Pentateuch

by Michael D. Guinan

The earliest Christians who came to follow Jesus were first Jews. They had studied and knew their Torah (Pentateuch) before they had come to know Jesus. In this book, we will, in a way, try to imitate them. We will study the Pentateuch as it is; we will let it speak on its own terms and try not to filter it too much at first through specifically Christian lenses. Far too often, those lenses, smeared with a Law versus Gospel brush, have impeded our vision rather than helped it. At times we will allude to New Testament texts, but we will save our discussion of Jesus and the Law until the end. Like the earliest Christians we will attempt to come to Jesus only after we have studied the Torah and have some idea of what it is all about. - Preface

183 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1990

Reviews

[Bill Dauster · Rating 5 out of 5]

And insightful 30,000-foot perspective on the Torah and the Book of Job

[Drew D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looked up best books for theology studies, and this came up on someones list. For the subject it covers, does a pretty job introducing the audience to many of the topics it relates to. I think it works as a great introduction for people not too familiar with the bible, I'd recommend if this interests you, I wasn't disappointed.

[Nathanial]

Book-by-book commentary on the Torah, from a Catholic perspective actively sympathetic to the original audience. Guinan excels at asking: who originally heard/read these texts? What did they take them to mean? Rather than applying his own, or Christocentric, interpretations, he identifies major themes--like covenant, election, and ethos--to ask how we are to live, how we are to understand ourselves, and how we are to relate with one another.

[John]

You should know about this!