1. AUTHOR.  —  Moses.. As the book largely consists of the words of Moses to Israel, we may rightly suppose that he himself recorded them,

2. DATE.  —  Just before the death of Moses, about 1451.

3. HISTORICAL OCCASION.  —  At the time that Moses was to be removed from the position of leader of Israel, when the people were on the point of entering the land of Canaan to take possession of it as God's people.

4. LEADING TOPICS.  —  A recounting of God's dealings with Israel, with a restating of some laws that were to govern them, together with an urgent exhortation to obey God. The most of the book is made up of addresses by Moses.

5. CHIEF PURPOSE.  — To emphasize the necessity of obedience to God on the part of the people whom he had taken to himself in order to carry out his purposes, and who were now about to come into possession of their land. The Israelites had been redeemed, admitted to fellowship with God, brought to their inheritance, and though they had before refused to take it, they were now to do so, and Deuteronomy shows that their success depended upon their obedience. It was to prevent them from turning to idolatry, to warn them of the punishments that would come upon them for sin, and to assure them of God's great love and mercy.

6. GENERAL ANALYSIS.

Part I. A recounting of God's dealings with Israel, Ch. 1-4.

Part II. Exhortation to obey the laws, Ch. 5–11.

Part III. Various laws to be observed, Ch. 12-26.

Part IV. Obedience urged by threat, warning, and promise, Ch. 27–30.

Part V. The song, blessing, and death of Moses, Ch. 31–34.

7. POINTS OF ESPECIAL INTEREST. — The punishment of idolatry; the duty of a king; the use of blood prohibited; the blessings and curses; song of Moses; his blessing compared with that of Jacob.

8. RELATION TO OTHER O. T. BOOKS. — It gathers up the facts of the preceding books, impresses their significance, and shows that the chosen people should obey. It warns of the punishments that would come upon them, which are recorded in the historical books, and furnishes the grounds for the reproofs contained in the prophets. The laws in Leviticus formed the priests' code; the laws in Deuteronomy, the people's code.

9. MESSIANIC IDEAS.  —  The coming of a prophet like Moses. (18:18.)

10. TOPICS FOR SPECIAL STUDY. — The character of Moses; the religious beliefs of other peoples at the time of Moses; the extent of the influence of the Mosaic laws; the ideas about God found in the Pentateuch.