The Pentateuch, the name by which the first five books of
theBible are designated, is derived from two Greek words, pente,
"five," andteuchos, a "volume," thus signifying the fivefold
volume. Originallythese books formed one continuous work, as in
the Hebrew manuscripts they are stillconnected in one unbroken
roll. At what time they were divided into five portions,
eachhaving a separate title, is not known, but it is certain
that the distinction dates at orbefore the time of the
Septuagint translation. The names they bear in our
Englishversion are borrowed from the Septuagint, and they were
applied by those Greektranslators as descriptive of the
principal subjects--the leading contents of therespective books.
In the later Scriptures they are frequently comprehended under
thegeneral designation, The Law, The Book of the Law, since, to
give a detailedaccount of the preparations for, and the delivery
of, the divine code, with all the civiland sacred institutions
that were peculiar to the ancient economy, is the