Introduction
Overview
The speeches of Deuteronomy are given just as Israel is about to enter the promised land, the land that was promised to their forefather Abraham. It is a gracious offer by God, based on his deep love for his people. Yet God is very specific about how his people will relate to him and receive these overwhelming blessings based on this relationship. He is crystal clear in stating that he (as Creator, Provider, and King) is the one who dictates the terms of the relationship. God is also unambiguous about how serious he is that they worship him alone. Likewise, he is also serious about how they relate to one another in their community. If they keep these terms (the laws in Deuteronomy), then tremendous blessings will come upon them. However, God warns seriously, if they disregard and disobey Deuteronomy, thus abandoning the covenant relationship they have with him, terrible consequences will follow, including the loss of the promised land (Dt 28).
Throughout much of the rest of the OT, the central, underlying question driving the story is, Will Israel obey the book of Deuteronomy and be blessed, or disobey and be cursed?
Title
The English title for this book comes from the Greek translation of Dt 17:18, which speaks of the king having “a copy” of the law. The Greek Septuagint inaccurately rendered this verse as deuteronomion, meaning “second law.” However, this book is not a second law but a renewal of the covenant Moses made at Mount Sinai, which site is also called Mount Horeb.
Rather than giving a title for each book, the Hebrew Bible follows the ancient custom of naming a book by its opening line. In Hebrew, Deuteronomy starts with, “these are the words”; therefore, it was simply called Debarim, “The Words.”
Structure
There are at least three different ways this book can be examined: (1) as the three great speeches of Moses, (2) as a text exhibiting the form of the vassal treaties of the great kings of the second millennium BC, or (3) as an expanded exposition of the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments.
Using the repeated rhetorical markers of “These are the words” (1:1), “This is the law” (4:44), and “These are the words” (29:1), it is possible to detect the three key speeches/sermons of Moses, each with a distinct focus: learning from history (1:1–4:43), explaining the law of God (4:44–28:68), and renewing the covenant (29:1–30:20).
The archaeological discovery of some fifty to sixty extrabiblical treaties of sovereign kings with their vassal kings from around 1400 BC has provided us with echoes of a similar structure for Deuteronomy. Especially significant have been the Hittite treaties from the second millennium BC, whose patterns are paralleled section for section in the same order as those in Deuteronomy. (See the article “Hittite Treaties and the Structure of Deuteronomy.”) [Hittite Treaties and the Structure of Deuteronomy]
| Hittite Treaty | Deuteronomy |
| Preamble—The King Who Makes the Treaty | 1:1–5 |
| Historical Prologue—Events Leading Up to the Treaty | 1:6–4:49 |
| Stipulations—Allegiance Required to the Covenant | 5:1–26:19 |
| Blessings and Curses | 27:1–28:68 |
| Witnesses | 30:19; 31:19, 26 |
| Arrangements for Succession and Preservation | 29:1–31:30 |
The third structure proposed for Deuteronomy finds the Decalogue governing the central section of this book. One way of viewing this development is to notice how the commandments are explained in order:
| Commandment | Deuteronomy |
| 1 | 6:1–11:32 |
| 2 | 12:1–13:18 |
| 3 | 14:1–29 |
| 4 | 15:1–16:17 |
| 5 | 16:18–18:22 |
| 6 | 19:1–22:8 |
| 7 | 22:9–23:14 |
| 8 | 23:15–24:7 |
| 9 | 24:8–25:4 |
| 10 | 25:5–26:19 |
Thus Deuteronomy is the most complete exposition of the Ten Commandments as they are set forth in Ex 20 and Dt 5 (apart from their explanation, in part, in the book of the covenant [Ex 21–23]).
Date and Authorship
Both Jewish and Christian writers have generally affirmed Moses’s authorship of the entire Pentateuch over the centuries. Despite this, there is an alternative view that associates Deuteronomy with the reform conducted by King Josiah in 621 BC. This view appeared as early as the fourth century AD. But no systematic treatment of this opinion appeared until the nineteenth century (see the article “Who Wrote the Pentateuch?” in the introduction to Genesis).
More recently, however, some scholars have reinstated Moses as the author of the first five books of the Bible, called the Torah. Instead of the book exhibiting the end product of a series of redactions reaching its final form (Deuteronomy as a whole) in the seventh century BC, the book follows the same structural unity and integrity as the second-millennium (i.e., around 1400 BC) ancient Near Eastern vassal treaties. If the book had been written in the first millennium, as the King Josiah thesis would argue, Deuteronomy would generally lack the historical prologue (1:6–4:49). While one seventh-century-BC treaty with a historical prologue has been found recently, the above argument is still strong when viewed in light of the preponderance of the evidence. Add to this the fact that the Prophets exhibit a good number of passages that are reminiscent of Deuteronomy (such as the law on the boundary mark in Dt 19:14 and Hs 5:10; the use of a double standard in Dt 25:13–14 and Am 8:5; the triennial tithe in Dt 14:28 and Am 4:4; and the authority of the priest in Dt 17:12; 24:6 and Hs 4:4–5), and it makes a good case for a date around 1400 BC.
The Region of the Exodus, the Desert Wanderings, and the Promised Land
Theological Themes
Some twenty-five times Deuteronomy stresses that the land of Canaan was a gift from God to Israel. The land is not that nation’s own possession by any natural right or effort; it belongs to the Lord. It is theirs only because the Lord has sworn an oath to give it to the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The main purpose for writing this book can be found in the love God continued to pour out on Israel. Over and over again God proclaims: “The Lord had his heart set on you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your fathers, he brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Dt 7:7–8; cf. 4:37; 14:1–2; 26:18–19).
Some sixteen times in this book, Israel is also called on to “remember” what God has done for them, especially in their redemption from Egypt. But such recollections serve them well for the present and project into the future in the final acts of God in history. The act of remembering is not a purely cognitive one; it also presumes and includes action based on that memory.
Outline
1. Moses’s First Sermon: “Look What God Has Done” (1:1–4:43)
A. Introduction (1:1–5)
B. His Command to Go into the Land (1:6–8)
C. Learning from the Sins of the Past (1:9–46)
D. Warning Not to Fight Brethren (2:1–23)
E. Witnessing Firstfruits of the Coming Campaign (2:24–3:11)
F. Warning against a Premature Conclusion (3:12–22)
G. Denying Entrance to a Failed Leader (3:23–29)
H. Seeking God with All Our Hearts (4:1–43)
2. Moses’s Second Sermon: “Applying the Decalogue” (4:44–28:68)
A. Focusing on the Core of God’s Guidance (4:44–5:33)
B. Loving God with All Our Might (6:1–25)
C. Defending the Faith (7:1–26)
D. Remembering Not to Forget All God Has Done (8:1–20)
E. Resisting Pride and Self-Righteousness (9:1–10:11)
F. Knowing What the Lord Requires of Us (10:12–22)
G. Keeping the Faith Vital (11:1–32)
H. Honoring God in Our Worship (12:1–31)
I. Extolling the Excellencies of God’s Word (12:32–13:18)
J. Living as People of the Name (14:1–16:17)
K. Appointing Leaders to Lead (16:18–18:22)
L. Upholding the Sanctity of Life (19:1–21:23)
M. Showing Respect for All Forms of Life (22:1–12)
N. Respecting Marriage and Sexual Relationships (22:13–30)
O. Portraying a Caring Community of God (23:1–25:19)
P. Taking Time to Celebrate God’s Goodness (26:1–19)
Q. Renewing the Covenant with Our God (27:1–26)
R. Distinguishing between the Blessings and Curses (28:1–68)
3. Moses’s Third Sermon: “Realizing We Too Were There at Sinai” (29:1–30:20)
A. Hearing the Things Revealed to Them and Their Children (29:1–29)
B. Anticipating the Future for Israel (30:1–20)
4. Epilogue (31:1–34:12)
A. Parting Words for the New Leader (31:1–8)
B. Renewing the Covenant in the Seventh Year (31:9–13)
C. Installing the New Leader (31:14–18)
D. Singing Moses’s Swan Song (31:19–32:47)
E. Preparing to Die (32:48–52)
F. Moses’s Final Blessing (33:1–29)
G. Moses’s Death (34:1–12)