Bible Dictionaries
Deuteronomy

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Deuteronomy (deû'ter-ŏn'o-my), or the Second Law (so called from its repeating the law), is the fifth book of the Bible, and, except the last chapter, was probably written by Moses. Deuteronomy 1:5, comp. with Deuteronomy 34:1; 2 Chronicles 25:4; Daniel 9:13; Mark 12:19; Acts 3:22. This book contains three addresses of Moses to the Israelites in the plain of Moab in the 11th month of the 40th year of their journeyings. The first address. Deuteronomy 1:1 to Deu_4:40. is a brief rehearsal of the history of the "Wandering," and plea to obedience. The second address, Deuteronomy 5:1 to Deu_26:19, contains a recapitulation, with a few additions and alterations, of the law given on Sinai. The third part of Deuteronomy 27:1 to Deuteronomy 30:20, opens with the joint command of Moses and the elders to keep all the commandments, and, when they had crossed the Jordan, to write them upon the great plastered stones they were ordered to set up with appropriate ceremonies. Then follows the third address, Deuteronomy 27:11 to Deu_30:20, whose topic is, "The blessing and the curse." After these three addresses, in chapter 31 there follows the delivery of the law to Joshua and Moses' speech on the occasion, containing a command to read the law every seven years. In Deuteronomy 32:1-52 we have the song of Moses; in chapter 33 Moses' blessing of the twelve tribes. These were the last written words of Moses, and most beautifully do they set forth the majesty of God and the excellency of Israel. The final verses of the book give an account of the death of Moses, and were, of course, written by another hand.

Bibliography Information
Rice, Edwin Wilbur, DD. Entry for 'Deuteronomy'. People's Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​rpd/​d/deuteronomy.html. 1893.