But the rabbis already from ancient times had another, somewhat peculiar designation of this "Torah" (law), as the "five fifths of the law", which simultaneously proves both the unity of the Pentateuch and its composition of five different parts. This five-place division seems to have been finally defined by the time of the translation of the LXX translators, where it was already gaining full recognition.

Our modern word "Pentateuch" is a literal translation of the Greek πεντάτευχος from πέντε – "five" and τεύχος – "volume of the book". This division is quite accurate, since, indeed, each of the five volumes of the Pentateuch has its own differences and corresponds to different periods of theocratic legislation. Thus, for example, the first volume is a kind of historical introduction to it, and the last serves as an obvious repetition of the law; and the three intermediate volumes contain the gradual development of theocracy confined to certain historical facts, the middle of these three books (Leviticus), differing sharply from the previous and the following (almost complete absence of the historical part), is an excellent dividing line between them.

All five parts of the Pentateuch have now acquired the meaning of special books and have their own names, which in the Hebrew Bible depend on their initial words, and in the Greek, Latin and Slavonic-Russian - on the main subject of their content.

Hebrew name Greek name Slavic-Russian name

Bereshit ("in the beginning") Γένεσις Genesis

Ve elle shemot ("and these are the names") Έξοδος Exodus

Vaikra ("and called") Λευτιχόν Leviticus

Vai-edabber ("and said") 'Αριϋμοί Numbers

Elle haddebarim (these words) Δευτερονόμιον Deuteronomy

The Book of Genesis contains a narrative about the origin of the world and man, a universal introduction to the history of mankind, the election and education of the Jewish people in the person of its patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Kn. Exodus tells at length about the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and the granting of the Sinai law. Kn. Leviticus is specially devoted to the exposition of this law in all its particulars that are most relevant to the worship and the Levites. Kn. Numbers gives the history of wanderings in the wilderness and the counts of the Jews that took place at that time. Finally, kn. Deuteronomy contains a repetition of the law of Moses

In view of the fundamental importance of the Pentateuch, St. Gregory of Nazianzus called it the true "ocean of theology." Indeed, it is the basic foundation of the entire Old Testament, on which all its other books are based. Serving as the foundation of Old Testament history, the Pentateuch is also the basis of the New Testament, since it reveals to us the plan of the divine economy of our salvation. For this reason Christ Himself said that He came to fulfill, and not to destroy the law and the prophets (Matthew V:17 [91]). In the Old Testament, however, the Pentateuch occupies exactly the same position as the Gospel in the New.

The authenticity and integrity of the Pentateuch is attested to by a number of external and internal proofs, which we will only briefly mention here.