The Five Books of the Torah

Genesis (Hebrew: Bereshit, בְּרֵאשִׁית, "In the beginning") is the first of the five books of the Torah, a 50-chapter narrative of creation and the founding families of the Jewish people, divided into the first 12 of the Torah's weekly portions.

Exodus, known in Hebrew as Shemot (שְׁמוֹת, "Names"), is the second book of the Torah, telling the formative story of Israel's slavery in Egypt, the liberation under Moses, and the covenant at Mount Sinai. It is the Torah's book of redemption: a people forged from slaves into a covenantal nation bound by law.

Leviticus, called Vayikra (וַיִּקְרָא, "And He called") in Hebrew after its opening word, is the third and central book of the Torah, devoted largely to the laws of sacrifice, priesthood, purity, and holiness. Its early rabbinic name, Torat Kohanim ("the Teaching of the Priests"), reflects how much of it concerns the priestly service in the Sanctuary.

Numbers, called Bamidbar (בְּמִדְבַּר, "In the Wilderness") in Hebrew, is the fourth book of the Torah, recounting Israel's forty years of desert wandering from Mount Sinai to the plains of Moab across 36 chapters and ten weekly portions.

Deuteronomy — Hebrew Sefer Devarim (דְּבָרִים, "words") — is the fifth and final book of the Torah, framed almost entirely as Moses' farewell discourses to Israel on the plains of Moab, in which he reviews the wilderness journey, restates the law, and exhorts loyalty to the covenant before his death.