The Torah starts with God creating the world, then describes the beginnings of the people of Israel, their descent into Egypt, and the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. It ends with the death of Moses, just before the people of Israel cross to the promised land of Canaan. Interspersed in the narrative are the specific teachings (religious obligations and civil laws) given explicitly (i.e. Ten Commandments) or implicitly embedded in the narrative (as in Exodus 12 and 13 laws of the celebration of Passover).
In Hebrew, the five books of the Torah are identified by the incipits in each book;[23] and the common English names for the books are derived from the Greek Septuagint[citation needed] and reflect the essential theme of each book:
- B?reshit (???????????, literally "In the beginning")—Genesis, from ??????? (Genesis, "Creation")
- Sh?mot (???????, literally "Names")—Exodus, from ?????? (Exodos, "Exit")
- Vayikra (??????????, literally "And He called")—Leviticus, from ????????? (Leuitikon, "Relating to the Levites")
- B?midbar (???????????, literally "In the desert [of]")—Numbers, from ??????? (Arithmoi, "Numbers")
- D?varim (?????????, literally "Things" or "Words")—Deuteronomy, from ????????????? (Deuteronomion, "Second-Law")
