Beginnings.
A life together.
Creation, promise, liberation, worship, and responsibility.
Meet five books that ask how a people can learn to live.
Torah is a Hebrew word meaning instruction, often translated law. Pentateuch names this collection of five books. Their stories, poems, family records, and laws belong together. Recognizing which kind of writing you are reading helps you understand it.
These books are foundational to Jewish and Christian Scripture. They are traditionally associated with Moses. Questions about their written development and later interpretation are explained on the individual pages, with care for their continuing Jewish significance.
Five books. An unfolding story.
Follow the collection in order, or begin with a question that interests you.
Genesis
God gives life to a good world and begins a promise through Abraham’s imperfect family that reaches toward all peoples.
5 min introductionExodus
God hears enslaved people, delivers Israel from Egypt, and calls them into covenant life in his presence.
5 min introductionLeviticus
Sacred rituals and everyday justice explore how a community can live in the presence of a holy God.
4 min introductionNumbers
A wilderness journey tests Israel’s trust, leadership, and shared hopes as a new generation prepares for life in the land.
5 min introductionDeuteronomy
Moses’ farewell speeches connect memory, love, law, and the responsibilities of a community preparing for a new beginning.
5 min introductionThe story continues.
The Torah closes before Israel crosses into Canaan.
Joshua takes up the next stage, carrying its promises and questions forward.