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Discussion
The Word
Torah
WHAT IS TORAH?
Introduction: The Word Torah
What is meant by the word, 'Torah?' The word Torah can mean a number of different things. And in addition, there are a number of different words we use to describe Torah. Let's take a moment to clarify the different terms used to describe Torah, and related sacred texts.
- How are the words Humash and Pentateuch related?
- How is the Torah divided?
- What is the difference between Torah and Tanach?
- Why do Jews not use the term 'Old Testament?
- What is the Oral Torah?
Torah
The word Torah comes from a root that means teaching, (like the
Hebrew word: Morah - or Moreh) or instruction, as in the verse,
(Ex. 24:12). In the Torah itself, the word appears 52 times. It
can indicate 'law,' (as in Torat haz'vahim..., the law (Torah)
of the sacrifices Lev. 6:7), and it was this meaning that was
conveyed when it was translated as nomos in Greek and lex in Latin.
The different instances when the Pentateuch speaks of a written Torah refer to a variety of different documents: the Covenant Code in Ex. 24:12; general instructions in Deut. 17: 18. Scholars disagree whether the passage 'Write down this Torah...' (Deut. 31:9) refers to portions of Deuteronomy that precede it, or the poem that follows (the Torah itself and even the book of Deuteronomy as we now know them not yet being in existence).
The root of the Hebrew word for Torah is 'to shoot,' like an arrow. Using last week's theme, we could say the Torah is a 'one-way' arrow sign, that indicates the 'way to go.' Similarly, the word for Jewish law, 'Halacha,' comes from the root, to walk, or to go.
The Torah (usually with the definite article- the) refers in its most basic sense to the five books of Moses or to the handwritten parchment scroll (the topic of next week's class).
