instruction
to.rah is the body of divine directions to be kept, taught, read, and applied, including directions preserved in a scroll.
The term most often denotes the authoritative body of directions associated with the LORD or Moses, which people are to keep, follow, teach, or violate. It also occurs in expressions for a written scroll containing those directions and, in a smaller set of clauses, for a stated directive governing judgment, conduct, or the house.
Senses in use
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Authoritative directions for conduct · dominant
The singular noun names directions that are to be kept and acted on: in Deuteronomy 17:19 the APB renders keeping “all the words of this instruction and these statutes by doing them,” and in 2 Kings 17:37 it places the term alongside statutes, customs, and commandment that Israel must keep. In Amos 2:4, rejecting it and not keeping the LORD's statutes are the stated grounds of Judah's indictment.
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Written body of directions · common
In construct expressions, the noun identifies the content of a scroll or book. Deuteronomy 17:18 describes a copy written “on a scroll,” while 2 Kings 22:8 and 2 Chronicles 34:14 describe a scroll found in the house of the LORD; the following clauses concern reading or hearing its words.
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A directive for a specific setting · occasional
The noun can designate directions given for a concrete matter. In Deuteronomy 17:11 the APB renders directions given alongside a judgment to be carried out without turning aside; in Ezekiel 43:12 it introduces and repeats the directions concerning the house and its holy boundary. Exodus 18:20 places plural forms beside statutes as material Moses is to make known and teach.
In the Anselm Project Bible: Across these verses the APB commonly presents the term as “instruction,” including “instruction of Moses” and “instruction of the LORD,” and sometimes uses “law” in the same sorts of clauses. These renderings show the verse-level presentation rather than a fixed English equivalent for each form.