Hexagram

[Gr. hexagrammatos.] A combination of two equilateral triangles, forming a six-pointed star; the symbol of the Pythagorean School. Hex'apla, n. [Gr.) A collection of six versions of the Holy Scriptures arranged in parallel columns. Hex'ateuch, n. ( Script.) The first six books of the Bible. The first five have long been called the Pent a teuch, but some recent writers have added the book of Joshua as a sixth. The Pent a teuch was a name adopted by early Christian writers, on the ground that these five books formed a distinct division of the Scriptures, called the Torah or Law, and believed to have been written by a single author, Moses. Recent Biblical critics maintain that these books were not written by Moses, but were a later compilation from four ancient documents, and that the book of Joshua properly helongs with them, the six books forming a unit separate from the remaining Hebrew literature. Hence the title Hexateuch. See HIGHER CRITICISM.