The genre behind the Bible's text For generations, Talmudic and
academic scholars have debated the question: What was the nature
of the "Torah" bestowed upon the Children of Israel at Mount
Sinai? Although the Exodus defined the Jewish people as a
nation, the granting of the Torah at Mount Sinai is the event
that most profoundly molded that nation's image. For
generations, Talmudic and academic scholars as well as
exegetists have been debating the question: What was the nature
of the "Torah" bestowed upon the Children of Israel at Mount
Sinai? In other words, did it consist solely of the Ten
Commandments? Maybe all the legalistic passages of the Torah as
we know it? Did it also include the narrative sections?
Apparently a reliable historical answer to this question will
never be found. Nonetheless, the textual phenomenon that leads
to this question is still troubling. A book that contains both a
narrative as well as a description of how that narrative is
transmitted creates a dual effect of old and new: Since