rebuts Enuma Elish is debated.
▸Moses is traditionally the author of The Torah (Five Books of Moses)Faith & scripture
The connection
Jewish and Christian tradition long held that Moses wrote the five books as God dictated, except perhaps the final verses describing his death. Orthodox Judaism still teaches this, which is why the Torah is called 'the Five Books of Moses'.
When and where
The attribution appears in later biblical books, the New Testament ('the law of Moses') and the Talmud, compiled around AD 500.
How do we know?
Faith tradition; the Torah never says Moses wrote all five books, though Deuteronomy says he wrote down 'this law'. From the 1600s Spinoza and others noted anachronisms; most scholars now see multiple authors.
Questions and debates
How much, if anything, traces back to a historical Moses, and how believers reconcile divine origin with critical scholarship, remain open questions.
▸The Exodus from Egypt is narrated in The Torah (Five Books of Moses)Historical record
The connection
The Exodus story fills the Book of Exodus, the Torah's second book, and runs on through Numbers and Deuteronomy, which recount the wilderness years. It is the Torah's central drama, linking the promises of Genesis to the law given at Sinai.
When and where
Written down in Israel and Judah, probably between about 900 and 400 BC by scholarly estimates; tradition credits Moses.
Historical evidence
The text itself: the Exodus is told and retold across the Torah and recalled in prayers and the Passover Haggadah.
Questions and debates
Which parts are the oldest layers, and whether the Song of the Sea (Exodus 15), often dated early, preserves memory of real events.
▸Babylonian exile and fall of the First Temple spurred compilation of The Torah (Five Books of Moses)Debated by scholars
The connection
Cut off from Temple and land, exiled priests and scribes had strong reason to collect and edit Israel's traditions. Many scholars think much of the Torah was compiled during or soon after the exile, as a portable homeland: law, history and identity that did not depend on a king or a building.
When and where
Babylon and Persian-ruled Jerusalem, c. 586–400 BC; the Bible credits Ezra the scribe with publicly reading 'the book of the law of Moses' around 450 BC.
How do we know?
Inferred from the text: themes of exile, Babylonian parallels and late language in parts of the Torah. No manuscript survives from this period.
Questions and debates
How much was written before the exile, perhaps under King Josiah, and how much after; some scholars put final edits in the Persian or even Hellenistic period.
▸The Torah (Five Books of Moses) became the constitution of Second Temple JudaismMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Under Persian rule, the Torah became the governing law of the Judean community. The book of Nehemiah describes Ezra reading 'the book of the law of Moses' aloud to the people assembled in Jerusalem, who pledged to keep it. From then on, Temple worship, courts and daily life were measured against the five books.
When and where
Jerusalem, 400s BC (Ezra's exact date is debated), under the scribe Ezra and the governor Nehemiah, both acting with Persian royal backing.
How do we know?
Nehemiah 8 and Ezra 7 describe it; the Samaritans' shared Torah, later Second Temple writings and the Dead Sea Scrolls all treat the five books as authoritative.
Questions and debates
Whether Persia formally authorized the Torah as local law, and exactly when the Torah reached its final form, are debated.
▸Mishnah and Talmud interprets The Torah (Five Books of Moses)Historical record
The connection
The rabbis taught that the written Torah came with an Oral Torah explaining it, and the Mishnah and Talmud work this out. The Torah says not to work on the Sabbath; the Mishnah lists 39 categories of forbidden work, and the Talmud debates case after case. The Talmud ties many rules to Torah verses; others it marks as rabbinic decrees.
When and where
Rabbinic academies in Galilee and Babylonia, c. AD 200–500, building on interpretation by Second Temple sages such as Hillel and Shammai.
Historical evidence
The Talmud constantly cites Torah verses to ground rulings, and the Mishnah's tractate Avot traces an unbroken chain of teachers back to Moses at Sinai.
Questions and debates
Tradition holds the Oral Torah was given to Moses; historians see it developing over centuries. How much of it predates AD 70 is debated.
▸New Testament builds on The Torah (Five Books of Moses)Historical record
The connection
The New Testament quotes and echoes the Hebrew Bible hundreds of times, including the Torah's laws and stories. Its writers present Jesus as fulfilling them: Matthew shows him as a new Moses teaching on a mountain, and Paul reinterprets Abraham and the Law. Jesus names loving God and loving one's neighbor, both Torah commands, as the greatest commandments.
When and where
Written c. AD 50–120 by Jewish and Gentile Christians around the eastern Mediterranean, who mostly read the Torah in Greek translation, the Septuagint.
Historical evidence
Explicit quotations, often from the Septuagint, introduced with phrases like 'as it is written'; scholars count roughly 300 direct quotations of the Hebrew Bible, though counts vary.
Questions and debates
Which Torah laws, such as circumcision and food rules, still applied to Gentile converts was hotly disputed among early Christians, as Acts and Paul's letters show.
▸The Quran tells many stories also found in The Torah (Five Books of Moses)Historical record
The connection
The Quran tells many stories also found in the Torah: Adam, Noah's flood, Abraham, Joseph and his brothers, Moses and Pharaoh. It usually tells them briefly, as if listeners already knew them, and draws moral lessons. Muslims believe the Quran restates the original message given to Moses, which they hold was later altered.
When and where
Arabia, 610–632, where Jewish tribes lived in Medina and other oases and biblical stories were known among Arabs.
Historical evidence
Comparing the texts: the Quran names the Torah (Tawrat) 18 times and shares many biblical plots, sometimes with details found in Jewish oral tradition (Midrash) rather than the Bible.
Questions and debates
Muslims hold the parallels come from the same divine source; historians debate how biblical and Jewish lore reached Arabia, whether through Jews, Christians or oral storytellers.
▸Dead Sea Scrolls include the oldest surviving manuscripts of The Torah (Five Books of Moses)Historical record
The connection
Before 1947, the oldest complete Hebrew Bibles dated from about AD 930–1010. The caves held dozens of Torah manuscripts, including about 30 of Deuteronomy, roughly a thousand years older. Most closely match the later standard (Masoretic) text, while some follow versions closer to the Greek Septuagint or the Samaritan Torah.
When and where
The Qumran caves; copied about 250 BC–AD 68. The oldest Torah fragments, such as an Exodus–Leviticus scroll from Cave 4, date to around 250 BC.
Historical evidence
Handwriting and radiocarbon dating of the scrolls, compared word by word with the medieval Aleppo Codex and Leningrad Codex.
Questions and debates
Tiny silver amulets from Ketef Hinnom, about 600 BC, quote the Priestly Blessing of Numbers 6, an older trace but not a manuscript. How varied texts narrowed to one standard is debated.
▸Darwin's On the Origin of Species challenged literal readings of The Torah (Five Books of Moses)Historical record
The connection
Genesis, the Torah's first book, describes God creating the world in six days and humans as a special creation. Darwin's theory implied a far older Earth and humans descended from earlier species. Jews and Christians responded differently: reading Genesis as allegory, seeing evolution as God's method, or rejecting evolution as contrary to scripture.
When and where
Britain and America from 1859; responses ranged from rabbis and clergy embracing evolution to the 1925 Scopes trial in Tennessee and later creationist movements.
Historical evidence
Sermons, rabbinic writings, church statements and court records document the debate; Gallup polls still track Americans' views on human origins.
Questions and debates
How literally Genesis was ever meant is debated: early interpreters such as Philo and Augustine already read parts of it allegorically.
▸Historical-critical Bible scholarship questioned Moses' authorship of The Torah (Five Books of Moses)Historical record
The connection
Tradition holds that Moses wrote the Torah as God revealed it. Critics noticed doublets such as two creation stories, different names for God, and Moses' own death recorded in Deuteronomy. Wellhausen's documentary hypothesis (1878) proposed four sources, J, E, D and P, woven together by about the 500s–400s BC.
When and where
German universities in the 1800s, from Wilhelm de Wette's work on Deuteronomy (1805) to Julius Wellhausen's Prolegomena (1878).
Historical evidence
The textual patterns are visible to any careful reader; the explanation is debated. Orthodox Jews and many Christians hold Mosaic authorship as a matter of faith.
Questions and debates
Many scholars now prefer models of fragments or later supplements over Wellhausen's four documents; the dating of the sources, especially J and E, is contested.