What are the Hebrew names for the books of the Torah (Pentetuch)?
Most people are familiar with the common names of the first five books of the Bible; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These names were given from the Greek language based on what the book is about. Genesis means “origins,” Exodus means “coming out,” Leviticus means “Levites,” Numbers means “numbering,” and Deuteronomy means “second law.” The Hebrew names for these use the first word (or first major word) of that book. They are Bereshiyt meaning “in the beginning,” Shemot meaning “names,” Vayikra meaning “and he called,” Bemindvar meaning “in the wilderness” and Devariym meaning “words.
