The word Torah literally means “to guide, or to teach”.  We get a hint of that definition in Leviticus 10:11, “And that ye may TEACH THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.”  The Torah is the law of God as revealed to Moses and recorded in the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures (the Pentateuch), which are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. 

The Hebrew word for Torah (towrah) is actually used 219 times in the Bible and is always translated “LAW.”  One example is found in Nehemiah 8:8, “So they read in the book in THE LAW (towrah) of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.”  Another example is found in Exodus 18:20, “And thou shalt teach them ordinances and LAWS (towrah), and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.” A final example is found in Joshua 8:31, “As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of THE LAW (towrah) of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings.” This could rightly be translated as the Torah of Moses.

In the New Testament, the ‘law (Torah) of Moses’ is often referred to as the law of Moses, such as in Luke 24:44, “And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the LAW OF MOSES, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.” 

Sometimes, the whole of the Old Testament is called the law and the prophets, such as in Acts 24:14, “But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in THE LAW AND IN THE PROPHETS.”  The Old Testament is also referred to as Moses and the prophets, such as in Luke 16:31, “And he said unto him, If they hear not MOSES AND THE PROPHETS, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”  The Old Testament is also referred to as the law, the prophets, and the psalms as we read in Luke 24:44, “And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in THE LAW OF MOSES, and in THE PROPHETS, and in THE PSALMS, concerning me.”

Another name for the Torah is the Pentateuch.  The word Pentateuch is formed by two Greek words, ‘pente’ (five) and ‘teuchos’ (book). It means “five vessels,” “five containers,” or a “five-volume book”.  The Torah, the Pentateuch, the Law of Moses all refer to the first five books of the Bible which were written by Moses.  (CC)  (487.2)