What the Bible says about Torah
(From Forerunner Commentary)
The translation of "law" is misleading. The word is torah, and in this context it does not mean a code of rules written in a book, like a book of law. That aspect is found in the word "commandments" or "statutes," which means written, in this case, on stone. The word is literally "engraved." "Law" is teaching or instruction, suggesting a relationship that exists because an instructor is teaching a pupil.
When God says, "they have despised the law," in reality they have rejected Him, the Instructor. In effect, He says, "The relationship has been broken and now you are breaking My commandments," showing that it is a cause and effect process. Just in case they missed the point, He illustrates what He meant from examples out of society.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Guard the Truth!Related Topics: Commandment | Commandments | God's Commandments | God's Law | Law | Law as Instruction | Law as Schoolmaster | Law as Teaching | Law as Teaching Vehicle | Torah
Jesus, using a common Jewish method of organizing the Scriptures (only the Old Testament at that time), breaks it down into three sections. Even today, Jews group them in these same sections: Law (Torah), Prophets (Nevi'im), and Psalms or Writings (Ketuvim). Thus, Hebrew Bibles are called Tanakh, a word made up by combining the three initial Hebrew letters of each major section of Scripture.
The section of the Prophets is itself divided into two major parts, the Former Prophets and the Latter Prophets. The Former Prophets are the historical books of Joshua, Judges, I & II Samuel, and I & II Kings. The Latter Prophets are the named prophets from Isaiah to Malachi (excluding Daniel, whose book is included in the Writings). The twelve works that comprise the Minor Prophets are a subset of these, which the Jews consider to be, not twelve little books, but one large book, the fourth of the Latter Prophets, balancing the four books of the Former Prophets (I & II Samuel are considered one book, as are I & II Kings). As such, the Minor Prophets were often written on one scroll.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Meet the Minor Prophets (Part One)
The speaker, Stephen, is most specifically alluding to Exodus 19:3, where
Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel."
See also Psalm 147:19, where the psalmist avers that God "declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel."
The living oracles in Acts refers specifically to the Ten Commandments, more broadly to the Torah, which were to be given "to us," to the church of God. God's Old Testament utterances are for us today.
Charles Whitaker
The Oracles of GodRelated Topics: God's Law | Judgments | Oracle | Statutes | Stephen, Example of | Ten Commandments | The Ten Commandments | Torah
Galatians 3:17 confirms that, when Paul was talking about the law, he was also talking about the entire Old Covenant. He uses "law" synonymously with "covenant."
The translators have difficulty deciding whether the "covenant" refers to the Mosaic covenant or the one made with Abraham. Most modern translations connect "covenant" to the one God made with Abraham. However, the more literal translations such as the King James version and Young's Literal Translation put the word "covenant" in the sentence so it refers to the Mosaic covenant. The Emphatic Diaglott translates it as, "Now this I affirm, that a covenant-engagement previously ratified by God, the Law, issued four hundred thirty years afterwards does not annul, so as to invalidate the promise." Thus, Paul viewed the law as the symbol and embodiment of the Old Covenant and used the terms "law" and covenant" synonymously.
This agrees with the way the covenant was sometimes referred to in the Old Testament. In II Chronicles 6:11, Solomon says, "And there I have put the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD which He made with the children of Israel." Only the two tables of stone upon which were written the Ten Commandments were in the ark (II Chronicles 5:10).
Moses writes, "So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone" (Deuteronomy 4:13; see Exodus 34:28). Even without this evidence, it is very clear that Paul refers to the two covenants, not just to what we would consider the law itself.
Further, notice how Paul uses the term "law" in Galatians 4:21-23. The births of Ishmael and Isaac are recorded in Genesis 16 and 21. Though this happened long before the Ten Commandments and the other laws were given through Moses, Paul refers to this portion of Scripture as the law! Obviously, Paul uses "law" to mean the entire Pentateuch or Torah (the first five books of the Bible), not just the Commandments. In Galatians 4:24, he specifically mentions the Old and New Covenants.
Earl L. Henn
What Was the Law 'Added Because of Transgressions'?Related Topics: Abrahamic Covenant | Ark of the Covenant | God's Law | Law | Law of God | Mosaic Covenant | New Covenant | Old Covenant | Pentateuch | Promises to Abraham | Tablets of Stone | Ten Commandments | The Ten Commandments | Torah
All of God's law is a teaching vehicle. The Hebrew word most frequently translated as "law" is torah, but torah more closely translates into the broader meaning of "instruction." Instruction spans a wide spectrum of information and methods of increasing understanding, including law but also principles, symbols, and examples from people's lives. For example, the way Jesus kept the Sabbath should be understood as torah by those determined to follow in His steps. The goal of this broad teaching approach is to reveal God and His plan to us as clearly as possible.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Wavesheaf OfferingRelated Topics: God's Law | Law | Law as Instruction | Law as Schoolmaster | Law as Standard of Judgment | Law as Teaching Vehicle | Law of God | Law, Purpose of | Torah
He is essentially asking, "Do you understand the instruction contained in the following episode drawn from Genesis?" Alternatively, "Do you comprehend what is in the law and its application to a New Covenant Christian?"
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Offerings of Leviticus (Part One): IntroductionRelated Topics: Commandments | Commands of God | Isaac and Ishmael | Ishmael and Isaac | Law | Law as Instruction | Law, Prophets, and Writings | New Covenant | Pentecost | Torah
The births of Ishmael and Isaac are recorded in Genesis 16 and 21. Though this happened long before the Ten Commandments and the other laws were given through Moses, Paul refers to this portion of Scripture as the law! Obviously, Paul uses "law" to mean the entire Pentateuch or Torah (the first five books of the Bible), not just the Commandments. In Galatians 4:24, he specifically mentions the Old and New Covenants.
Earl L. Henn
What Was the Law 'Added Because of Transgressions'?Related Topics: Commandments | Commands of God | Isaac and Ishmael | Ishmael and Isaac | Law | Law as Instruction | Law as Teaching | Law, Prophets, and Writings | New Covenant | Old Covenant | Pentateuch | Torah