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What is Deuteronomy?
A: Deuteronomy is the Christian name for the fifth book of thePentateuch. It is derived from two Greek words, deuteros ('second') and nomos ('law') - the book is thought o…f as a'second giving of the Law'. The Hebrew name of this book is Devarim('sayings' or 'words'). Tradition says that Moses not only wrote Genesis, Exodus,Leviticus and Numbers , but the Book of Deuteronomy aswell, which raises the question of why he would write another bookcontaining much of the same historical narrative and laws and evenuse a different authorship style in doing so. It appears that Deuteronomy was the book of law that 2 Kings22:8 describes as 'found' by Hilkiah, the high priest, in theTemple, presumably to give the book the appearance of greatantiquity. In case we feel that we should never doubt the religiousauthorities on these matters, this was not the only time that ascroll was first hidden, then found, so as to disguise itsauthorship. Jeremiah chapter 36 even tells how just a few yearslater, the scribes hid another scroll in the Temple, to be foundand read to the king. The Book of Jeremiah demonstrates that thereligious authorities were well aware of the practice. There are good reasons for believing that Deuteronomy was writtenduring the seventh century BCE and given to the people of Judah aspart of the Deuteronomistic reforms being undertaken by KingJosiah. Answer: Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Torah. It is includedin the Torah scroll which contains the five books of the Torah. Itwas written by Moses (Deuteronomy 31:24) at the word of God(Deuteronomy 1:3). It has many subjects not mentioned in the restof the Torah, or which contain many further details. Its immediatepurpose was to prepare the Israelites for entering into the land,which is why it contains such passages as that of the king (inch.17) and of battle (in ch.20). Here are some further points: 1) Judaism is not based only on Deuteronomy. It includes the entireTorah, which was given by God to Moses (Exodus 24:12). King Josiahwas several centuries later. 2 a) In the time of King Yoshiah (Josiah), there were hundreds -probably thousands - of Torah scrolls possessed by the Jewishpeople, just like today. b) King Amon had burned copies of the Torah (Talmud, Sanhedrin103b), so it was understandable that King Yoshiah was thrilled whenhe found a scroll (see 2 Kings ch.22: the whole Torah , not just Deuteronomy) right there in theTemple grounds, which had escaped Amon's depredation. c) Yoshiah was agitated because the scroll was found rolled to theprophecy concerning the eventual exile (see Talmud, Yoma 52b); and because it was the very scroll which had been written by Moseshimself (2 Chronicles 34:14). d) Deuteronomy, along with the rest of the Torah, existed longbefore the time of Yoshiah. Two centuries earlier, when KingAmatziah killed the assassins of his father Joash, he spared theirchildren "as is written that fathers shall not die because of theirchildren and children shall not die because of their fathers" (IIKings 14:6), which is a quote from Deuteronomy (24:16). (MORE)
