“The Book of Deuteronomy,” Old Testament Seminary Student Study Guide (2002), 77–78
“The Book of Deuteronomy,” Old Testament Seminary Student Study Guide, 77–78
The Book of Deuteronomy
A Repetition of the Law
Deuteronomy is the final book of Moses. The events in Deuteronomy occurred approximately forty years after the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt. Because they refused to exercise faith in the Lord thirty-nine years earlier, all Israelites—except Moses, Joshua, and Caleb—who were adults at the time they left Egypt died in the wilderness (see Numbers 13–14).
At the time Moses wrote Deuteronomy, the children of those who had died were prepared to enter their promised land. The prophet Moses knew he would not enter with them, but he was given the opportunity to instruct and counsel this generation of Israelites before he left. Moses gave the “speeches” recorded in Deuteronomy on the plains of Moab, just east of the Jordan River and the promised land. After teaching the people one last time, Moses was translated, or taken into heaven without tasting death (see Alma 45:19).
Getting Ready to Study Deuteronomy
The first four chapters of Deuteronomy are a “remembering” of Israelite history. On over twenty additional occasions in Deuteronomy, Moses told the people to “remember” or “forget not” certain important teachings to help them remain faithful. Note the following about Deuteronomy:
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The Ten Commandments are repeated in Deuteronomy 5.
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Deuteronomy is quoted over a hundred times in the New Testament. Two notable instances include when Jesus used three verses from Deuteronomy to dismiss the temptations of Satan (see Deuteronomy 6:13, 16; 8:3; Matthew 4:1–11) and when Jesus quoted a verse from Deuteronomy in response to the question “Which is the great commandment in the law?” (Matthew 22:36; see also vv. 35, 37–38; Deuteronomy 6:5).
To find out more about the book of Deuteronomy, see “Deuteronomy” in the Bible Dictionary (p. 656).