Introduction to the Torah
A wide array of literature from the ancient Near East provides information that is helpful for interpreting the Pentateuch . Ancient Near Eastern mythology reflects ideas about creation . Though ancient texts provide accounts of creation from Mesopotamia and Egypt and in the process provide insight into the creator deities and their roles ( which are far different from what we find in the Bible ), they also provide important information concerning how the ancients thought about the cosmos ( which is often very similar to what we find in the Bible ).
The patriarchal narratives can be read against the background of family archives from the ancient Near East that explain customs and legal traditions that are unlike our modern traditions in many ways . The religious practices and beliefs of the patriarchs can be investigated in comparison to the ancient world . Though these practices and beliefs were rooted in the ancient world , God was also gradually drawing them out of their familiar ways of thinking . At the same time , we would be mistaken to think that Abraham ’ s theology was the same as ours .
Ritual descriptions can be illuminated by ritual texts available in wide variety . Covenant documents in the Pentateuch can be read in light of treaties between countries . Laws can be compared to a variety of law collections dating from the second millennium BC . Such comparison can not only focus on the form or content of the individual laws but , more important , it can expand to a study of the source of law and the literary functions of law collections . How did people in the ancient world think about such collections of laws ? These collections certainly did not have the same role as our legislative literature does today . All of these studies show us that God communicated to Israel within the cultural context of their world .
Historical and archaeological studies can provide background information to help understand the situation in Canaan during the patriarchal period and try to resolve basic questions such as the historical setting of Israel ’ s slavery in Egypt and the date of the exodus . Of particular importance are all of the archaeological studies trying to bring further understanding to the Egyptian backdrop of these events .
Sociological studies can comment on the concept of sacred space and the variety of institutions that existed in a society to manage sacred space — from priests to sanctuaries to rituals . Additional studies in religion also help us understand some of the ways that God called the people of Israel to be distinct from the people around them . As we learn about the ancient perception of deity and the way that perception is reflected in ancient Near Eastern ideas about pantheons , images , divination and magic , we can understand more clearly some of what Israel was to guard against .
What eventually is included in the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy identifies Moses as the authority figure from whom the material derives , and there is no reason to doubt the centrality of his role . At the same time , communication in the ancient world was primarily oral , since these were hearing-dominant cultures . Writing was known and conducted largely by the specialists ( scribes ), but scribes primarily produced documents rather than what we call books . The scribes themselves were not authors ; they preserved the words of authority figures such as Moses . We don ’ t know when scribal archives of this sort of document would have been compiled into the books as we know them today . ◆