The central theme of the Pentateuch is the struggle for a divine-human relationship between God and mankind. This theme can be understood as both God's desire to be in relationship with humanity and humanity's failure to embrace this relationship. From the creation of Adam and Eve in God's image to the laws and commandments given in Deuteronomy, the five books describe God's persistent efforts to live among and be in relationship with his people, despite their regular disobedience and rejection of him through sin. While other themes like promises, land, covenant, and redemption are present, they are ultimately connected to this overarching theme of the divine-human relationship between God and mankind.

1. From the first act of Creation to the last days of Moses, the five books that open the
Hebrew Scriptures set the stage for the rest of the Tanak and the New Testament. These five
books, beginning with Genesis and ending with Deuteronomy, form the Pentateuch, a collection
of literature that has been regarded as a “single literary entity” since around the 5th
century BCE1
.
Although each book stands on its own, together they form an interconnected narrative, with the
events that end one book “picked up” in the following volume2
. This interconnected nature of
the books allows one to approach them as a single literary piece and to study them in search of
the unifying theme that they address. As with any other work of literature, scholars have long
debated which of the themes present in the Pentateuch is the most important one.
Before entering the discussion about which theme is the most significant, it is necessary
to clarify what one means by “theme.” In literary terms, a theme is defined as the dominating
idea of a work or “an abstract concept made concrete” through the work3
. Clines, in The Theme
of the Pentateuch, ascribes to the literary definition of the word while also suggesting that theme
can be understood as the “plot with the emphasis on conceptualized meaning”4
. On one level, a
reader experiences the plot of a narrative work and, on another level, he engages with the broader
thematic underpinnings of that plot. In a sense, theme exists as a zoomed-out version of the
story; like viewing an entire painting instead of focusing on individual brush strokes, the theme
of a story allows the reader to step away from the details of the narrative in order to appreciate
the universal pattern that runs through it.
With this understanding of theme in mind, I suggest that the central concern of the
Pentateuch is the struggle for a divine-human relationship, which can be approached as two
1
David J. A. Clines, The Theme of the Pentateuch (Sheffield : Continuum / Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 14.
2
T. D. Alexander, From Paradise to the Promised Land : An Introduction to the Main Themes of the Pentateuch
(Grand Rapids, Mich. : Baker Books 1988). 1.
3
Clines, Pentateuch, 20.
4
Clines, Pentateuch, 24.

2. separate but connected themes: God’s desire for relationship with mankind and humanity’s
failure to embrace this relationship.
As far back as Genesis, it is clear that God desires to live in relationship with mankind, a
theme that recurs frequently throughout the Pentateuch. God fashions man in His own image,
granting him a share in His divinity that is not bestowed on any other creature5
. He then gives
Adam and Eve a paradise to call home, a garden where the Lord Himself walks among them6
.
Whether crafting mankind in His image or dwelling with him in Eden, the God presented in the
first chapters of Genesis clearly plans for humanity to enjoy a unique relationship with His own
divinity.
Of course, God’s desire for a divine-human relationship necessarily relies upon the
reciprocity of mankind; man’s failure to uphold their end of the relationship is the other major
theme of the Pentateuch. Adam and Eve, despite enjoying this unique relationship, disrupt their
intimate communion with God through sin, introducing the theme of humanity’s rejection of
God’s friendship7
. Even in the midst of this disobedience, God’s desire for a relationship
remains evident; as Clines points out, episodes of God’s forgiveness act as “an affirmation about
the character of God’s relationship with mankind”8
. It is clear, in these incidents of sin and
mercy, that the divine-human relationship is one that involves human disobedience, followed by
divine mitigation, punishment, and grace9
. God lessens the punishment for Adam and Eve’s
transgression, opting to banish them from His direct presence rather than repaying their
5
Genesis 1:27 (New Revised Standard Version).
6
Genesis 3:8 (NRSV).
7
Genesis, 3:1-24 (NRSV).
8
Clines, Pentateuch, 67.
9
Carol M. Kaminski, From Noah to Israel : Realization of the Primaeval Blessing After the Flood (London ; New York
: T & T Clark International, 2004), 87.

3. disobedience with death10
. Although the days when God walked among His creatures are
discarded by the stain of sin, God continues to strive for relationship with mankind.
One of the most striking attempts by God to enter into relationship with man after the Fall
appears in Genesis 12; God calls to Abram and establishes a covenant with Him. According to
Hebrew tradition, when men entered into a covenant together, they sacrificed an animal, placed
half of the slaughtered victim on either side of a path, and then walked between the two halves
together, invoking the “same fate upon [themselves] should [they] fail to keep the solemn
obligation”11
. In sealing the covenant between God and Abram, however, only a “flaming torch”
12
representing God passes between the pieces, establishing the covenant as one where God’s
promises are independent of any obligation of man13
. The Abrahamic covenant suggests that
God’s desire to bless man and live in relationship with him will continue no matter how often
man fails to maintain his end of the relationship.
God continues to be present among His people and His people continue to fail in
embracing His presence throughout the second book of the Pentateuch. As Clines points out,
God’s gift of manna in the desert and guidance in the form of salt and fire in the wilderness are
acts of “self-demonstration”14
whereby the Israelites “shall know that I am Yahweh your God.”15
The Israelites, however, repeatedly respond to God’s acts of salvation and guidance by
“murmuring” their complaints and turning to false gods in clear rejection of God’s offer of
10
Genesis 3:23 (NRSV).
11
Ernest W. NIcholson. God and His People : Covenant and Theology in the Old Testament (Oxford : Clarendon
Press ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1986), 90.
12
Genesis 15:17 (NRSV).
13
Nicholson, God and His People, 90.
14
Clines, Pentateuch, 52.
15
Exodus 20:2 (NRSV).

4. relationship.16
Despite these sins, God claims the Israelites as His “own possession among all
peoples” and establishes the nature of this relationship through the Ten Commandments17
.
The last three books of the Pentateuch expand upon these themes. Leviticus furthers the
nature of the relationship established at Sinai by detailing “the means by which the
relationship…is to be maintained.”18
The laws and regulations described in Leviticus reflect
God’s declaration: “If you…observe my commandments…I will walk among you.”19
The
beginning of Numbers addresses the Levite’s duties towards the tabernacle, God’s dwelling
place among his people, while Deuteronomy expounds upon the law and commands the Israelites
to love God “with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.”20
Concerns of
atonement, holiness, sacrifice, and worship in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy all connect
back to God’s wish to dwell among His people in the tabernacle, once again reflecting the theme
of God’s desire for relationship. These issues also reflect an ongoing need for redemption in the
wake of the human rejection of God’s friendship.
Others have offered their own opinions on the most important themes of the Torah. Most
notably, Clines proposes that the main theme is the “partial fulfillment” of the promise made by
God to the patriarchs which has three elements: “posterity, divine-human relationship, and
land.”21
While Clines’ certainly highlights a major theme of the first five books of the bible, I
would argue that the promises of posterity and land are means of establishing God’s relationship
with the patriarchs. As a suitor lavishes his beloved with gifts, God blesses His chosen people in
order to reaffirm His relationship with them. Therefore, the theme of divine-human relationship
16
Exodus 15, 15:24, 16:8, 17 (NRSV).
17
Exodus 19:5, 20:1-17 (NRSV).
18
Clines, Pentateuch, 54.
19
Leviticus 26:12 (see also Exodus 6:7, 19:5, 23:22, 29:45) (NRSV).
20
Deuteronomy 6:5 (NRSV).
21
Clines, Pentateuch, 30.

5. encompasses the theme of the partial fulfillment of the promises. In addition, Clines theme fails
to account for the first eleven chapters of Genesis before the promise has been established22
,
while the theme of the divine-human relationship can be traced from the first chapter of
Genesis23
. Other themes commonly identified in the Pentateuch such as sin, holiness, covenant,
election and redemption are similarly included under the main themes of the divine-human
relationship. Sin and holiness are themes that rise out of the theme of mankind’s rejection of
God’s intimacy; likewise, the themes of covenant, election, and redemption are all intrinsically
linked to the theme of God’s desire for relationship.
The themes of divine love and human rejection are ongoing and prominent precisely
because the promise of a relationship is “not a contract that can be signed and sealed, and
thereupon stored away in the vaults of the past.”24
In fact, the themes persist through much of
the Old Testament and find their consummation in the kenosis of Christ in the gospels, where
God again strives to reconcile the divine with the human through His incarnate Son. From Adam
and Eve’s creation in God’s image and likeness to man’s ongoing struggle against sinfulness, the
story of the Pentateuch writ large is the story of God’s “steadfast love”25
for mankind and
mankind’s persistent failure to accept that love.
22
Clines, Pentateuch, 69.
23
Genesis 1.27 (NRSV).
24
Clines, Pentateuch, 55.
25
Exodus 34:6 (NRSV).

6. Bibliography
Alexander, T. D. 1998. From Paradise to the Promised Land : An Introduction to the main
Themes of the Pentateuch Grand Rapids, Mich. : Baker Books.
Baldick, Chris, and Chris Baldick. 1990. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms
Oxford England ; New York : Oxford University Press.
Blenkinsopp, Joseph, and John Challenor. 1971. Pentateuch Chicago, ACTA Foundation.
Clines, David J. A. 2001. The Theme of the Pentateuch Sheffield : Continuum / Sheffield
Academic Press.
Edelman, Diana Vikander. 2011. Opening the Books of Moses London ; Oakville, Conn. :
Equinox Pub.
Kaminski, Carol M. 2004. From Noah to Israel : Realization of the Primaeval Blessing After the
Flood London ; New York : T & T Clark International.
Lohfink, Norbert. 1994. Theology of the Pentateuch : Themes of the Priestly Narrative and
Deuteronomy Minneapolis : Fortress Press.
Nicholson, Ernest W. 1986. God and His People : Covenant and Theology in the Old Testament
Oxford : Clarendon Press ; New York : Oxford University Press.