The book TORAH AND THE FORMATION OF THE ISRAELITE IDENTITY: A STUDY OF THE PENTATEUCH is primarily a textbook for the Bachelor of Divinity under the Senate of Serampore College (University). The uniqueness of this book is threefold: Content-Oriented, Scholarly engagement, and context relevance. It is divided into ten units: an introduction, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, the development of Israelite religion, the theology of the Pentateuch, the formation of the Israelite identity, and an exegetical study of the selected texts of the Pentateuch. It will be a useful book for studying the Pentateuch.

Shiju Mathew has a Bachelor of Divinity, Master of Theology (OT), and Doctor of Theology in Old Testament from the Senate of Serampore College (University).

The author served with Gospel for Asia (1996-99), Union Biblical Seminary (2018-2023), and New Theological College, Dehradun (2001-2018; 2023-2026). He is the author of seven books and has written and contributed numerous articles in national and international journals and edited books.