The Torah Mosaic

The Pentateuch lays an important literary and theological foundation for the rest of Scripture, so it’s important that readers correctly understand its intended message. While seeing the Pentateuch’s unity, many Western readers miss its complexity and thus an aspect of its meaning. In this book, Tracy McKenzie unfolds the complex process of organization, development, and composition of these five books, which was done in a literary world different from our own. He emphasizes the composite unity of the Pentateuch while guiding readers through its discrete literary units.

This accessible and concise introduction models close reading of the text, observing elements such as genre, innerbiblical exegesis, unifying language, and literary features. McKenzie shows that it is appropriate to appreciate the Pentateuch’s complexity while maintaining faith in its unified message and divine authority. Each chapter concludes with relevant interpretive, theological, and practical insights. The aim is to sharpen readers’ powers of interpretation and to expand their comprehension of the Pentateuch’s message and theology, which the author suggests concerns God’s future people under his king’s reign and authority.

This supplemental textbook will be useful to students in Old Testament courses and will also appeal to pastors and church leaders.

Author Biography

Tracy J. McKenzie (PhD, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; ThD, University of Göttingen) is professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, where he has taught since 2006. He is the author of various books, academic papers, essays, and reviews. His research interest concerns how textual relationships within the Old Testament contribute to an understanding of its composition and meaning.