Deuteronomy: on the edge of the land
Deuteronomy gives Moses' last words to Israel on the plains of Moab, before they entered the land. He remembers the journey, teaches the law again to a new generation, calls them to love the LORD with all their heart, and sets before them life and death.
About the book
The book opens, "These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel" (Deuteronomy 1:1), and the Hebrew Bible names it Devarim, ‘words’. Its English name comes from the Greek Old Testament, ‘second law’, from its rendering of the king's "copy of this instruction" (Deuteronomy 17:18). It is not a new law but the law taught again to the generation that would enter the land. "In the fortieth year" (Deuteronomy 1:3), east of the Jordan in the land of Moab, "Moses began to explain this law" (Deuteronomy 1:5). The map under the Jesus tab sets it at the close of the era of the exodus and the wilderness (the fifteenth or thirteenth century BC).
The church has long received it as the book of Moses, for "Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests" (Deuteronomy 31:9). The account of his death and burial was added after him: the tradition kept in the Talmud gives the book's last eight verses to Joshua Talmud, Bava Batra.
Since the nineteenth century many scholars have linked Deuteronomy with the "Book of the Law" found in the temple under King Josiah (2 Kings 22:8), since his reform follows its demands, such as worship at the one place God will choose (12:5). They date much of it to the seventh century BC and call its source D. Many others, among them evangelicals, who stress the authority of Scripture and the telling of the gospel, hold that the book comes from Moses and that Josiah found a neglected copy of it. Both point to its likeness to ancient covenant treaties: some to Hittite treaties of the second millennium BC, others to Assyrian ones of the seventh century.
How it unfolds
| Chapters | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1–4 | The journey remembered |
| 5–26 | The law taught again: the Ten Commandments, the Shema (6:4-9), laws for life in the land |
| 27–30 | Blessing and curse; the covenant renewed |
| 31–34 | Joshua commissioned; Moses' song, his blessing and his death |
Key passages
At its heart stands the Shema, named from its first word, ‘Hear’, and prayed by Jews morning and evening:
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
"It is better to have one fountain than a thousand cisterns," writes Matthew Henry, "one all-sufficient God than a thousand insufficient friends" Matthew Henry. These words were to be on their hearts, taught to their children and written on their doorposts (6:6-9). The Hebrew course reads them word by word in Reading the Shema.
The love God asks answers his own. He did not choose Israel for their numbers, but "because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers" (Deuteronomy 7:8). In the wilderness he humbled them and fed them with manna, to teach them "that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD" (Deuteronomy 8:3). He promises "a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him" (Deuteronomy 18:15). At the end Moses sets the covenant's choice before them:
I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live, and that you may love the LORD your God, obey Him, and hold fast to Him. For He is your life
Deuteronomy 30:19-20
Deuteronomy knows that Israel will fail, yet it promises, "The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts" (Deuteronomy 30:6), so that they may love him. Moses climbs Mount Nebo, sees the land he may not enter, and dies; since then "no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses" (Deuteronomy 34:10).
The book and Christ
The risen Jesus explained the Scriptures "beginning with Moses" (Luke 24:27), and Deuteronomy was the book he took up when he was tempted. Israel was tested forty years in the wilderness and failed; Jesus, tested forty days, answered the tempter three times from Deuteronomy: "Man shall not live on bread alone" (Matthew 4:4), from 8:3; "Do not put the Lord your God to the test" (Matthew 4:7), from 6:16; "Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only" (Matthew 4:10), from 6:13. Where Israel fell, the Son stood.
Asked for the greatest commandment, Jesus gave the Shema's: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). After Pentecost, Peter told the crowd in Jerusalem that Jesus is the prophet Moses promised (Acts 3:22). Matthew Henry says of that prophet, "He should be like unto Moses, only above him" Matthew Henry. Prophet, priest and king, in the doctrine course, teaches Christ's office as prophet.
Reading it
Thirty-four chapters at three a day take under two weeks; begin with Deuteronomy 1. Read chapters 6–8 slowly: they hold the heart of the book. The laws of chapters 12–26 apply the covenant to life in the land; read them as a father's instruction to children he loves. Then go on to Joshua.
Practice
- Practice 1 of 6
Where and when does Moses give the speeches of Deuteronomy?
- Practice 2 of 6
What is the Shema?
- Practice 3 of 6
From which book did Jesus answer the tempter all three times?
- Practice 4 of 6
Why, according to Deuteronomy 7:7-8, did God choose Israel?
- Practice 5 of 6
In Acts 3:22, whom does Peter name as the prophet like Moses?
- Practice 6 of 6
Which pairs a view of Deuteronomy's origin with its grounds?
Reading to the end marks it read; tap to switch it.
Related topics
Source
- The Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 14b–15a — Completed c. 6th century. The Jewish tradition of who wrote (or compiled) each book of the Hebrew Bible: Moses his own book, the portion of Balaam and Job; Joshua his and the Torah's last eight verses (his death recorded by Eleazar and Phinehas); Samuel his, Judges and Ruth (finished by Gad and Nathan); David the Psalms with the elders; Jeremiah his, Kings and Lamentations; Hezekiah and his company Isaiah, Proverbs, the Song and Ecclesiastes; the Men of the Great Assembly Ezekiel, the Twelve, Daniel and Esther; Ezra his and the genealogies of Chronicles.
Lessons from the Bible, the church's creeds and classic commentary. Each book's author and date are given as the church has received them, and scholars who see them otherwise are presented fairly. Scripture quotations: BSB.