Pentateuch

American  

[pen-tuh-took, -tyook] / ˈpɛn təˌtuk, -ˌtyuk /

noun

Chiefly Christianity.

1. Usually the Pentateuch the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

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Pentateuch British  

/ ˈpɛntəˌtjuːk /

noun

1. the first five books of the Old Testament regarded as a unity

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Other Word Forms

• Pentateuchal
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Pentateuch

First recorded in 1375–1425; from Late Latin Pentateuchus, from Late Greek pentáteuchos, from Greek penta- penta- + teûchos “tool, vessel” (in Late Greek: “scroll case book”)

Example Sentences

The Hebrew Bible comprises 24 books divided into three parts: the Pentateuch, the Prophets, and the Writings.

From BBC • Mar. 22, 2023

The Hebrew Bible contains 24 separate books organized into three parts — the Pentateuch, the Prophets and the Writings.

From Reuters • Feb. 15, 2023

At the time of Philo, the Jewish Bible consisted of the five books of Moses, known as the Pentateuch, the Prophets, and the later books that make up the Tanakh.

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

Leviticus 25:9–36, from the first five books of the Old Testament — the Torah in Judaism, Pentateuch in Christianity and Tawrat in Islam — offers perhaps the world's earliest written social justice and welfare document.

From Salon • Jun. 6, 2022

For instance, it is now generally conceded that Moses was not the author of the Pentateuch.

From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 11 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Miscellany by Ingersoll, Robert Green