Difference Between Torah and Bible

Religion has been a major part of people’s lives since time immemorial. In a society, religion is based on a supernatural being, morals, practices, sanctified places, faith, sacred things, ethics, prophesies and worldviews that relate humanity to transcendental, spiritual or supernatural elements. It involves practices such as sermons, sacrifices, rituals, feasts, initiations, prayer, dance, and traces, just to name a few. Although there are over 10,000 religions worldwide, the largest religious groups include Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism, in no particular order whatsoever. Often, the activities are guided from beliefs based on reference materials, such as the Bible, Quran and the Torah, as was in the past.

What is Torah?

Torah, meaning teach, refers to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely Genesis, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Exodus and Leviticus. It mainly consists of the Jewish peoplehood origin, involving their trials and tribulations, their call into being by God as well as their covenants with God, entailing following a way of life in a set of civil laws, morals, and religious obligations.

Meant for liturgic purposes, the Torah takes the form of a Torah scroll, which strictly contains the five books of Moses.  The Torah starts from the creation of the world by God, through to the people of Israel descent into Egypt and the presentation of the Torah at Mount Sinai. It, however, ends with the death of Moses. The commandments outlined in the Torah provides guides for the Jewish religious law.

What is Bible?

This is a collection of sacred scriptures and texts. It represents a sacred relationship between God and human beings and is used as a representation of faith by Christians, Samaritans, Jews, and Rastafarians. Beliefs and attitudes towards the Bible differ in the same religious groups. For instance, among Christian groups, Protestant churches focus on the idea of scripture alone while Methodists, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox Christians stress on sacred tradition and harmony based on the Bible. Despite these differences, the Bible has a great influence on history and scripture in the entire world.

The first Bible printed was the Gutenberg Bible which was printed using movable type. It has been translated into different languages over time, with over 5 billion copies sold.

Similarities between Torah and Bible

• Both are used as a guide by religious groups

Differences between Torah and Bible

Definition

Torah refers to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible namely Genesis, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Exodus and Leviticus. On the other hand, the Bible is a collection of sacred scriptures and texts which represents a sacred relationship between God and human beings and is used as a representation of faith by Christians, Samaritans, Jews, and Rastafarians.

Books

While Torah has five books including Genesis, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Exodus and Leviticus, the Bible has a total of 66 books, 27 New Testament books, and 39 Old Testament books.

Torah vs. Bible: Comparison Table

Summary of Torah vs. Bible

Both the Torah and the Bible provide religious guides while also showing the sacred relationship between God and human beings. Torah refers to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible namely Genesis, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Exodus and Leviticus. On the other hand, the Bible is a collection of sacred scriptures and texts which represents a sacred relationship between God and human being, and is used as a representation of faith by Christians, Samaritans, Jews, and Rastafarians.

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