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The Law of Moses ( ), also called the Mosaic Law, is the law said to have been revealed to Moses by God. The term primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible.
The term occurs 15 times in the Hebrew Bible, a further 7 times'the Law of Moses' – John 7:23; Luke 2:22; 22:44; Acts 15:5, 21; 24:14; 28:23 in the New Testament, and repeatedly in Second Temple period, intertestamental, rabbinical and Church Fathers literature.
The Hebrew word for the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, Torah (which means "law" and was translated into Greek as "nomos" or "Law") refers to the same five books termed in English "Pentateuch" (from Latinised Greek "five books", implying the five books of Moses). According to some scholars, use of the name "Torah" to designate the "Five Books of Moses" of the Hebrew Bible is clearly documented only from the 2nd century BCE.Frank Crüsemann, Allan W. Mahnke (1996). The Torah: theology and social history of Old Testament law, p. 331. "...there is only clear evidence for the use of the term Torah to describe the Pentateuch as a..."
In modern usage, Torah can refer to the first five books of the Tanakh, as the Hebrew Bible is commonly called, to the instructions and mitzvot found in the 2nd to 5th books of the Hebrew Bible, and also to the entire Tanakh and even all of the Oral Torah as well. Among English-speaking Christians the term "The Law" can refer to the whole Pentateuch including Genesis, but this is generally in relation to the New Testament where nomos "the Law" sometimes refers to all five books, including Genesis. This use of the Hebrew term "Torah" (law) for the first five books is considered misleading by 21st-century Christian bible scholar John Van Seters, because the Pentateuch "consists of about one half law and the other half narrative".John Van Seters (2004). The Pentateuch: a social-science commentary, p. 16 "Furthermore, the Hebrew term Torah, 'Law', is a little misleading as a description of the content of the Pentateuch, since it consists of about one half law and the other half narrative."
However, the influence of the ancient Near Eastern legal tradition on the Law of ancient Israel is recognised and well documented,Andrew E. Hill, John H. Walton (2000). A survey of the Old Testament, p. 52. "The influence of the ancient Near Eastern legal tradition on the form and function of Hebrew law is undeniable and widely documented. Along with this contemporary cultural influence, the Old Testament affirms the divine origin of..." for example, in principles such as lex talionis ("eye for an eye"), and in the content of the provisions. Some similarities are striking, such as in the provisions concerning a man-goring ox (Code of Hammurabi laws 250–252, Exodus 21:28–32). Some writers have posited direct influence: David P. Wright, for example, asserts that the Covenant Code is "directly, primarily, and throughout dependent upon the Laws of Hammurabi", "a creative rewriting of Mesopotamian sources to be viewed as an academic abstraction rather than a digest of laws".David P. Wright (2009). Inventing God's Law: How the Covenant Code of the Bible Used and Revised the Laws of Hammurabi. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Others posit indirect influence, such as via Arameans or intermediaries.Marc Van De Mieroop (2016). Philosophy before the Greeks: The Pursuit of Truth in Ancient Babylonia. Princeton University Press. There is consensus that the similarities are a result of inheriting common oral traditions. Another example, the Israelite Sabbatical Year has antecedents in the Akkadian mesharum edicts granting periodic relief to the poor.Jimmy Jack McBee Roberts (2002). The Bible and the ancient Near East: collected essays, p. 46. "The Israelite Sabbatical Year, which seems to have the same purpose and recurs at about the same interval, appears to be an Israelite adaptation of this mesharum-edict tradition." An important distinction, however, is that in ancient Near East legal codes, as in more recently unearthed Ugaritic texts, an important, and ultimate, role in the legal process was assigned to the king. Ancient Israel, before the monarchical period beginning with David, was set up as a theocracy, rather than a monarchy, although God is most commonly portrayed like a king.
The Book of Deuteronomy () records Moses saying, "Take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the Ark of the Covenant of the Similar passages referring to the Law include, for example, Exodus 17:14, "And the ; Exodus 24:4, "And Moses wrote all the words of the ; Exodus 34:27, "And the ; and "These are the decrees, the laws and the regulations that the
Another mention of the "Book of the Law of Moses" is found in .
Rabbinic Judaism asserts that Moses presented the laws to the Jewish people, and that the laws do not apply to Gentiles (including Christians), with the exception of the Seven Laws of Noah, which (it teaches) apply to all people.
During the Enlightenment, European society transitioned from the religious traditional social order of the Middle Ages into the modern Age of Reason. Anti-semitism, once driven by religious conviction and the persistent belief that Jews should be blamed for the death of Jesus, was reconfigured. The influence of Hebrew scripture and authoritarian ritual practice on Christian orthodoxy (including the Catholic Church) became the basis for attacks on Church authority. Anti-Semitic polemic against the Mosaic Law became a common theme for many well-known Enlightenment philosophers. Pierre Bayle, a deist, criticized the biblical figures from the Old Testament and their adherence to religious law which he said operated in an authoritarian manner to regulate social and community behavior instead of a personal conscience that requires agency.
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