The Meaning of the Pentateuch: Revelation, Composition and Interpretation

by John H. Sailhamer

Biblical Foundations Book Award The Pentateuch is the foundation for understanding the Old Testament and the Bible as a whole. Yet through the centuries it has been probed and dissected, weighed and examined, its text peeled back for its underlying history, its discourse analyzed and its words weighed. Could there be any stone in Sinai yet unturned? Surprisingly, there is. From a career of study, John Sailhamer sums up his perspective on the Pentateuch by first settling the hermeneutical question of where we should set our attention. Rather than focus on the history behind the text, Sailhamer is convinced that it is the text itself that should be our primary focus. Along the way he demonstrates that this was in fact the focus of many interpreters in the precritical era. Persuaded of the singular vision of the Pentateuch, Sailhamer searches out clues left by the author and the later editor of the Pentateuch that will disclose the meaning of this great work. By paying particular attention to the poetic seams in the text, he rediscovers a message that surprisingly brings us to the threshold of the New Testament gospel.

Genres: Theology, Biblical Studies, Old Testament, Christian, Nonfiction, Academic, Spirituality

632 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2009

About the author

Dr. Sailhamer has been teaching since 1975, most recently at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. He was President of The Evangelical Theological Society in 2000 and has published a number of books, including An Introduction to Old Testament Theology, The Pentateuch as Narrative: A Biblical-Theological Commentary, and Genesis: The Expositor's Bible Commentary, all from Zondervan. He has contributed a number of articles and book reviews in various biblical journals and has delivered several scholarly papers and particpated in several Old Testament Bible translation committees

Reviews

[Zach Hollifield · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Latest review having read the entire thing (2025)* Man oh man…





*Original review (2024)* To be clear: I only read the 60 some page introduction. But I do think I got a good grasp on his overall argument and the legs he uses to build it. I want to go back and read sections of the actual book, but as of now, count me convinced.

If Sailhamer is right, it requires nothing short of a reframing of how most Christians understand the Pentateuch and the Law. But it is one that will make the Bible have a much more cohesive feel than most Christians often find on the face of it.

[Tim Casteel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book of which John Piper said "Sell all of your Piper books & buy this"
I'd keep all your Piper books, but… I found Sailhamer's book to be incredibly enlightening and truly groundbreaking (as in - I've been studying God's Word and listening to Biblical preaching for 20 years and Sailhamer shares hundreds of things that I have never heard taught nor have seen for myself in Scripture).

Sailhamer brilliantly explains a section of Scripture (the OT) of which I am (and I'm assuming 99% of Christians are) woefully ignorant.

What I wish: that someone would take this book and edit it to be readable by the masses. It's unnecessarily repetitive and dense. Definitely written to seminarians. Those willing to plod through it will be rewarded with gold. He is thorough in his exegesis and I never found myself thinking - "well, that is a bit of a stretch." His conclusions are brilliant and hard to argue with.

If you want to give it a test drive, Sailhamer's (nearly 60 page!) Introduction to "Meaning of the Pentateuch" is free:
https://www.wtsbooks.com/common/pdf_l...
It's great to read over a few days of Quiet Times.

His main idea is this:
"The Pentateuch wasn't written to teach Israel the law. It's written to a people living under law & failing at every opportunity"
The Mosaic covenant "was intended as a covenant of grace…['til] an ever-increasing cycle of disobedience [led to] addition of more laws"

If you're willing to put in the work, I'd highly recommend this book.

[Bob Hayton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Few 600 page books on theology are intended to help the average Bible student as much as the learned theologian. Even fewer succeed in that aim. But I figured something was special about this book when John Piper encouraged everyone who cared about “meaning” to get this book, because it will “rock your world”. Rock my world, it did! And more.

I can’t claim this book is an easy read. I had to work my way through parts of it. But the effort was worth it. Sprinkled throughout the book are the kinds of takeaways that can truly change one’s life. John Sailhamer unpacks the meaning of texts and shows the relationship between various parts of the Old Testament. I came away with an enhanced understanding of OT Scripture and a greater appreciation for the unity of the testaments. In the following review, I will walk through the book, then I’ll focus on Sailhamer’s emphasis on authorial intent, the final shape of the canon, the poems of the Pentateuch and some of his conclusions about the meaning of the Pentateuch.

The book begins with a 46-page introduction setting the stage for what will be covered. The scope of what Sailhamer sets out to accomplish with this book is impressive. He is all about “meaning”, and showing us how we can go about finding the meaning of something as large as the first five books of the Bible – considered as one cohesive unit, the Pentateuch. Along the way, he offers thoughts on OT theology, and traces a history of biblical interpretation. This sets the stage for his discussions of authorial intent, verbal meaning, and the place of “historical meaning” in biblical texts. Ultimately he is pushing toward discovering the “big idea” of the Pentateuch, as expressed by the biblical author.

Once he introduces us to his stress on finding the author’s intent in the final shape of the canonical Pentateuch, he goes about doing fantastic exegesis of the Pentateuch itself. He explores how the Pentateuch was put together and composed, and shows how poetry frames the Pentateuch, offering textual clues to finding the author’s emphasis. He then goes on to trace several themes in the Pentateuch, finding corroboration in how the prophets and later authors of Scripture themselves interpreted Moses’ foundational books. That’s the book in a nutshell, but there’s so much more that could be said about it!

Sailhamer sees incredible importance in finding the author of the Pentateuch’s intent. He sees both conservative and liberal theologians as having erred in focusing too much on the questions of historicity. To this point, Sailhamer explains:

The Pentateuch may be compared to a Rembrandt painting of real persons or events. We do not understand a Rembrandt painting by taking a photography of the “thing” that Rembrandt painted and comparing it with the painting itself. That may help us understand the “thing” that Rembrandt painted, his subject matter, but it will not help us understand the painting itself. To understand Rembrandt’s painting, we must look at it and see its colors, shapes and textures. In the same way, to understand the Pentateuch, one must look at its colors, contours and textures. (pg. 19)

Sailhamer’s history of biblical interpretation focuses on the increased attention paid to the historical background to the OT text. There was an attack on the historicity of Scripture, and Sailhamer acknowledges the apologetic value of historical studies. But they have served to distract OT scholars from their real mission. “Filling in the biblical narratives with additional historical material may teach us things about the events of which the biblical writers were speaking, but the evangelical’s goal in interpretation and biblical theology is not an understanding of those events as such. The goal, as evangelicals must see it, is the biblical author’s understanding of those events in the inspired text of the Bible (OT).” (pg. 104)

Questions of authorial intent, when it comes to the Pentateuch, inevitably run into the various source theories. This is where Sailhamer parts course and advocates a “compositional approach”. Some have read Sailhamer and conclude he rejects a Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, my understanding is different. I’ll let Sailhamer explain at some length.

…an evangelical compositional approach to biblical authorship identifies Moses as the author of the Pentateuch and seeks to uncover his strategy in putting the book together…. As far as we know, the Mosaic Pentateuch is identical with the canonical Pentateuch with only few exceptions…. Two notable examples are the account of the death of Moses in Deuteronomy 34 and Moses’ final words in Deuteronomy 33. Such comments, though possibly spoken by Moses, were added late in Israel’s history, likely as part of a “new edition” of the Pentateuch (“Pentateuch 2.0,” in the lingo of today’s computer world). Contrary to the prevailing view of biblical authorship, both critical and evangelical, the compositional approach suggests that the Pentateuch was not the product of a long and complicated process of literary growth, but comes to us more or less as an updated edition of a single earlier Mosaic composition. The present canonical Pentateuch is thus an updated version of the Mosaic Pentateuch produced, perhaps, by the “author” of the OT as a whole (Tanak). (pg. 48)

Such a focus on the “final shape” of the canonical Pentateuch is best suited to a vigorous pursuit of the author’s intended meaning given to us through the text. To that end, Sailhamer sees an importance in the poems which frame the narrative sections of the Pentateuch. Gen. 49, Ex. 15, Numb. 23-24, and Deut. 32-33 are all large poems which function as a frame for the stage upon which the narratives of the Pentateuch are played out. These and other poems in the Pentateuch “serve a didactic purpose without being didactic.” Sailhamer explains further:

They are intended as commentary, although, being poetry, what they add to the narrative is not merely commentary, but also the opportunity of thoughtful reflection. The poems, as such, slow readers down and challenge them to reflect on the narrative through the eyes of a poet. Ultimately, the reader is left not with a narrative meaning, but with a poetic one. The reader joins the narrator in filling in the sense of the story. Although this may challenge the patience of modern readers, it adds an essential feature to the meaning of biblical narrative. (pg. 319)

When one looks at these four chief poems, an emphasis on a kingly messiah figure is apparent. Furthermore, three of the four poems are specifically said to be related to “the last days”. Sailhamer explores the intertextuality of these poems and other sections of the Pentateuch and even with the Hebrew OT as a whole. He then offers a decisive verdict: the Pentateuch is decidedly messianic in focus. The laws given on Sinai are not central, rather the new covenant Moses foretells and the coming of a kingly Messiah – they are the focal point of the books of Moses.

Following the lead of the poems, Sailhamer finds several important themes in the Pentateuch itself. Some of them sound very much like ideas we find in the New Testament. He sees a stress on a singular “seed” rather than a collective “seed” as the ultimate fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise (and Gen. 3:15), the importance of faith as opposed to a mere law-keeping perspective, and the idea of salvation coming to those who believe and hope in God. Along the way, Sailhamer also explains the Messianic structure in the arrangement of the Hebrew canon (the Tanak) and within the psalter. Three additional points from Sailhamer’s book were especially helpful to me.

First, was the discussion of Matthew’s use of Hosea 11:1. Sailhamer shows how Matthew’s use of the text in Hosea is not entirely novel, as many interpreters believe. Rather, Hosea himself is reading the Pentateuch in a messianic way. Hosea quotes Numb. 24:8, one of the messianic poems which frame the Pentateuch. So he has in mind a messianic application in his use of the text. Matthew is merely following suit. Second, was the discussion of how Gen. 49 and the surrounding chapters about Joseph’s story, actually serve to use Joseph as an example of the future kingly Messiah. In other words, the very structure of the Genesis account of Joseph is designed intentionally to see Joseph’s life as a kind of type of the future messianic kingly leader who was to come from Judah’s line.

Third, was Sailhamer’s discussion of the law as being given successively over time and in response to the sin of the Israelites. He revives the earlier teaching of John Calvin and Johann Coccejus based in large part on both Gal. 3:19 and a careful reading of the Pentateuch itself. The golden calf as well as Israelite sacrifices to goat idols (Lev. 17:1-9) are narrative sections that frame different collections of laws. Sailhamer also points out that there were laws mentioned as operative prior to the account of the giving of the 10 commandments even. This perspective merits further study especially as it doesn’t fit the mold of either covenant theology or dispensationalism’s teaching on the laws of Sinai.

Time prevents me from offering a fuller discussion of these matters. One must get the book and hear Sailhamer out. Even if one differs with some of Sailhamer’s conclusions, he must appreciate Sailhamer’s exegetical insight and the great care he has to listen to the text itself. Like John Piper implied, Sailhamer cares about “meaning”, and so should we. If you do, you will benefit from studying what John Sailhamer has to say on the Pentateuch. You may never look at the Old Testament in the same way again.

Pick up a copy of this book at Westminster Bookstore, Monergism Books, Amazon.com or through Inter-Varsity Press. See an expanded version of this review, with additional content and resources, at CrossFocusedReviews.com.

This book was provided by Inter-Varsity Press for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

[Shane Williamson · Rating 2 out of 5]

2023 reads: 16

Rating: 2.5 stars

The Meaning of the Pentateuch was a largely frustrating read. Given my inquiry into the torah’s relationship to the Gospels, I thought it necessary to interact with this tome. Sailhamer’s thesis is certainly promising: by paying attention (exclusively) to the canonical shape of the Pentateuch, we are able to arrive at its meaning. This thesis necessarily excludes historical-critical scrutiny. For Sailhamer, the Pentateuch’s meaning can be elucidated by purely examining its “compositional-strategy”. That is, its literary seams, make up, and emphases. In sum, the Pentateuch is a “narrative admonition to be like Abraham” who lived a “life of faith.” (14)

For all the talk of “compositional-strategy,” Sailhamer’s own work is itself an antitype: the thesis, though promising, is poorly argued, suffers verbose articulation, and is plagued by artificial constructs that border on the absurd. Principal among its many weaknesses is Sailhamer’s failure to relate his thesis to the Gospels, as well as to account for creation in his salvation-faith-covenant schema (454).

There are snippets here and there that were stimulating. However I kept thinking that this *must* be an unfinished manuscript. The book's value would absolutely be strengthened if it was edited into <200 pages, without the hundreds of pages meandering about subjects that have very little to do with his example. In the end, Sailhamer talks more about his thesis than he actually spends time arguing his thesis through example. In fact, the examples given are repeated again and again with no further development. If you want to gain the insights of this book, simply read the conclusion.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely learned from interacting with this book. However, I am still not persuaded of some of the author's central points, for example, that the laws of the Mosaic covenant were added in response to Israel's sin. There is a great deal to be learned from attending to the structure of the Pentateuch; nevertheless, I felt Sailhamer was stretching his structural readings too far and putting more weight on them than they can legitimately carry.

[Eric Yap · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books on Old Testament biblical theology and exegesis I've ever read. I picked this up years ago when my undergrad OT prof (and John Piper: "sell your latest Piper or Driscoll book and buy Sailhamer") was raving about it, as well as seeing Stephen Dempster, who I regard as one of the best OT scholars I have read, citing this work plentifully in his "Dominion and Dynasty" and claiming that Sailhamer is one of the best OT scholars that he has read. Dempster also said elsewhere about his profound respect for how Sailhamer knew his bible deeply and exuberated mastery of the OT along with great humility.

There is too much about this masterpiece to put succinctly in this review, as Sailhamer really took his time to slowly build up his case. Essentially, Sailhamer posits a "compositional approach" to the reading of the Pentateuch, and by extension the entire Hebrew OT. This compositional approach reminds me of a hybrid of Brevard Childs' canon criticism, Conzelmann's redactional criticism reading, and the grammatical-historical method of identifying the authorial intent (usually set against a more "sensus plenoir”/fuller sense reading of the OT). This is because, for Sailhamer, the Pentateuch that we received in this form is a "Pentateuch 2.0." It inherits the majority of the Pentateuch from Moses but was "composed" by a group of writing prophets and authors (Sailhamer cites 1 Kings 18:4 as allusion), and this is because of an important distinction for Sailhamer (which I found extremely illuminating): the Mosaic covenant as delivered by Moses at Sinai was purposeful for the original audience of wilderness Israel, whereas the Mosaic covenant recorded in the present form of the Pentateuch is designed and composed to teach a theological motif that is inherited from observing God's covenant and interaction with the wilderness generation. Therefore, the authorial intent lies underneath the "compositional seams" of the Pentateuch in its current form, composed from earlier covenantal materials (the levitical law/priestly code, the Sinai-Deuteronomic covenant, the Decalogue, various narrative sources and so on) to teach faith and obedience to Yahweh, which Sailhamer posit is the overarching theological motif of the Pentateuch, and by extension the entire theological meaning of the Tanakh/Hebrew OT.

Sailhamer investigates these "compositional seams" and argues for his overall thesis by 1) examining the four major prophetic poems in the Pentateuch (Genesis 49, Exodus 15, Numbers 23-24, Deuteronomy 32-33) and how they connect, summarize and explain on the important narrative portions of the Pentateuch, 2) analyzing in details the relation of the Pentauech law codes and how the various parts are put together (for example, Sailhamer and many scholars posit that God decreed additional laws to Israel after the golden calf incident, reviving early exegetical conclusion by Calvin and Cocceius on Galatians 3:19), as well as 3) observing how the rest of the Tanakh cites and uses the Pentateuch (the OT use of the OT) to demonstrate that the writing prophets (at least from the tradition and sect that composed and canonized the Hebrew OT) understood similarly that the theological motif of the Pentateuch was about obedience and faith to Yahweh, which is not mutually exclusive. Perhaps, a better way to put it is, faith expressed through obedience, or, the obedience of faith (Romans 1:5, 16:26), as Sailhamer demonstrates convincingly that the theological message of the Pentateuch, in his words, the "meaning of the Pentateuch," "surprisingly brings us to the threshold of the New Testament gospel," and that the Pentateuch has an "Pauline" accent to it.

With all that high praise given to this book, which is well deserving, the one major weakness is its readability. Sailhamers' masterpiece is just over 600 pages long, and in my opinion could have been way shorter and more readable if there was a more competent (and perhaps, critical) editor. Many of the materials are often repeated across chapters and overlap, and sometimes Sailhamer begins an exegetical/theological question that he answers many many chapters proceeding. Other times Sailhamer is extremely belabouring and repetitive about the points that he is trying to make. In fact, the introduction alone is 50 pages and well worth the price tag and experience of this book because he states his various thesis upfront and is able to hold his arguments tightly just within the introduction alone. Yet he continues to expand these ideas in the subsequent chapters, which is extremely illuminating but often with repeated prose and material which makes one wonder whether there was a need for such a long introduction. At the same time, because Sailhamer is really careful in how he builds up his theological and exegetical conclusions, he takes a really, really, really long time and much ink to elaborate on his exegesis. Strictly speaking, there are probably less than 10 passages in the OT that he gives detailed exegetical attention to, which makes the bulk of his arguments and the book. With all that said, if you want to work on a really profound OT theology masterpiece and do not mind the hard work, Sailhamer's magnum opus deserves to be a contender for one of the most profound OT biblical theology from the previous generation of evangelical scholars.

[David Barnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those rare paradigm-shifting books for me. This book presents Sailhamer's fullest justification for his understanding of the Pentateuch. Sailhamer reckons that the Pentateuch is essentially a critical commentary on the fall of Israel under the Sinai Covenant, and a work that places prophetic hope finally in the coming of a king from the tribe of Judah. In "the last days" God will make a new covenant with Israel and circumcise their hearts so they will fear, love and obey him. To this end, the Sinai Covenant had failed.

While assuming Mosaic authorship of the bulk of the book, Sailhamer dates the final composition of the Pentateuch very late - "on the doorstep of the NT". He cites Deut 34:10: "Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses," and sees in this statement the purview of one who is looking back from a time long after the rise and fall of all Israel's prophets, and judges none of them to be like Moses (while also hinting that one like Moses must yet come, Dt 18). If Sailhamer is right, then it is wrong for OT exegetes first to equate the Pentateuch with the Sinai Covenant, and then to assume the purpose of the Pentateuch (and the rest of the OT) is a call to obedience to the Sinai Covenant. Sailhamer contrasts Abraham's justification by faith before the law was given (though he was said to have kept the law, Gen 26) with Moses' unbelief under the law, and God's consequent prevention of him entering the land. For Sailhamer, the Pentateuch preaches "justification by grace through faith", and "The gospel - that is, the notion of justification by faith - is God's means for our fulfilling the law" (p 608). Paul and co were preaching the Gospel from the Pentateuch, and were agreeing with its view of the failure of the law because of the weakness of sinful flesh. This is been the greatest revelation for me in Sailhamer's work: to see how New Testamenty the Pentateuch and Old Testament actually is (or how Old Testamenty the NT is). The Christian has one book, the Bible, and it all speaks of Christ.

A few negatives: most of Sailhamer's quotes are from German scholars, which is fine, except that all the quotations are in German. Maybe he should have written the entire book in German, or given us the English translations of his German quotes.

Sailhamer pays a lots of attention to the "compositional seams" of the Pentateuch - Gen 49, Num 24 and Deut 32-33, but he gives little attention to the actual laws that he acknowledges comprise most of the Pent. Under his section, "Why is the Mosaic law in the Pentateuch?" he devotes only 4 of his 600+ pages to an answer. His four reasons are: 1) The laws are part of the narrative technique; 2) The laws are a sign of Israel's failure; 3) The laws show why God gave the law to Israel; 4) The laws are a collection of "just" decisions. Under this last point, he says, "one becomes good and just by reflecting on the laws in the Pentateuch" (p 563). But this seems to be the traditional view of the Pentateuch that Sailhamer elsewhere opposes: the laws couldn't advance Israel at all in justice and righteousness. The law of proportion would suggest the Pentateuch's laws play a more vital role in the book's theology than simply being a narrative technique.

Also, the importance Sailhamer places on the statement in Deut 34 that "none like Moses" has lived until now seems at odds with his other views that Abraham is the Pentateuch's paragon of faith, whereas Moses failed to keep the law through his unbelief. But these discrepancies seem to be more of a problem for me than for Sailhamer, and perhaps in order to shift a paradigm one has to be comfortable with a little cognitive dissonance.

[Toby Irvine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book swings back and forth between 1 star and 5 stars. At times it provides insight beyond any other book; at other times it is near unreadable and does not respect the reader’s time. I wouldn’t recommend the book, but I will espouse some of its insights for the rest of my life!

The good:
his history of critical (and evangelical) thought on the Pentateuch, highlighting and explaining the subtle move away from Scripture as the point of revelation to the historical events it depicts;
his focus on Scripture as our revelation, with the importance of the human author’s verbal intent as the location of God’s divine intent;
letting the OT speak on its own terms, rather than reading the NT back into it to find meaning;
his focus on the poems (Gen 49, Ex 15, Num 24, Dt 32-33) as crucial authorial framing which make clear the Pentateuch is focused on teaching faith in a coming King of Judah who will save in the last days - I.e. the law is thoroughly Christian in its intent!

The bad:
the editing is really bad - the headings are often misleading or irrelevant, pages of text are repeated, and often random tangents are added in that can last 10 or more pages (completely disrupting the flow of his argument);
he often argues against straw men - e.g. his alternative explanation for Gal 3:19 against which he argues is not the mainstream evangelical view (which he fails to address in his somewhat kooky alternative take);
his method of argument is often unpersuasive - he can focus on the minutiae of individual verses for pages on end and on these minutiae he hangs a framework for the whole of the Pentateuch/OT, without showing how the weight of the whole text pushes in that direction;
He is too verbose and repetitious - e.g. I think he makes the same point about Numbers 24 around twenty different times across the book (I got it the first time!). This made reading lots of the book a chore.

If someone were to make this book a third of the size with some proper editing, it could be immensely useful for growing evangelical appreciation and love of the Pentateuch. As it is, I think it is too inaccessible in its current state to have the impact it could (and really should) have on the church.

[Rui Cadima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally managed to finish this. As many have stated, Sailhamer definitely needed some more help from an editor as he tends to be quite repetive.

Overall, it's a good book. It has given me lots of helpful insights into the OT itself. I found his initial chapters on how to approach the biblical texts very helpful, even if a little complicated at times.
His take on the importance of the order of the OT in the Tanak was particularly interesting and I feel like that was what I benefited the most from. It makes the NT even more of a fulfilment of the OT than I had seen!
Now, I do disagree with some of his theological points. For starters, he claims that the Pentateuch is showing us the failures of the Sinai covenant and thus looking ahead with hope for a new covenant. As someone who holds to covenant theology, I have to disagree. Also, he claims that covenant theologians (I haven't read other covenant theology works extensively) identify the OT (particularly the Pentateuch) as the Mosaic Law. Being a supporter of covenant theology, I do not see it that way but I concede that I may not know the major position of covenant theology on this.
He also introduces this idea that God cursed the ground more than once in Genesis, which I disagree with. But from this, he argues that Noah's sacrifice in Genesis 8 somehow overcame the curse on the ground, which I didn't find persuasive. He also claims that Noah was going to be destroyed by God after the flood had God not accepted his sacrifice. To me, that doesn't line up with the idea that Noah found favour in the eyes of God, as Genesis 5:8 claims.

Overall, an edifying read but quite repetitive at times. And I don't think his theological points are as proven as he sometimes claims.
Still, for all the helpful general bits in regards to the OT and for the attempt in making us care more about it and to do it justice, I give it 4 stars.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book. It is worth while to read Jim Hamilton's review of this book first, as I share many of Hamilton's frustrations. This book is lacking some organization and some of the material is without a proper context or seems unfinished. Sailhamer is also tedious in addressing questions he poses, first by explaining the importance of asking such questions with much unnecessary repetition. When Sailhamer finally get around to answering such questions or getting down to the center of his arguments and exegesis of texts, Sailhamer proves worthy of your endurance. This is a challenging and paradigm shifting work. I don't agree with everything, but it is worth your time.

[James Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers excellent insight for understanding and applying the message of the Pentateuch (and the Old Testament) for Christians today. It is a slow read and is quite repetitive in areas. It could have been edited down to a concise 200 useful pages. It is worth the effort though.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too long, and not neatly enough constrained. It's a valuable work, to be sure, but the fat needed to be trimmed.

[S. J. Holton · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has good information. It does well to give alternate viewpoints. However, it is way too repetitive, which sometimes makes it hard to discern the belief of the author.

[Ryan Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too long, and repetitive in places, but this is so paradigm-shifting. You’re getting stuff with Sailhamer you don’t get anywhere else. Essential reading.

[Pastoralmusings · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can be said about John H. Sailhamer? He is professor of Old Testament at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Brea, CA, an author of several books, and a very intelligent man.
The Meaning of The Pentateuch covers the gamut of Biblical studies. Not only does it deal with the meaning of the Pentateuch, but it also gives a crash course in hermeneutics, Biblical theology, Old Testament theology, as well as interacting with covenant theology and dispensationalism. Considering this, it is no wonder that the book is over six hundred pages!
Written from an evangelical perspective that seems to be pretty conservative, The Meaning of The Pentateuch addresses the issues surrounding the revelation, composition, and interpretation of the Pentateuch. This was no doubt a daunting undertaking, but the result is pleasing. Sailhamer is convinced that the Pentateuch was composed in its present state to present theological truth. He shows how various Biblical themes are arranged, organized, and presented throughout the whole of the Pentateuch. I was amazed to see this, because I learned so very many things that I had never known. This book has been extensively highlighted by me, and will be one to which I shall refer quite often when studying.
In the end, Sailhamer essentially tells us that we should recognize that the Old Testament should be allowed to stand on its own instead of reading the New Testament back into it. The Pentateuch shows a much more detailed understanding of the coming Christ than most of us realize. Sailhamer brings this to the fore in this book. In doing so he has done a great service to the church.
The reader should not allow the length and size of the book to deter him. It is a book worth reading and re-reading. It is destined to be a classic in Old Testament studies.
Thanks to Adrianna Wright of IVP for this review copy.

[Brandon Current · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Read and keep as resource. The book could be half the size. The author is very redundant is his process for building an argument (multiple books patched together). There are also some points that seem to reach too far for their implications. However, the book is an important read for those wishing to have a firm grasp of the meaning of the Pentateuch.
Aside from actual presentation of meaning, there are many helpful frameworks and corrective ideas for how we approach finding meaning in scripture. We tend to look at the history behind the text to find meaning in what God did. Sailhamer reminds us that the meaning is in the author's words regarding history. The author did not just set out to tell what God did, but had a specific purpose in the telling of those events. The narratives of the Pentateuch are stitched together to point us to the author's meaning, namely the hope of a eschatological king who would redeem from the curse. These themes are best observed in the major and minor poems of the Pentateuch that serve to summarize the author's point.
The Pentateuch is not the book of the law that taught Israel how to observe the temple practices and keep the law, It is a separate work with its own purpose. The law is included, broken by narrative accounts, to assist the author in building the theme of the inability of the people to keep the law covenant and the need for a future hope.
The prophets writings are helpful in interpreting their inspired understanding of the Pentateuch. It is clear much of their writing builds and expands on themes already introduced by Moses."

[Matt Quintana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Monumental. Paradigm-shifting. John Sailhamer's magnum opus and final academic achievement before his untimely passing is a tour de force in not only Pentateuchal studies, but in exegesis, hermeneutics, compositional analysis, and biblical theology. It has the potential to transform one's understanding of the Pentateuch, along with one's reading of the entire Bible.

It is not just for the "theological uber geek." John Piper's exhortation is appropriate: "To all pastors and serious readers of the Old Testament—geek, uber geek, under geek, no geek—if you graduated from high school and know the word “m e a n i n g,” sell your latest Piper book and buy Sailhamer. There is nothing like it. It will rock your world. You will never read the 'Pentateuch' the same again. It is totally readable. You can skip all the footnotes and not miss a beat."

This book is very long and is extremely dense. It will require thoughtful engagement and extended commitment. However, the payoff will be magnificent. Take up and read! You will not regret it.

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love to read. Novels, biography, philosophy, most anything is game. Often I'll have just finished reading something good, and I'm so excited that I tell all my friends. I can't wait to hear what they think, but then I’m disappointed when they don't like it. There’s no accounting for taste I suppose, and my more shrewd friends have learned to ask questions. What is the book about? Who wrote it? Why would they enjoy it? What do I expect them to learn from it?

There is no book more worthy of recommendation than the Bible. If I'm to persuade another to read it, specifically the Pentateuch, I had better know what it's about. Sailhamer has written an absolutely compressive book on the Pentateuch addressing this very issue. If anything it's overkill, but he gives several options for the "big idea" of the Pentateuch. In short, the Pentateuch is the book that introduces us to our God. Consequently, I recommend both Sailhamer's book, and obviously, the Pentateuch.

[Todd Miles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sailhamer summarizes the theology of the Pentateuch in this masterful, too long, work. It promises much at the outset - that the theological message of the Pentateuch is essentially the same as the theological message of the book of Galatians. For the most part, this is the most clear presentation of Sailhamer’s understanding of the Torah. What he hints at and summarizes in his prior books, namely that the commandments of the Torah were given due to unbelief, is given greater explanation. I think I understand his argument. I find it intriguing, but I am not totally convinced that Sailhamer is correct. At any rate, this book desperately needed an editor. It could have been, and should have been, 1/3 the length.

[Robert Balfour · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is like the book of Jeremiah: packed full of great stuff, but lots of work to get through. I think his editor could have helped him more, and some better charters would have been wonderful. But I think the enterprise was awesome, and convincing. If you've done much study on the poetics of Biblical narrative (such as Waltke's Genesis commentary, then you know that the Biblical Authors, and the Spirit, were super intentional about talking through the larger structures of material, and they expected their readers to pay attention to subtlety.

More clear writing and I'd give it 5 stars.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took great effort to get through the book, but I have greater appreciation for the Pentateuch and really the OT as a whole. In that sense this book has been invaluable to me. I will never read the OT the same way again.

[L. R. Bouligny Bouligny]

Gulp! I have seen unabridged dictionaries smaller than this. Might take me a while!

[Neil Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sailhamer was quite repetitive over the course of the book, and I felt some of his writing was slightly redundant.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

best book I currently know of on understanding the first 5 books of the bible but it's so long you should use it as a reference book only.

[Randy Poor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. This is one of those books that after you finish, the next book you try to read will seem horribly uninteresting.

[Lindsay John Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly thoughtful and illuminating book let down by poor editing (too long, repetitive, etc). But highly recommended.