Deuteronomy is the fifth book in the Bible, the last of the five “Books of Moses,” as they are called. These books are also known as the Pentateuch (“five scrolls”). The name comes from the title of the book in the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. The Greek word, which means “second law,” appears in 17.18 as the translation of the Hebrew “copy of this law” (Greek Deuteronomion). The Hebrew title, which is simply “Words,” comes from the opening words of the book, “These are the words.”

More than any other book in the Old Testament, this book claims to have divine authority for the faith and practice of the Israelites. The book appears as an accurate and complete record of God’s laws, given by God through Moses to the people of Israel. In the opening and closing sections, references are made to “this book” as a finished and identifiable whole (1.1; 28.58, 61; 29.20, 21, 27; 30.10; 31.24 26; see also Josh 1.7 8). Its text is complete and final, to which nothing is to be added and from which nothing is to be deleted (4.2; 12.32; 31.24). The book claims divine authority.

Published 2000 Pages 638