In this new series called Scripture Connections, author and professor J. Daniel Hays introduces the Pentateuch and draws connections to the rest of the Old Testament, to the gospel, and to life.
Hays, who authored one of my favorite books, first introduces the main themes of the Pentateuch and then surveys each of the five books in the Pentateuch. While the Bible never uses the term Pentateuch, it comes from Greek meaning a five-scroll or five-book collection (pente + teuchos). The bible refers to these books as the “law of Moses” (in English) and the “torah of Moses” in Hebrew. The idea of teaching or instruction gives a more accurate and nuanced understanding of what torah would have meant rather than our English word “law.”
They are five books, technically, but these books of Moses might be better described as “one book with five interrelated sections” (4). A “coherent and generally chronological chronological narrative story” stretches across these five books of Moses consisting of different genres and written to a specific people in a specific culture at a specific span of time within history (4). Hays understands Moses as an important character but that God is the central character throughout these five books.
Hays then surveys the larger divisions of the Pentateuch, the authorship, and the dating of when the Pentateuch was written. He rehearses varying approaches to who wrote the Pentateuch, and ends by reminding us that “the heart of the evangelical approach to the composition of the Pentateuch is the belief that God himself is the ultimate primary author who inspired Moses, incorporating the skills, experiences, and education of Moses to produce” these five books (15).
Hays offers sidebars throughout his book. One sidebar covers the topic of Moses and writing in ancient Egypt. The viable options for the date of when Moses lived fall within the New Kingdom Period of Egyptian history.
Overall Egyptian literacy levels were low, but the sons of wealthier families, specifically those of the pharaoh, were educated in reading and writing. During this time in Egypt’s history massive amounts of documents were written, many which have survived. Egypt was also extensively involved in international affairs, bringing about influences in literature and ideas.
Moses would have been taught (or at least exposed to) three of the ANE writing systems, Egyptian hieroglyphics, Mesopotamian cuneiform, and the up-and-coming “Canaanite Linear script, the forerunner of the Phoenician alphabet” (17). With the raising up of Moses, God would make himself known through texts that could be written and passed on to future generations.
Each book begins with a verse and an outline of that book’s structure. Then he summarizes authorship and date for that particular book, usually when Moses might have written it. Afterwards he presents the message of the book, summarizing it according to the sections of his outline. Hays agrees that Days 1–3 are set in parallel to Days 4–6. God establishes domains on the first three days of creation, and then fills those domains and gives functions to the entities (the sun, moon, and stars, the fish, birds, animals, and mankind) on the second three days. He looks at what it means to be created in the “image of God” as well as how to read Genesis 1–2 in relation to ANE literature and science.
Hays makes scriptural connections throughout his summaries. For example, the story of Noah has a number of parallels with the creation story. In Genesis 1 God saw that things were “very good,” but here they are “bad” (6:5). God separated the waters above from the waters below in 1:6–7, but here the waters collapse upon themselves (7:11), resulting in a massive flood. Genesis 8:1 reintroduces us to God’s ruah (Spirit, spirit, or wind) as we saw back in 1:2. There is a re-creation occurring with the receding of the flood waters.
Under Biblical Connections Hays gives a table showing some of the connections between Genesis 1–2 and Revelation 19–22. As well, that all the nations would be blessed through Abraham is brought up by Paul in Galatians 3 as having been fulfilled through Jesus. Genesis 15:6 is a foundational text for the doctrine of justification by faith, and both of these texts have ties to God’s promise of Abraham’s “seed” (offspring or descendants), which is fulfilled in Jesus, the Seed, and those who have faith in him.
Moving away from Genesis, Numbers teaches us aspects of the gospel through the theme of God’s presence. God desires to be with us and us with him, but he cannot due to our sin. Christ becomes the answer to our permanent removal of sin since he offers himself as a one-time sacrifice. Christ is the ultimate revelation of God, and the one who makes us holy so that we can come before God. Jesus demands exclusivity of worship, for it is Jesus who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6). Numbers teaches us that we ought to heed God’s commands to obey him. We should not let ourselves fall into consistent deliberate sins lest we risk our “removal from active participation in the unfolding plans of God” (161).
The Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 27 carries eschatological connotations with it as it echoes through the Prophets and into the Gospels. Jesus in Luke 4:18–19 quotes most of Isaiah 61:1–2, which uses working from Leviticus 25. Hays observes, “Thus, when Jesus cites this text at the inauguration of his public ministry in Luke 4:18–19 he is implying some type of eschatological fulfillment (through his ministry) for the Year of Jubilee (‘the year of the Lord’s favor’)” (128).
Hays ends with an appendix on How to Interpret and Apply the Old Testament Law. This includes understanding the covenantal context of the laws, identifying what a law meant to the biblical audience, determining the differences between that audience then and us today, see how that law matches New Testament teaching, and then apply the universal principle to our lives today. Hays offers an examples from Leviticus 5:2.
Recommended?
There is no series preface, so I’m not sure what the editors’ explicit aim is with this series. In my opinion, this would be a good survey text for a theological college or a Bible college. This is short and to the point, and it introduces students to a book’s larger connective webbing with the rest of the Bible. That being said, I do think those parts could have been longer.
Given that this isn’t a technical book or commentary, and since it is in a series called “Scripture Connections,” a little more could have been said to help students think through these issues and how to connect them to more of Scripture, the gospel, and their lives. The interactive questions are very good in getting students and readers to go deeper into the text and to study it for themselves. Each chapter comes with excellent recommended resources. This series provides helpful introductions for those are aren’t quite ready yet for the likes of Walton and Hill’s A Survey of the Old Testament.
J. Daniel Hays is Senior Professor of Old Testament at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Other reviews in this series:
- Old Testament Narrative Books — Gary Schnittjer (upcoming)
Lagniappe
- Series: Scripture Connections
- Author: J. Daniel Hays
- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: B&H Academic (February 1, 2024)
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Review Disclosure: I received this book free from B&H Academic. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html.
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