The Making of the Pentateuch Pentateuchal origins the composition and dates of the first five books of the Old Testament. In the closing decades of the 19th century Julius Wellhausen published "Prolegomena zur Geschichte Israels", in which he had set out the definitive version of the historical development of the Hebrew bible. According to this hypothesis, the Pentateuch Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy was originally four separate documents, retelling the same episodes and stories, but with differing emphases designed to further the theological and political agendas of their authors. Their combination by a Redactor (editor) into a single narrative spread over five books had
Book of Leviticus sin and guilt offerings, provide the means to gain forgiveness for sins (Leviticus 4–5) and purification from impurities (Leviticus 11–16) so that God can continue to live in the Tabernacle in the midst of the people. Scholars generally agree that Leviticus developed over a long time and that it reached its present form in the Persian period (538–332 BC). The English name Leviticus comes from the Latin "Leviticus," which is in turn from the Greek Greek Λευιτικόν, "Leuitikon", referring the priestly tribe of the Israelites, “Levi.” The Greek expression is in turn a variant of the rabbinic Hebrew "torat kohanim",