Moses and the Books of the Pentateuch

The question of the authorship and composition of the Five Books of the Torah is, of course, of paramount significance for the religion of Judaism, and has remained an unresolved challenge even for those who study the Bible from the perspective of history and literature. Rabbinic tradition has read Deuteronomy 31:24, “When Moses had put down in writing the words of this Teaching to the very end,” as saying that Moses “wrote” all five books. However, except for the Book of Deuteronomy, the circumstances under which he wrote the other books are not given. Thus, while all of the actual commandments are prophetically communicated to Moses (“speak to the children of Israel and say to them”), the Book of Deuteronomy consists mainly of the words of Moses spoken and written before his death on the plains of Moab. The “narrator” of the life and career of Moses in the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers is presumed by tradition to be Moses himself, although written in the third person. I will attempt to show that the Book of Genesis was written by Moses at particular points in his mission when he realized that there was a vital need for information about the “God of the Patriarchs” and the rationale of the Shabbat. I wish to propose a theory based upon various hints in the text and upon heretofore-neglected attention to what the man Moses (Num. 12:13) might have been thinking as he proceeded on his mission.

In the fragmented account of the Revelation at Sinai, its immediate before and after, we read the following that takes place after the hearing of the Ten Commandments but before Moses ascends the mount for his first protracted stay: “And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances (mishpatim) and all the people answered with one voice, ‘We will do all that the Lord has spoken’” (Ex. 24:3). “And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord and he rose up early and . . .” (Ex. 24:4).¹ “And he took the Book of the Covenant (sefer ha-brit) and read in the hearing of the people and they said, ‘All that the Lord has spoken we will do and we will hearken’ (na’aseh v’nishmah)” (Ex. 24:7).

What is this “Book of the Covenant”? Who composed it and what did it contain? It might seem that this “Book” contained the material that Moses had just “told” the people and subsequently “wrote” (24:4). But if so, why read it to them, given that they had already promised “to obey” (24:3)? We can therefore infer that this Book of the Covenant contained more than an account of what had just been experienced. This is supported by the fact that this time the response of the people is more fulsome and robust — instead of the formal na’aseh, “we will do,” they replied na’aseh v’nishmah, “we will do and hearken,” which includes a sense of understanding. Rashi explains that the “Book of the Covenant” was an already existing book, namely, the first part of the Torah itself (from “in the beginning” until the giving of the Torah).²

I agree in principle with the approach referenced by Rashi that this was not some new work. In my view, however, this sefer was to become the core of the Book of Exodus, which would later grow into the Torah. However, at that time it was only an account of Israel’s experience in Egypt, perhaps beginning with “these are the names” (Ex. 1:1), kept by Moses ever since he had accepted his mission. It was called sefer ha-brit because as of that time the covenant was the goal and climax of Israel’s entire servitude and liberation from Egypt, as they had been promised: “And I will take you unto Me for a nation and I will be unto you for God” (Ex. 6:7).

So much for the centrality of “covenant.” But why translate the word sefer as “book,” a term which brings to a modern mind the image of a set of pages, bound at one end with hard covers, clearly out of place in the days of Moses?³ What did this sefer ha-brit look like? Etymologically the root s-p-r is associated with two basic usages: first, “to count,” as in “And you shall count (usfartem) seven weeks” (Deut. 16:7); secondly, “to tell or relate” (in a story or narrative form), as in “the heavens relate (msaprim) the glory of God” (Ps. 19:2). These two uses mirror the path taken by the origins of writing itself: signs were marked on a variety of available surfaces to record numbers of items or names in sequential order. The term sefer would also be used to denote documents where precise wording and coherence were vital, like contracts, treaties, bills of divorce, and amulets.⁴ No less important was the need to preserve memories of important events, epic poems, and mythologies. Each of these usages led to the development of a distinct literary formulaic style. Thus, the referent of Exodus 24:7 is called sefer because it contained the precise wording of the ten d’varim, the conditions, of the covenant (brit).⁵

The existence of such an unfinished “book,” open to new entries, is supported by the following: God’s command to Moses after the battle with Amalek, “write this for a memorial in the book” (Ex. 17:14); and Moses’ cry of frustration to God, “if not, blot me out of your book which you have written” (Ex. 32:7). Moses’ attribution of the writing of the book to God (“you have written”) may be understood as suggesting that the book was really mainly about the deeds of God; however, it may also be that Moses is imitating God’s sardonic style when He said to Moses, “your people have sinned” (Ex. 32:7).

The above analysis suggests that the word sefer, unlike its English counterpart “book,” does not describe how the writing looks (scroll or codex), but rather denotes the nature of the writing and how it is arranged. Thus, the sefer ha-brit of Exodus 24:7 tells us that it contains important documents, mainly the covenant between God and Israel, and that the material is arranged in the formal style in which covenants and treaties were then recorded.

This explication of the term sefer is clearly exemplified in Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Torah, which contains a self-referential disclosure of having deliberately been composed as a sefer: “And it came to pass that Moses had made an end to writing the words of this Torah in a book (sefer) until they were finished” (Deut. 31:24). Moreover, the text characterizes its contents as a “covenant.”⁶ “These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded to Moses to make with children of Israel in the land of Moab besides the covenant which He made with them in Horeb” (Deut. 28:69). I would suggest that by “these are the words . . .” the text is referring to the entire Book of Deuteronomy, although the actual account of the brit Moab seems to occupy only the later chapters (Deut. 29:9). The declarative and expository language of the opening chapters changes to a more threatening and punitive tone as early as Deuteronomy 11:14, “And it shall be if you do not listen . . .” A comparative study of the two covenants, brit Sinai and brit Moab, has shown that notwithstanding their different settings and emphases, they follow the same format for biblical-era covenants: proposals by God, terms and conditions of the covenant, actualization, curses and blessings.⁷

For Moses, however, the broader purpose of Deuteronomy, as reflected in his farewell addresses at the beginning of the book, was to explain to the new generation why it took forty years to get to this point and to provide them with an understanding of their covenantal relationship to God more suited to their imminent settlement in the Promised Land.⁸

What follows are some instances of the Moses sefer style in Deuteronomy. Moses’ very concise and coherent account of the epiphany at Sinai (Deut. 5:1-30), as compared to the scattered and piecemeal description in Exodus (Ex. 19, 24, 32), where Moses is more like a reporter writing as the events unfold. The codes, lists of commandments, statutes, and ordinances in Deuteronomy (Deut. 15, 16, 21-25) are better organized topically than those in Exodus-Leviticus, because in the former the material had already been given, allowing Moses the opportunity to write in his own style.⁹ Among the laws governing a king in Israel: “He shall write himself a copy (mishnah) of this Torah in a book (b’sefer)” (Deut. 17:18). There are also references to itself as a sefer: “that are written in this sefer” (Deut. 28:58, 29:19). The most impressive sign of the sefer style, unique to Deuteronomy, is its most elaborate superscription, giving, in precise (almost excessive) detail, the time, place, authorship, and condition of what follows: “These are the words which Moses spoke unto all Israel on the side of the Jordan in the wilderness in the Arava opposite Suph between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hatzerot and Dizhav. It is an eleven day journey from Horeb unto Kadesh Barneah by way of Mount Seir. And it came to pass in the fortieth year in the eleventh month on the first day of the month that Moses . . .” (Deut. 1:1-3). Truly a sefer!

I have shown that the term sefer is uniquely associated with Moses, so that its occurrence in the Books of Exodus and Genesis is a marker of Mosaic authorship. Let us return to the sefer ha-brit of Exodus 24:7. We have proposed that this was a written record of events by Moses as they occurred. When he is summoned to ascend the mount for the second time, God, as it were, confirms Moses’ literary efforts: “and the Lord said unto Moses, write you these words, for after the tenor of these words have I made a covenant with you and Israel” (Ex. 34:27). Moses continues to receive revelations of additional commandments and responses to his requests. However, once the command to build a Tabernacle is received and recorded (Ex. 25:11), Moses proceeds to tell us in sefer style how the people responded, the craftsmen involved, the appearance and measurements of each item of furniture, and the dress of the priests, ending with a final accounting of the donations. This material fills the sefer which becomes known as the Book of Exodus.

Accordingly, Exodus is an outgrowth of sefer ha-brit, even as Moses’ Deuteronomy is an outgrowth of his farewell addresses. More importantly, we are suggesting that the very idea of putting into writing the teachings that he received from God and the events in which he had participated was that of Moses.

Leviticus

Leviticus is a continuation of Exodus, both in terms of its being written by Moses as he received the word of God and in terms of its contents, which mainly pertain to the priesthood who are in charge of the Tabernacle. The Rabbis called this work torat kohanim (Laws of the Priests), as the priests presided not only over laws that applied to them personally but also over laws of the sacrificial offerings, ritual purity, and the dietary laws. The last chapters contain the “curses and blessings” of brit Sinai. So while the beginning of the book takes note of the change in provenance (the voice of God now comes forth from the Tent of Meeting), the basic themes remain the same: Tabernacle and covenant. The book ends with the following: “these are the commands which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai” (Lev. 27:34). This connects the voice heard in the Tent of Meeting to the voice heard at Sinai.

Numbers

Numbers certainly qualifies to be called a sefer, as its early chapters consist of lists of names and numbers. In addition, the time and place are clearly noted: “And the Lord said to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting on the first day of the second month in the second year after they came out of the Land of Egypt” (Num. 1:1).

After the census there follow additional laws pertaining to the Tabernacle service, as well as the fateful story of the spies (Num. 13) and the rebellion of Korach (Num. 16). Numbers chapter twenty starts in a quite unexceptional manner: “And the children of Israel . . . came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month and the people . . .” However, it does not state the first month of what year! Soon the reader discovers that the text is referring to the first month of the fortieth and final year of the Israelites’ stay in the wilderness. This means that for the last thirty-eight years of Israel’s stay in the Sinai Peninsula, we have no record of their activities nor of Moses.

However, be that as it may, in the remaining sixteen chapters of Numbers there are some traces and evidence of the writing style of Moses. In typical sefer style, the text, in describing in almost pedantic detail the boundaries of Moab and Ammon in the wilderness of Zin, refers to a “book (sefer) of the Wars of the Lord” (Num. 21:14) — evidently someone had been keeping a record of Israel’s military encounters, indicating that the keeping of written records at that time was not unusual. The fascinating story of Balak and Balaam takes up three chapters, including the incantations of Balaam in word-for-word detail, including those of Balaam’s donkey (Num. 22-24).¹⁰ How did Moses get this information, since there is no mention of a divine revelation? TB Baba Batra 14b, in listing the authors of the various biblical books, makes the following comment: “Moses wrote his book (sifro) and wrote the portion of Balaam.” This seems to be saying that at first the Book of Numbers consisted of the basic account by Moses as the events occurred, and it remained open for additional material such as the story of Balaam, which was inserted later. If this was the method of literary composition, then just as it allowed for adding material, so it would also allow for the elimination of material. Perhaps, in the final redaction by Moses, it was decided that the events of the intervening thirty-eight years were not significant in the light of posterity, and those sections were summarily eliminated.

Towards the end of the book there is the chapter dealing with the stations of the Israelites as they journeyed in the wilderness, which begins with the following complex passage: “These (what has gone before) are the stations of the children of Israel by which they went forth out of the Land of Egypt, even by their hosts, by the hand of Moses and Aaron. And Moses wrote their goings forth, station by station (motza’eihem lemasa’eihem) by the command of the Lord. And these (what is to come) are their stations at their going forth (masa’eihem lemotza’eihem)” (Num. 33:1-2). The text distinguishes between the information received until now (“these are,” Num. 33:1) and that which we are about to receive (“and these,” Num. 33:2). The difference is whether the account is written with the name of the station mentioned along with emphasis on what occurred at these places, whereas what follows will be a simple listing of the names of the stations from the time they left Egypt.¹¹

We learn from the above that, as we have suggested, Moses writes down the commands of the Lord as he receives them. In addition, the distinction made by the text constitutes a recognition that the serial listing of items, a signature feature of sefer style, has a special value.

Genesis

It is strange that the Book of Genesis has no superscription whatsoever, not even to state that this is the word of God. It is even stranger yet that this writing was chosen as the opening chapter of the Torah, which ostensibly is the history of Israel that begins with Abraham. Moreover, why touch upon a subject about which even science is in doubt?

The book easily divides into the following main sections: the story of Creation, the story of the Flood, serial lists of generations and nations, and stories of the Patriarchs concluding with the Joseph story that links Canaan to Egypt.

I wish to suggest that this book was written by Moses at his own initiative for two particular reasons. One involved Moses’ fear that the Israelites were ignorant of their history. It should be remembered that at the time Moses received the call at the burning bush, his sense of identity as an Israelite was limited to what his mother Yocheved had been able to teach him in their short time together (Ex. 2:7-10). At that first encounter with the Divine, God introduces Himself as “the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” and refers to Himself thusly five times. This hits Moses extremely hard, as his own knowledge of his ancestors was rather sparse. So what significance could news that the God of their ancestors was about to redeem them have on the Israelites if they are ignorant of their history? Therefore, when Moses and Aaron meet to discuss their mission, they realize that it may be as difficult to convince the Israelites to follow them into the wilderness as it will be to convince Pharaoh to let them go. It was then that Moses, with the help of Aaron, begins to put together the traditions about the patriarchs that had come down orally and those found in tribal scrolls brought from Canaan. This work may have started in typical sefer style with “These are the generations of Shem” (Gen. 11:10), and continued with the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, including the Joseph story, which brings the Israelites to Egypt. Aaron and his fellow Levites would then circulate these stories of the Patriarchs among the enslaved Israelites so that they may get to know the God of their ancestors and perceive their liberation as a fulfillment of the brit made with the Patriarchs.

If, as I suggest, Moses is indeed the author of Genesis 11-50, then to his reputation as prophet, man of God, and teacher par excellence, we must add poet and writer with deep psychological insight and literary skills. This leaves us with the most fascinating question of all: how can we account for Genesis 1-11?

My candidate is again Moses, and my reasons are both literary and circumstantial. First, a clear footprint of Moses is to be found in Genesis 5:1, the telltale word sefer: “This is the book (sefer) of the generations of Adam.” My second reason is an empathetic understanding of Moses’ intellectual baggage that is set into motion by a particular difficulty he encounters in conveying to the people the sense in which the seventh day is a “Shabbat (day of rest) unto the Lord” (Ex. 16:23). According to the text, the people first learned of the Shabbat as a holy day only incidentally in connection with the gathering of the manna (Ex. 16), and even then it is not clear whether what is said there in those unusual circumstances about the Shabbat applies elsewhere as well.¹²

The first actual command to the Israelites to refrain from work on the seventh day comes as the fourth of the Ten Commandments: “Remember the Shabbat day to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8). This seems to suggest that the seventh day was somehow known as a day of rest, but in purely secular terms, which would explain the confusion we find in chapter 16. It also gives credence to the rabbinic tradition that Moses, seeing the suffering of the Israelite slaves who had no day of rest, told Pharaoh, “One who has a slave, if he does not rest one day a week, he will die! While your slaves, if you don’t allow them rest one day a week, they will die!” and that Pharaoh agreed, whereupon “Moses went and established the Sabbath day for them to rest” (Shemot Rabbah 1:28). This would mean that for a very long time the seventh day was a day free of forced labor for the Israelites, prompting Moses, at Marah, to incorporate it as one of the laws governing life in the wilderness (Ex. 15:25).

We continue with the fourth commandment: “Six days shall you labor and do all your work but the seventh day is a Shabbat unto the Lord your God, in it you shall do no manner of work . . . for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and that is in them and rested on the seventh day wherefore the Lord blessed the Shabbat day and hallowed it” (Ex. 20:9-11). So now we know that God rested on the seventh day because He completed His work of creation. But why should that obligate the people of Israel to refrain from all manner of work on that day? I believe that at this point Moses begins to realize that the Shabbat can be truly appreciated only when God’s work of creation is known in all of its magnitude, grandeur, and wisdom. In addition, Moses, from his youth, had been familiar with the mythological Creation and Flood stories of the Egyptians and Mesopotamians. He may have often wondered how Abraham’s “God of heaven and earth” (Gen. 24:3) relates to the natural world. And so were born the ideas for Genesis 1-11, wherein we learn that when God contemplated His creation — the position of the earth in the Milky Way and the plenitude and beauty of planet Earth — He pronounced it tov me’od (very good).

To summarize, it was Moses’ idea to put into writing the contents of God’s revelation and the events in which he was involved. He did so in the manner and style in which he was trained. This resulted in the Books of Exodus and Leviticus, and later in the Book of Numbers. In the course of his leadership, Moses saw the people’s need for more information about their forebears and their God, and so he wrote the Book of Genesis. Deuteronomy, of course, comes last, to which were added the full text of Moses’ blessing of the tribes and his epic poem Haazinu. The five books were then joined into one scroll, giving us the Sefer Torah.

Postscript

If, after the passage of three millennia, one can still marvel at the gradual unfolding of Being from the inanimate elements to life and to intelligent consciousness in reading the first chapter, and if we can still ponder the nature of man as implied in the complex metaphor of chapters 2-4, then no matter who was the author, he was surely inspired by “He who spoke and there was the world.”¹³

I wish to acknowledge the research assistance of my son, Prof. Moshe Halevi.