The first five books of the Bible are called “The Law” or The Pentateuch or The Torah. The Law contains stories about the creation of the world, the flood, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the children of Israel in Egypt, the Exodus, and the time the children of Israel spent in the wilderness before entering the Promised Land. The books of the Law also recorded the law God gave to the people on Mt, Sinai which laid down the regulations for sacrifice, worship, and daily living.
The books are:
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Practically every important Old Testament idea is introduced somewhere in the first five books of the Bible. These books are called the Pentateuch after the Greek penta (five) and teuchos (tool, vessel, book). They contain God’s law (torah in Hebrew). To most modern readers the word law means “rules, regulations, and restrictions.” Certainly the Pentateuch has such material, but torah also means “instruction.” These books attempt to teach the reader how to live.
Two types of laws are found in the Pentateuch. The first is the command, such as occurs in the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17). A second category of law is the case law (Ex. 21:1-11). Case laws tell the people what punishment fits specific crimes. Apparently, case laws are built on the commands. Most of these laws appear in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.