Far from finding in the other books of the Bible any evidence—whether positive or negative—of the later origin of the Torah, we feel convinced that their contents presuppose not only the existence of the Torah, but also the authors’ familiarity with it. Without the Torah the other books are unintelligible. There is nothing in the Pentateuch that betrays a post-Mosaic origin. If the Pentateuch had been written in the period of the Kings, the author would have mentioned Jerusalem as the appointed place for the Sanctuary; in the rebukes (‏תוכחה‎), in addition to idolatry, the social corruption pointed out by the prophets would have been mentioned; the restrictive law concerning the marriage of heiresses would have been superfluous, as it only applied to the first generation that entered Palestine. The phrase ‏עבר הירדן‎ has been quoted as a proof that the author of the Pentateuch must have lived in Palestine, or else he could not have called the east banks of the Jordan “the other side of Jordan;” but this translation is wrong. The phrase only means the banks of Jordan. In the Talmud the Pentateuch in its entirety is ascribed to Moses. “Moses wrote his book and the book of Bileam” (Babyl. Talm. Baba Bathra, 14b). The book of Bileam is the section of Numbers which contains the parables of Bileam (from xxii. 2 to xxiv.). There is, however, a difference of opinion with regard to the last eight verses of the Pentateuch. According to Rabbi Jehudah (or Rabbi Nehemiah) Joshua wrote this passage. Rabbi Shimeon objected: “Is it possible that the Torah was incomplete when Moses was told, ‘Take this book of the law?’ (Deut. xxxi. 26). [25] God dictated the last eight verses of the Pentateuch to Moses, and the latter wrote them with tears.” With this exception, no doubt was entertained by any of the Rabbis as to the integrity of the Torah. Various, however, were the opinions as to the method followed by Moses in writing down the events and the laws. Rabbi Jochanan, following the opinion of Rabbi Banaah, held that the Torah was written by Moses piecewise at different times, just as the events happened or as each law was revealed to him. Rabbi Shimeon ben Lakish said “it was given at one time in its entirety” (Babyl. Talm. Gittin 60a). Passages of the Torah which seemed to contradict each other, or to be contradicted by statements found in other books of the Bible, were thoroughly discussed and explained. The belief in the integrity and divinity of the Torah was so strong that those who rejected either of these beliefs were considered as unworthy of the blessings of the future world (Babyl. Talm. Sanhedrin 99a).