Torah is not merely the introduction to the Bible. Rather, it is the essential foundational document upon which the entire narrative and theological framework of the Bible rests.
Torah provides the primary revelation of God’s nature: His holiness, justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Consequently, many central concepts are established in the pages of the Torah. These include God as Creator in Genesis, Redeemer in Exodus, and Lawgiver.
Furthermore, Torah establishes the doctrine of sin (the fall of man in Genesis 3) and the resultant need for redemption. It is here that the system of sacrifice and atonement (Leviticus) is introduced, providing the indispensable theological framework for the New Testament (Apostolic Writings). Without understanding the purpose and details of the Temple service and sacrificial system in the Torah, the concepts of the Messiah’s atonement and sacrifice lose their original meaning. This explains why Yeshua (Jesus) himself affirmed the importance of the Torah in His Sermon on the Mount. Thus, Yeshua claimed, “not one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the Torah” (Matthew 5:18). Moreover, he stated that whoever keeps and teaches the commandments will be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:19).
The priority or the centrality of the Torah requires a proper hermeneutic, which means reading the Bible sequentially and coherently, beginning with the foundation, not backwards (New Testament Epistles). The Bible is a progressive revelation, where later books build upon earlier ones. For instance, the Prophets (like Isaiah & Jeremiah) frequently call Israel back to covenant obedience as outlined in the Torah. Subsequently, the New Testament (Apostolic Writings) is the culmination of that story. It interprets the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus through the lens of the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings.
Attempting to interpret the New Testament (Apostolic Writings) without first establishing the framework provided by the Torah leads to several errors. These include reading foreign ideas into ancient texts–for instance that Jesus came to abolish or redefine the Torah. It also results in replacement theology and misunderstandings of the terms, concepts, and theological debates that characterized the world of Yeshua and the early Messianic Church.
Out of Egypt 