Book of Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy (Deuteronómion) is the fifth book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called Devarim (Hebrew: Dəḇārīm) and the fifth book of the Christian Old Testament. 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. 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 our God, the is one." Verses 6:4–5 were also quoted by Jesus in Mark 12:28–34 as the Great Commandment. 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. Speeches of Moses 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 or some kind of epilogue (31:1–34:12), consist of commission of Joshua, the song of Moses and the death of Moses. Miller refers to this as the "literary" structure. Concentric literary pattern Christensen proposed a five-part centric design of Deuteronomy. The narrative move toward the central core (Deuteronomy 12-26) and then move out, as illustrated below: A. THE OUTER FRAME: A look backward (Deut.