www.biblestudyworkshop.org 1 INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 2 INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY Introduction: Deuteronomy is the fifth book in our Old Testament. It is the last of the books that we classify as Law. Scholars call these books the Pentateuch, and the Jews refer to them as the books of Moses, or simply Moses. When the scriptures speak of Moses and the Prophets (e.g., Luke 16:29, 31, But Abraham said, They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond to them. ; Luke 24:27, Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things written about himself in all the scriptures. (NET)), the term Moses stands for the first five books of the Old Testament. Deuteronomy is a lengthy book, and is an important part of the Old Testament record. It is a succinct summation of the Law that God gave Israel at Sinai, and of the history of Israel from their entry into Egypt to the time that they stood ready to cross into the Promised Land. Deuteronomy gives us a glimpse into this watershed moment in Israel s history, and it reminds its readers of the faithfulness of God. Commentary: I. The Title:
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 3 A. The name Deuteronomy comes to us from the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures. This title was repeated in the Latin Vulgate and has remained since that time. Deuteronomy literally means second law, and it refers to the fact that this book repeats God s law to the people of Israel. This name arose due to a mistranslation of a phrase in Deuteronomy 17:18, When he sits on his royal throne he must make a copy of this law on a scroll given to him by the Levitical priests. (NET) The Hebrew phrase in this verse means copy of this law, but the Septuagint translators rendered it, repetition of this law. This is a minor error, and most modern translations accurately translate this verse. The name, Deuteronomy, however, accurately reflects the content of this book, which is indeed a repetition of the Law. B. The Hebrew title for this book is, These are the words, or simply, words, and is taken from the first line of the book. Deuteronomy 1:1, These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel across the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth and Dizahab. II. The Author: A. The Jews universally attribute the authorship of Deuteronomy to Moses, as they do the rest of the Pentateuch. This is certainly the testimony of the book itself (cf., Deuteronomy 1:5; So it was in the Transjordan, in Moab, that Moses began to deliver these words:
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 4 Deuteronomy 31:9, 22, 24, Then Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the Levitical priests, who carry the ark of the Lord s covenant, and to all Israel s elders. So on that day Moses wrote down this song and taught it to the Israelites, When Moses finished writing on a scroll the words of this law in their entirety, (NET). It is also the testimony of other Old Testament books (cf., 1 Kings 2:3, Do the job the Lord your God has assigned you by following his instructions and obeying his rules, commandments, regulations, and laws as written in the law of Moses. Then you will succeed in all you do and seek to accomplish,; 1 Kings 8:53; After all, you picked them out of all the nations of the earth to be your special possession, just as you, O sovereign Lord, announced through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt. ; 2 Kings 14:6; But he did not execute the sons of the assassins. He obeyed the Lord s commandment as recorded in the law scroll of Moses, Fathers must not be put to death for what their sons do, and sons must not be put to death for what their fathers do. A man must be put to death only for his own sin. ; 2 Kings 18:12, This happened because they did not obey the Lord their God and broke his agreement with them. They did not pay attention to and obey all that Moses, the Lord s servant, had commanded. (NET)) Further testimony to Mosaic authorship comes from the Lord Himself during His personal ministry (cf., Matthew 19:7-8, They said to him, Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her? Jesus said to them, Moses permitted you to divorce your
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 5 wives because of your hard hearts, but from the beginning it was not this way.; Mark 10:3-5, He answered them, What did Moses command you? They said, Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her. But Jesus said to them, He wrote this commandment for you because of your hard hearts.; John 5:46-47, If you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what Moses wrote, how will you believe my words? (NET)), and from the apostles (Acts 3:22-23, Moses said, The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must obey him in everything he tells you. Every person who does not obey that prophet will be destroyed and thus removed from the people. ; Acts 7:37-38, This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. This is the man who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors, and he received living oracles to give to you.; Romans 10:19, But again I ask, didn t Israel understand? First Moses says, I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation; with a senseless nation I will provoke you to anger. (NET)) B. It is evident, however, that a few sections of Deuteronomy were written by another author. Some commentators suggest that the prologue (Deuteronomy 1:1-5, This is what Moses said to the assembly of Israel in the Transjordanian wastelands, the arid
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 6 country opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di Zahab. Now it is ordinarily an eleven-day journey from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by way of Mount Seir. However, it was not until the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year that Moses addressed the Israelites just as the Lord had instructed him to do. This took place after the defeat of King Sihon of the Amorites, whose capital was in Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan, whose capital was in Ashtaroth, specifically in Edrei. So it was in the Transjordan, in Moab, that Moses began to deliver these words: (NET)) may have been written by another, and certainly the account of Moses death (Deuteronomy 34:1-12, Then Moses ascended from the deserts of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. The Lord showed him the whole land Gilead to Dan, and all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the distant sea, the Negev, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of the date palm trees, as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said to him, This is the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, I will give it to your descendants. I have let you see it, but you will not cross over there. So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab as the Lord had said. He buried him in the land of Moab near Beth Peor, but no one knows his exact burial place to this very day. Moses was 120 years old when he died, but his eye was not dull nor had his vitality departed. The Israelites mourned for Moses in the deserts of Moab for thirty days; then the days of mourning for Moses
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 7 ended. Now Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had placed his hands on him; and the Israelites listened to him and did just what the Lord had commanded Moses. No prophet ever again arose in Israel like Moses, who knew the Lord face to face. He did all the signs and wonders the Lord had sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, all his servants, and the whole land, and he displayed great power and awesome might in view of all Israel. (NET)) must have been written by a different author. These factors do not disprove the traditional view that Moses wrote this important book. The nearly one hundred (100) references to Deuteronomy in the New Testament testify that first century believers, both Jews and, later, Christians, attributed this book to Moses, and that they viewed it as authoritative. III. Date and Place: A. Determining the date of the book of Deuteronomy largely depends upon one s view of its authorship. Liberal scholars of the 1800s considered Deuteronomy to be the work of several editors at some point during the 7th century B.C. They came to this conclusion based on certain assumptions they made regarding the text itself. They saw in the text a centralization of worship in Jerusalem which they believed was more typical of the kingdom period of Israel s history. More recent scholarship has generally disregarded these assumptions and with it the idea of a late date for Deuteronomy.
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 8 B. Once Mosaic authorship is accepted, the time of the composition can be determined fairly easily. Using the record of 1 Kings 6:1, In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites left Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon s reign over Israel, during the month Ziv (the second month), he began building the Lord s temple. (NET), we find that Solomon began to build the temple in the 480th year after the Exodus. This would have been about 966 B.C. Working backward from this date, the Exodus would have occurred about 1446 B.C. If we allow for the wilderness wandering of forty years, this would make the date of composition about 1406 B.C. C. The location in which Moses wrote Deuteronomy is clearly stated in the prologue (Deuteronomy 1:1-5, This is what Moses said to the assembly of Israel in the Transjordanian wastelands, the arid country opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di Zahab. Now it is ordinarily an eleven-day journey from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by way of Mount Seir. However, it was not until the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year that Moses addressed the Israelites just as the Lord had instructed him to do. This took place after the defeat of King Sihon of the Amorites, whose capital was in Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan, whose capital was in Ashtaroth, specifically in Edrei. So it was in the Transjordan, in Moab, that Moses began to deliver these words: (NET)) The scripture identifies the area as the territory of Moab on the east side of the Jordan river. The specific locale was near where the Jordan river enters
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 9 the Dead Sea. Israel arrived here after they had defeated Sihon, king of Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan. IV. Purpose and Recipients: A. The purpose for this book is very clear. Deuteronomy is Moses farewell sermon to the people of Israel. This is not just a book of mere reminiscences, however. Moses would not accompany Israel into the Promised Land because of his sin at the waters of Meribah, and the people of Israel needed to be reminded of the importance of keeping God s law once Moses was no longer with them. Some commentators have called this book a covenant renewal in which Moses reminded them of the commitment they had made to God at Sinai, and which they must continue to honor once they had conquered the Promised Land. B. Therefore, this book is addressed to the people of Israel who had survived the forty years in the wilderness. This was an entirely new generation of Jews, many of whom had no personal knowledge of the mighty works that God had performed against Egypt. However, all of them were eyewitnesses to His mighty works in sustaining them during the forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Deuteronomy is Moses final and personal appeal to them to remain faithful to God so they would continue to receive His blessings once they occupied the Promised Land. V. Outline: A. Some commentators see the structure of Deuteronomy as a series of more or less extemporaneous addresses by
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 10 Moses to the people of Israel. They note that sometimes it appears that Moses describes events in non-chronological order. This should not trouble us, however. Moses was inspired by God to write this book for the benefit of His people, and we can be sure the structure served the purposes of God. B. The book may be outlined as follows: 1. The Preamble (1:1-5) 2. The Historical Prologue (1:6-4:4) 3. The Stipulations of the Covenant (4:44-26:19) a. The Great Commandment: Absolute Allegiance to God (4:44-11:32) b. Supplementary Requirements (chs. 12-26) i. Ceremonial Consecration (12:1-16:17) ii. Governmental Leaders/a righteous nation (16:18-21:21) iii. Sanctity of God s kingdom (21:22-25:19) iv. Confession of God as Redeemer (ch. 26) 4. Ratification: Curses and Blessings (chs. 27-30)
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 11 Conclusion: 5. Leadership Succession Under the Covenant (chs. 31-34) a. Change of Leadership (31:1-29) b. Song of Moses (31:30-32:47 c. Moses Blessing on the Tribes (32:48-33:29) d. Death of Moses and Succession of Joshua (ch. 34) A. Deuteronomy is a concise re-statement of the Law of God that was given to the people of Israel at Sinai. It is, in a sense, Moses last will and testament to Israel. These are his wishes for the people whom he had led for forty years. Like a good father who hopes to influence his children s lives even after he is gone, Moses laid out the way in which Israel would always receive God s blessings. All they had to do was live in accordance with his exhortation. B. Deuteronomy is a valuable resource for Christians because it reminds us of the basic premise upon which mankind s relationship with God has been based and sustained from the beginning of time. That premise is that God is God, and He expects His people to obey Him. If we learn this lesson from Deuteronomy, we will certainly be blessed as we seek to serve God today.
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 12 Questions on Introduction to Deuteronomy 1. The book of Deuteronomy falls within which classification of Old Testament books? 2. What is the origin of the name Deuteronomy? 3. What four biblical sources testify to the Mosaic authorship of Deuteronomy?
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 13 4. What two portions of Deuteronomy were likely written by another author? 5. When and where was Deuteronomy written? 6. What was Moses purpose in writing Deuteronomy? 7. What basic lesson should Christians take from Deuteronomy?_