Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to the
Israelites by
Moses on the
Plains of Moab, shortly before they enter the
Promised Land. The first sermon recounts the
forty years of wilderness wanderings which had led to that moment and ended with an
exhortation to observe the law. The second sermon reminds the Israelites of the need to follow
Yahweh and the laws (or teachings) he has given them, on which their possession of the land depends. The third sermon offers the comfort that, even should the nation of Israel prove unfaithful and so lose the land, with repentance all can be restored.[2]
The final four chapters (31–34) contain the
Song of Moses, the
Blessing of Moses, and the narratives recounting the passing of the mantle of leadership from Moses to
Joshua and, finally, the death of Moses on
Mount Nebo.
One of its most significant verses is Deuteronomy 6:4, the
Shema Yisrael, which has been described as the definitive statement of
Jewish identity for theistic Jews: "Hear, O Israel: the
LORD our God, the LORD is one."[3] Verses 6:4–5 were also quoted by
Jesus in
Mark 12:28–34 as the
Great Commandment.
Structure
Patrick D. Miller in his commentary on Deuteronomy suggests that different views of the structure of the book will lead to different views on what it is about.[4] The structure is often described as a series of three speeches or sermons (chapters 1:1–4:43, 4:44–29:1, 29:2–30:20) followed by a number of short appendices[5] or some kind of epilogue (31:1–34:12), consist of commission of Joshua, the song of Moses and the death of Moses.[6]
Other scholars have compared the structure of Deuteronomy with Hittite treaties or other
ancient Near Eastern treaty texts. But it is clear that Deuteronomy is not in itself simply the text of a treaty, as Deuteronomy is more than simply applying the secular model of treaty to Israel's relationship with God.[7]
The
Ten Commandments (Decalogue) in chapter 5 serve as a blueprint for the rest of the book, as chapters 12-26 are the exposition of the Decalogue, thus the expanded Decalogue.[7]
Commandments
Chapters
1–3
12–13
4
14:28–16:17
5
16:18–18:22
6
19:1–21:9
7
22:13–30
8–10
23–26
Summary
(The following "literary" outline of Deuteronomy is from
John Van Seters;[8] it can be contrasted with Alexander Rofé's "covenantal" analysis in his Deuteronomy: Issues and Interpretation.[9])
Chapters 1–4: The journey through the wilderness from Horeb (
Sinai) to Kadesh and then to
Moab is recalled.
Chapters 4–
11: After a second introduction at 4:44–49 the events at
Mount Horeb are recalled, with the giving of the
Ten Commandments. Heads of families are urged to instruct those under their care in the law, warnings are made against serving gods other than
Yahweh, the land promised to Israel is praised, and the people are urged to obedience.
Chapters 12–26, the
Deuteronomic Code: Laws governing Israel's worship (chapters 12–16a), the appointment and regulation of community and religious leaders (16b–18), social regulation (19–25), and confession of identity and loyalty (26).
Chapters 27–
28: Blessings and curses for those who keep and break the law.
Chapters 29–
30: Concluding discourse on the covenant in the land of Moab, including all the laws in the Deuteronomic Code (chapters 12–26) after those given at Horeb; Israel is again exhorted to obedience.
The final verses, Deuteronomy 34:10–12, "never again did there arise in Israel a prophet like
Moses," make a claim for the authoritative Deuteronomistic view of theology and its insistence that the worship of Yahweh as the sole deity of Israel was the only permissible religion, having been sealed by the greatest of prophets.[10]
Deuteronomy 12–26, the
Deuteronomic Code, is the oldest part of the book and the core around which the rest developed.[11] It is a series of
mitzvot (commands) to the Israelites regarding how they should conduct themselves in the
Promised Land.
Composition
Composition history
Mosaic authorship of the Torah, the belief that the five books of the Torah – including the Book of Deuteronomy – were dictated by God to Moses on Mount Sinai, is an ancient Judeo-Christian tradition that was codified by
Maimonides (1135–1204 AD) as the 8th of the
13 Jewish principles of faith.[12] Virtually all modern secular scholars, and most Christian and Jewish scholars, reject the Mosaic authorship of the Book of Deuteronomy and date the book much later, between the 7th and 5th centuries BC.[13] Its authors were probably the
Levite caste, collectively referred to as the
Deuteronomist, whose economic needs and social status the book reflects.[14] The historical background to the book's composition is currently viewed in the following general terms:[15]
In the late 8th century BC both
Judah and
Israel were
vassals of
Assyria. Israel rebelled and
was destroyed circa 722 BC. Refugees fleeing from Israel to Judah brought with them a number of traditions that were new to Judah. One of these was that the god Yahweh, already known and worshiped in Judah, was not merely the most important of the gods, but the only god who should be served.[16] This outlook influenced the Judahite landowning
ruling class, which became extremely powerful in court circles after placing the eight-year-old
Josiah on the throne following the murder of his father,
Amon of Judah.
By the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign, Assyrian power was in rapid decline, and a pro-independence movement was gathering strength in the
Kingdom of Judah. One manifestation of this movement was a state theology of loyalty to Yahweh as the sole god of the Kingdom of Judah. According to
2 Kings 22:1–23:30, at this time
Hilkiah (the
High Priest and father of the prophet
Jeremiah) discovered the "book of the law" – which many scholars believe to be the Deuteronomic Code (the set of laws at chapters 12–26 which form the original core of the Book of Deuteronomy) – in the
temple. Josiah subsequently launched a full-scale reform of worship based on this "book of the law", which takes the form of a
covenant between Judah and Yahweh to replace the decades-old vassal treaty between King
Esarhaddon of Assyria and King
Manasseh of Judah.[17]
The next stage took place during the
Babylonian captivity. The
destruction of the Kingdom of Judah by Babylon in 586 BC and the end of kingship was the occasion of much reflection and theological speculation among the Deuteronomistic elite, now in exile in the city of
Babylon. The disaster was supposedly Yahweh's punishment of their failure to follow the law, and so they created a history of Israel (the books of Joshua through Kings) to illustrate this.
At the end of the Exile, when the
Persians agreed that the Jews could return and rebuild the
Temple in Jerusalem, chapters 1–4 and 29–30 were added and Deuteronomy was made the introductory book to this history, so that a story about a people about to enter the Promised Land became a story about a people about to return to the land. The legal sections of chapters 19–25 were expanded to meet new situations that had arisen, and chapters 31–34 were added as a new conclusion.
Chapters 12–26, containing the Deuteronomic Code, are the earliest section.[18] Since the idea was first put forward by
W. M. L. de Wette in 1805, most scholars have accepted that this portion of the book was composed in Jerusalem in the 7th century BC in the context of religious reforms advanced by King
Hezekiah (reigned c. 716–687 BC),[19][20] although some have argued for other dates, such as during the reign of his successor
Manasseh (687–643 BC) or even much later, such as during the
exilic or
postexilic periods (597–332 BC).[13][21] The second prologue (Ch. 5–11) was the next section to be composed, and then the first prologue (Ch. 1–4); the chapters following 26 are similarly layered.[18]
Israel–Judah division
The prophet
Isaiah, active in Jerusalem about a century before Josiah, makes no mention of
the Exodus, covenants with God, or disobedience to God's laws. In contrast, Isaiah's contemporary
Hosea, active in the northern
kingdom of Israel, makes frequent references to the Exodus, the wilderness wanderings, a covenant, the danger of foreign gods and the need to worship Yahweh alone. This discrepancy has led scholars to conclude that these traditions behind Deuteronomy have a northern origin.[22] Whether the Deuteronomic Code was written in Josiah's time (late 7th century BC) or earlier is subject to debate, but many of the individual laws are older than the collection itself.[23] The two poems at chapters 32–33 – the
Song of Moses and the
Blessing of Moses were probably originally independent.[22]
Position in the Hebrew Bible
Deuteronomy occupies a puzzling position in the Bible, linking the story of the Israelites' wanderings in the wilderness to the story of their history in Canaan without quite belonging totally to either. The wilderness story could end quite easily with Numbers, and the story of Joshua's conquests could exist without it, at least at the level of the plot. But in both cases there would be a thematic (theological) element missing. Scholars have given various answers to the problem.[24]
The Deuteronomistic history theory is currently the most popular. Deuteronomy was originally just the law code and covenant, written to cement the religious reforms of Josiah, and later expanded to stand as the introduction to the full history. But there is an older theory, which sees Deuteronomy as belonging to Numbers, and Joshua as a sort of supplement to it. This idea still has supporters, but the mainstream understanding is that Deuteronomy, after becoming the introduction to the history, was later detached from it and included with Genesis–Exodus–Leviticus–Numbers because it already had Moses as its central character. According to this hypothesis, the death of Moses was originally the ending of Numbers, and was simply moved from there to the end of Deuteronomy.[24]
Themes
Overview
Deuteronomy stresses the uniqueness of God, the need for drastic centralisation of worship, and a concern for the position of the poor and disadvantaged.[25] Its many themes can be organised around the three poles of Israel, Yahweh, and the covenant which binds them together.
Israel
The themes of Deuteronomy in relation to Israel are election, faithfulness, obedience, and Yahweh's promise of blessings, all expressed through the covenant: "obedience is not primarily a duty imposed by one party on another, but an expression of covenantal relationship."[26] Yahweh has elected Israel as his special property (Deuteronomy 7:6 and elsewhere),[27] and Moses stresses to the Israelites the need for obedience to God and covenant, and the consequences of unfaithfulness and disobedience.[28] Yet the first several chapters of Deuteronomy are a long retelling of Israel's past disobedience – but also God's gracious care, leading to a long call to Israel to choose life over death and blessing over curse (chapters 7–11).
Yahweh
Deuteronomy's concept of God changed over time. The earliest 7th century layer is
monolatrous; not denying the reality of other gods but enforcing only the worship of Yahweh in Jerusalem. In the later, Exilic layers from the mid-6th century, especially chapter 4, this becomes
monotheism, the idea that only one god exists.[29] God is simultaneously present in the Temple and in heaven – an important and innovative concept called "name theology."[30]
After the review of Israel's history in chapters 1 to 4, there is a restatement of the Ten Commandments in chapter 5. This arrangement of material highlights God's sovereign relationship with Israel prior to the giving of establishment of the Law.[31]
Covenant
The core of Deuteronomy is the
covenant that binds Yahweh and Israel by oaths of fidelity and obedience.[32] God will give Israel blessings of the land, fertility, and prosperity so long as Israel is faithful to God's teaching; disobedience will lead to curses and punishment.[33] But, according to the Deuteronomists, Israel's prime sin is lack of faith,
apostasy: contrary to the first and fundamental commandment ("Thou shalt have no other gods before me") the people have entered into relations with other gods.[34]
Dillard and Longman in their Introduction to the Old Testament stress the living nature of the covenant between Yahweh and Israel as a nation: The people of Israel are addressed by Moses as a unity, and their allegiance to the covenant is not one of obeisance, but comes out of a pre-existing relationship between God and Israel, established with Abraham and attested to by the Exodus event, so that the laws of Deuteronomy set the nation of Israel apart, signaling the unique
status of the Jewish nation.[35]
The land is God's gift to Israel, and many of the laws, festivals and instructions in Deuteronomy are given in the light of Israel's occupation of the land. Dillard and Longman note that "In 131 of the 167 times the verb "give" occurs in the book, the subject of the action is Yahweh."[36] Deuteronomy makes the Torah the ultimate authority for Israel, one to which even the king is subject.[37]
Judaism's weekly Torah portions in the Book of Deuteronomy
Shofetim, on Deuteronomy 16–21: Basic societal structure for the Israelites
Ki Teitzei, on Deuteronomy 21–25: Miscellaneous laws on civil and domestic life
Ki Tavo, on Deuteronomy 26–29: First fruits, tithes, blessings and curses, exhortation
Nitzavim, on Deuteronomy 29–30: covenant, violation, choose blessing and curse
Vayelech, on Deuteronomy 31: Encouragement, reading and writing the law
Haazinu, on Deuteronomy 32: Punishment, punishment restrained, parting words
V'Zot HaBerachah, on Deuteronomy 33–34: Farewell blessing and death of Moses
Influence on Judaism and Christianity
Judaism
Deuteronomy 6:4–5: "Hear, O Israel (shema Yisra'el), the LORD is our God, the LORD is one!" has become the basic credo of
Judaism, the
Shema Yisrael, and its twice-daily recitation is a
mitzvah (religious commandment). It continues, "Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart and all thy soul and all thy might"; it has therefore also become identified with the central Jewish concept of the love of God, and the rewards that come as a result.
In the
Gospel of Matthew,
Jesus cited Deuteronomy 6:5 as a
Great Commandment. The
earliest Christian authors interpreted Deuteronomy's prophecy of the restoration of Israel as having been fulfilled (or
superseded) in Jesus Christ and the establishment of the
Christian Church (Luke 1–2, Acts 2–5), and Jesus was interpreted to be the "one (i.e., prophet) like me" predicted by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15 (Acts 3:22–23). While the exact position of
Paul the Apostle and Judaism is still debated, a common view is that in place of
mitzvah set out in Deuteronomy,
Paul the Apostle, drawing on Deuteronomy 30:11–14, claimed that the keeping of the
Mosaic covenant was superseded by faith in Jesus and the gospel (the
New Covenant).[38]
Christensen, Duane L (1991).
"Deuteronomy". In Watson E. Mills; Roger Aubrey Bullard (eds.). Mercer Dictionary of the Bible. Mercer University Press.
ISBN9780865543737.
Clements, Ronald (1968). God's Chosen People: A Theological Interpretation of the Book of Deuteronomy. In series, Religious Book Club, 182. London: S.C.M. Press.
Laffey, Alice L (2007).
"Deuteronomistic Theology". In Orlando O. Espín; James B. Nickoloff (eds.). An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies. Liturgical Press.
ISBN9780814658567.
McConville, J.G (2002).
"Deuteronomy"(PDF). In T. Desmond Alexander; David W. Baker (eds.). Dictionary of the Old Testament: The Pentateuch. Eisenbrauns. Archived from
the original(PDF) on 2008-04-13. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
McKenzie, Steven L (1995).
"Postscript". In Linda S. Schearing; Steven L McKenzie (eds.). Those Elusive Deuteronomists: The Phenomenon of Pan-Deuteronomism. T&T Clark.
ISBN9780567563361.
Mendenhall, George E (September 1, 1954). Covenant Forms in Israelite Tradition. Biblical Archeology 3/17.
Rogerson, John W. (2003).
"Deuteronomy". In James D. G. Dunn; John William Rogerson (eds.). Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Eerdmans.
ISBN9780802837110.
Romer, Thomas (2000).
"Deuteronomy In Search of Origins". In Gary N. Knoppers; J. Gordon McConville (eds.). Reconsidering Israel and Judah: Recent Studies on the Deuteronomistic History. Eisenbrauns.
ISBN9781575060378.
Romer, Thomas (1994).
"The Book of Deuteronomy". In Steven L. McKenzie; Matt Patrick Graham (eds.). The history of Israel's Traditions: The Heritage of Martin Noth. Sheffield Academic Press.
ISBN9780567230355.
Sommer, Benjamin D. (June 30, 2015). Revelation and Authority: Sinai in Jewish Scripture and Tradition. Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library.