You may have heard about Adam and Eve, or watched “The Ten Commandments,” but where do these stories come from?
Paradise, plagues, and floods, oh my! The first five books of the Bible, a k a the Pentateuch, a k a the Torah, contain some pretty epic stories, but how should we read them? How can we find in them things that are relevant for our lives? In “Catholic Central: First 5 Books of the Bible,” Kai and Libby break down some of the themes in the stories in the Pentateuch while wearing some awesome wigs.
Diving Deeper
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Have you ever read the first five books of the Bible? If not, what is preventing you from picking these books up?
- Kai and Libby also mentioned the story of the Exodus and how God parted the Red Sea for His people when it seemed like all hope was lost. Reflect on the story of your own life, have there been times when God made a way when you hadn’t seen a way out of a difficult situation?
Activity
Some of the greatest stories in the Bible are in the Pentateuch, but so are some of the most difficult and confusing. Pick up a Catholic study Bible and choose a story to read with “Jesus goggles” on to think about how the Pentateuch relates to the whole of salvation history.
Reflection by Father Vince Kuna, C.S.C.
Read the first three readings from the Mass for the Easter Vigil: two come from Genesis and another from Exodus. They should engender a sense of God’s creation, yet the need for humans to be saved and liberated from sin. Exercises such as reading the Old Testament stories in a group better facilitate the Pentateuch to be interpreted as a whole rather than just as a collection of disconnected stories.
