I’m almost to the end of a re-read of Sailhamer’s The Meaning of the Pentateuch, and I’ve been captivated again by his explanation of the themes at the seams of the Tanak. He argues that in the editorial seams of the three major parts of the Hebrew Bible (Torah, Prophets, Writings) one can discern two themes: (1) the expectation of a coming prophetic act of God (Deut 34; Mal 4) and (2) the call to meditate on the Torah while waiting (Josh 1; Ps 1).

It’s the second theme that has me pecking on the keyboard today. Sailhamer notes that at the beginning of the Prophets, Joshua is called to “meditate day and night” on the Torah, and at the beginning of the writings, Psalm 1 describes the blessed person as one who delights in and meditates on the Torah day and night. What is striking to me today is that if you broaden the scope beyond instances of the verb “meditating” (הגה) on the Torah, you can see an emphasis on “Torah” at even more major transition points.

For example, Josiah’s reforms focus on discovering, reading, and obeying the Book of the Torah of Moses (הַסֵּפֶר הַתּוֹרָה), and these stories appear at the end of the Former Prophets (2 Kings 22–23) and at the end of the Writings (2 Chron 34–35). Adding these to the list means an emphasis on meditating, remembering, reading, and obeying the Torah appears in these places:

• End of the Pentateuch: the entire book of Deuteronomy
• Beginning of the Prophets: Joshua 1:8 (meditate, הגה)
• End of the Former Prophets: 2 Kings 22–23 (Josiah’s reforms)
• End of the Latter Prophets: Malachi 4:4 (“remember the Torah of my servant Moses”)
• Beginning of the Writings: Psalm 1:1 (meditate, הגה)
• End of the Writings: 2 Chron 34–35 (Josiah’s reforms)
  

Broadening the concept even more, beyond explicit mentions of Torah (תּוֹרָה), and you could most certainly include the beginning of the Pentateuch, as well. The whole story of God begins with an explanation of the human problem in terms of where humanity goes for “good.” Do we get good from listening to God’s instructions (Gen 2:16–17) or from what looks good in our own eyes (Gen 3:6)? Thinking through Sailhamer’s work has caused me to see Torah at each turning point in the Old Testament, and I agree with him that this emphasis seems to be part of the editorial design. At each turn, the Old Testament call readers to meditate on the Torah while they wait on a new prophetic work of God associated with the many images and expectations wrapped up in the concept of Messiah.