Narration of the Torah

IN GENESIS 1 AND 2 THE ORDER OF CREATION OF HUMANS AND ANIMALS IS REVERSED, AND WHO IS NARRATING, SINCE IT IS IN THE THIRD PERSON?

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

We believe that the Torah was written by Moses as dictated by G-d.

The belief of such authorship is one of the thirteen principles of faith as Codified by Maimonides, as the 8th principle reads, “I believe with perfect faith that the entire Torah presently in our possession is the one given to Moses."

Further rabbinic tradition teaches that G-d actually wrote the Torah in heaven before the world was created with “letters of black fire on parchment of white fire.” Many years later, as mentioned, it was given to Moses by Divine dictation. The first Mishna in Tractate Avot elaborates on the transmission of the Torah with, “Moses received the Torah from Sinai and gave it to Joshua, Joshua gave it to the Elders, the Elders gave it to the Prophets, and the Prophets transmitted it to the men of the Great Assembly."

By this latter period, the era of the “Great Assembly,” there were an abundance of Torah scholars who were teaching the Torah and the oral tradition in schools and synagogues throughout the Jewish world. The careful chain of teaching and transmission continues to this day and the Torah remains unchanged.

As to the question of why some passages appear to be narrative in plural or singular or third person, well, a number of answers are given specific to all such passages. Suffice it to say that the change in “narration” is often primary for some kind of emphasis or message. For example, most of Deuteronomy is written in the “first person” because the majority of the book is essentially Moses’ final sermon to the people. This “personal touch” is meant to better ensure that Moses’ words enter our hearts.