Pentateuchs

A pentateuch is a term used to describe a collection of five related books of scripture in various faith traditions. The most well-known example is the Hebrew Bible section known as the Torah, also referred to as the Five Books of Moses. These five books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The term pentateuch comes from Greek words "pente," meaning five, and "teuchos," meaning book or scroll. This particular grouping of scripture was significant to various groups of people with a shared history. The shared history binded them through common religious texts. In Judaism, the Torah's collection of five books is considered bound by a common recited text.

Outside of Abrahamic religions, the texts of the Five Books of Moses have been studied by scholars of law and antiquity in an effort to reconstruct historical developments in the regions where they originated. Many scholars have noticed that the texts contain elements that illustrate relationships between communities that shared faith and knowledge.

The Books of the Five Books of Moses reveal customs, beliefs, and geographic locations of societies known to have been dominant in those regions during those times. Their arrangement suggests that these texts are distinct as separate collections whose common theme suggests a shared faith or common understanding of knowledge and religious systems they applied in life and practice. Despite considerations of both faith and culture, the texts found in such collections as scripture inform us about multiple communities that considered Abrahamitic religion central to their practices.