Hexateuch is a term used by historians and theologians to refer to the first six books of the Bible (the Torah or Pentateuch, and the book of Joshua).

In the standard documentary hypothesis, the final edited composition of the books Joshua – Kings is presumed to be due to the Deuteronomic source tradition, normally dated to the reforms of Josiah. However, beginning with Martin Noth and Julius Wellhausen, some critical scholars have reported traces of the earlier Jahwist and Elohist sources in these books. Both Noth and Wellhausen argued that the books of the Pentateuch should be considered as a unit with the book of Joshua.

Reasons for this unity, in addition to the presumed presence of the other documentary traditions, are taken from comparisons of the thematic concerns that underlie the narrative surface of the texts. For instance, the Book of Joshua stresses the continuity of leadership from Moses to Joshua. Furthermore the theme of Joshua, the fulfillment of God's promise to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land, complements the thematic material of the Pentateuch, which had ended with the Israelites on the border of the Promised Land ready to enter.

The theory that Joshua completes the Torah in a 'Hexateuch" is advanced by critical scholars in the new field of "history of traditions, but the majority of traditional scholars follow the older rabbinic tradition, as it was expressed by the compilers of the Jewish Encyclopedia a century ago, that the Pentateuch is a complete work in itself. The Torah has always consisted of only the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. However, the practice of the Samaritans, whose entire Biblical canon consists of the Hexateuch could be seen as support for the Hexateuch theory.

See also

• Pentateuch
• Documentary hypothesis
• Martin Noth