Imagine you are 120 years old. You have spent 40 years leading two million people through a brutal wilderness. You have stood before Pharaoh, parted the Red Sea, received the Ten Commandments from God Himself, and interceded for a rebellious nation more times than you can count. And now — standing on a mountain overlooking the Promised Land you will never enter — you have one last chance to speak to the people you have given your entire life for.
What would you say?
That is Deuteronomy.
It is Moses' farewell. His final sermon. His last will and testament to the nation of Israel. And it is one of the most emotionally powerful, theologically rich, and historically significant books in all of Scripture — quoted more by Jesus than almost any other Old Testament book, and described by God Himself as a book that must never depart from the mouths of His people.
So when was it written, who wrote it, and why does it still matter today?
Why Is It Called "Deuteronomy"?
The English name "Deuteronomy" comes from the Greek Deuteronomion — meaning "Second Law" or "Repetition of the Law." This name comes from the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) and reflects the fact that Moses repeats and expands upon much of the law already given in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers — this time addressing the new generation about to enter the Promised Land.
However, the original Hebrew title is once again far more personal and intimate. In Hebrew the book is called "Devarim" — meaning "Words" or "These Are the Words." These are the opening words of the book:
"These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan." — Deuteronomy 1:1
This title captures something the Greek name misses entirely. Deuteronomy is not primarily a legal document — it is a deeply personal address. It is Moses speaking directly, passionately, and urgently to the people he loves — warning them, encouraging them, pleading with them — in his final hours on earth.
Who Wrote the Book of Deuteronomy?
The traditional and overwhelmingly supported answer is that Moses wrote Deuteronomy — with one small and well-understood exception.
Moses wrote the vast majority of Deuteronomy — chapters 1 through 33 — as a direct record of his farewell speeches to Israel. This is confirmed by:
- Deuteronomy 31:9 — "So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the Levitical priests." Moses himself is identified as the writer within the book
- Deuteronomy 31:24 — "After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end..." — again, Moses is explicitly identified as the author
- Jesus quoted Deuteronomy more than any other Old Testament book during His temptation in the wilderness — in Matthew 4, He responds to Satan three consecutive times with quotes from Deuteronomy 6 and 8 — and He treated it as the authoritative Word of God
- The New Testament quotes or references Deuteronomy over 90 times — more than almost any other Old Testament book
- Jewish tradition has always attributed Deuteronomy to Moses without question
- The book's intensely personal tone — the repeated use of "I" and "you," Moses speaking directly to the people — is entirely consistent with a single passionate author addressing his people one final time
The one exception is the final chapter — Deuteronomy 34 — which records Moses' death and burial. Moses obviously could not have written his own obituary. Most scholars, both conservative and critical, agree this brief concluding chapter was written by Joshua or possibly Ezra under divine inspiration as a fitting conclusion to Moses' life and the entire Pentateuch.
When Was Deuteronomy Written?
Deuteronomy is the most precisely datable of all five books of Moses because its historical setting is so specific. The book opens by telling us exactly when and where Moses gave these speeches:
"In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them." — Deuteronomy 1:3
Based on the 1446 BC date for the Exodus, the fortieth year of Israel's wilderness journey would be approximately 1406 BC. This makes Deuteronomy the last of the five books to be written — Moses' final literary act before his death on Mount Nebo — and gives it one of the most precise datings of any ancient document.
Deuteronomy was written in 1406 BC, making it approximately 3,400 years old.
What Does Deuteronomy Actually Contain?
Deuteronomy consists almost entirely of three farewell speeches Moses delivered to Israel on the plains of Moab, just east of the Jordan River, in the final weeks of his life:
Speech 1 — Looking Back: A Historical Review (Chapters 1–4)
Moses begins by reviewing the journey from Sinai to the present — reminding the new generation of everything God did for their parents, and why the old generation died in the wilderness. He is not merely recounting history — he is drawing urgent lessons from it.
His central message: God has been faithful. You have not. Learn from your parents' failure.
This section closes with one of the most beautiful theological declarations in the Old Testament:
"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." — Deuteronomy 31:8
Speech 2 — Looking Around: A Renewal of the Law (Chapters 5–26)
This is the longest and most detailed section — Moses restates and expands the law for the new generation. Key highlights include:
The Ten Commandments Repeated (Chapter 5) Moses restates the Ten Commandments — first given at Sinai 40 years earlier — for the benefit of the generation that was too young to have been there.
The Shema — Israel's Greatest Declaration of Faith (Chapter 6) Deuteronomy 6:4–5 contains what Jesus called the greatest commandment of all:
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."
The Shema (from the Hebrew word for "hear") has been recited by Jewish people twice daily for over three thousand years. It is the foundational confession of biblical monotheism — and Jesus quoted it directly in Mark 12:29–30 when asked which commandment was the greatest.
Laws for Life in the Promised Land (Chapters 12–26) Moses gives detailed instructions for worship, leadership, justice, warfare, family life, and care for the poor — all specifically tailored to Israel's life in Canaan. These chapters contain some of the most advanced social legislation of the ancient world, including:
- Radical care for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the foreign resident
- Strict limits on the power of kings
- Fair judicial procedures and the rights of the accused
- Sabbath rest for slaves and animals
Many of these laws were centuries ahead of any other ancient legal code in their protection of vulnerable people — evidence of their divine origin.
Speech 3 — Looking Forward: Blessings, Curses, and the Future (Chapters 27–30)
Moses now looks ahead — and what he sees is both glorious and sobering. He outlines the blessings that will follow obedience and the devastating curses that will follow disobedience in stunning prophetic detail.
The Blessings (Chapter 28:1–14) — If Israel obeys God, they will be blessed in the city and the field, in their children and their harvests, in battle and in commerce. Other nations will see God's favour on Israel and stand in awe.
The Curses (Chapter 28:15–68) — If Israel disobeys, the consequences are described in horrifying detail — famine, disease, military defeat, exile, and ultimately the scattering of Israel among the nations. Reading this chapter in light of subsequent Jewish history — the Assyrian captivity, the Babylonian exile, the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, and the centuries of persecution — is one of the most sobering experiences in biblical reading. Moses described it all 800 years before it happened.
The Call to Choose (Chapter 30) Moses closes this speech with one of the most urgent and beautiful invitations in all of Scripture:
"This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him." — Deuteronomy 30:19–20
Moses' Final Acts and Death (Chapters 31–34)
The final section of Deuteronomy is deeply moving. Moses:
- Appoints Joshua as his successor and commissions him before all Israel
- Writes down the law and commands it to be read publicly every seven years
- Teaches Israel a song (chapter 32) — a prophetic poem summarizing Israel's entire future history, to be a witness against them when they turn away from God
- Blesses each of the twelve tribes individually (chapter 33) — echoing Jacob's blessing of his sons in Genesis 49
- Climbs Mount Nebo, where God shows him the entire Promised Land from a distance
- Dies at 120 years old — and is buried by God Himself in an unknown location
"Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face." — Deuteronomy 34:10
The Prophecy of a Coming Prophet — Jesus in Deuteronomy
One of the most explicit messianic prophecies in the entire Old Testament is found in Deuteronomy 18:15, where Moses says:
"The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to Him."
The New Testament identifies this prophecy as referring directly to Jesus Christ. Peter quotes it in Acts 3:22, and Stephen quotes it in Acts 7:37 — both applying it to Jesus as the ultimate Prophet like Moses, the final Mediator between God and humanity, who would deliver His people not from Egypt but from sin and death.
Moses himself — the greatest prophet Israel ever knew — pointed beyond himself to One who would be greater still.
What Do Critical Scholars Say?
Deuteronomy has been at the centre of the most intense scholarly debate of any book in the Pentateuch. The Documentary Hypothesis assigns Deuteronomy to the "D" (Deuteronomist) source — supposedly written not by Moses in 1406 BC but by anonymous priests or scribes in Jerusalem around 621 BC, during the reign of King Josiah.
This theory gained popularity because of 2 Kings 22, which records that a "Book of the Law" was discovered in the Temple during Josiah's reign and triggered a major religious reform. Some scholars argued this "discovered" book was actually Deuteronomy — newly written and planted to give Josiah's reforms divine authority.
However, this theory faces devastating problems:
- It requires accusing the priests of deliberate religious fraud — fabricating a holy book and attributing it to Moses — with no evidence whatsoever
- Deuteronomy's literary style is consistent with second millennium BC treaty documents — specifically the Hittite Suzerainty Treaties of 1400–1200 BC — which follow the exact same structure as Deuteronomy (preamble, historical prologue, stipulations, blessings and curses, witnesses). This structure disappeared from ancient Near Eastern literature after 1200 BC, making a 621 BC authorship virtually impossible
- The blessings and curses of Deuteronomy 28 are closely paralleled in ancient Near Eastern treaty texts from the second millennium BC — not the first
- The Dead Sea Scrolls include multiple manuscript fragments of Deuteronomy, showing it was already a well-established, widely copied text centuries before the time of Jesus — entirely inconsistent with a late composition
The Hittite Treaty Structure — Powerful Evidence for Early Dating
This deserves special attention because it is one of the strongest archaeological arguments for Mosaic authorship of Deuteronomy.
In the 20th century, archaeologists discovered that ancient Hittite Suzerainty Treaties — legal agreements between a great king and his vassals — followed a very specific six-part structure:
| Section | Hittite Treaty | Deuteronomy |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Preamble | Identifies the great king | Deut 1:1–5 — identifies Moses speaking for God |
| 2. Historical Prologue | Reviews the king's past kindness | Deut 1:6–4:49 — reviews God's acts for Israel |
| 3. Stipulations | Lists the vassal's obligations | Deut 5–26 — lists Israel's covenant obligations |
| 4. Document Clause | Instructions to preserve the text | Deut 27:2–3, 31:9–13 |
| 5. Witnesses | Called to witness the treaty | Deut 30:19 — heaven and earth as witnesses |
| 6. Blessings and Curses | Consequences of obedience or disobedience | Deut 27–28 |
This structure was used exclusively in the second millennium BC — the era of Moses — and had disappeared entirely by the time critics claim Deuteronomy was written. The book of Deuteronomy fits the Mosaic era perfectly and the proposed 621 BC date impossibly.
Why Is Deuteronomy So Important for Christians?
1. Jesus quoted it more than any other book During His 40-day temptation in the wilderness, Jesus responded to every one of Satan's attacks with a quote from Deuteronomy. He knew it by heart. He treated it as the supreme authority. If Deuteronomy was good enough for Jesus in His darkest moment, it is good enough for us.
2. It contains the greatest commandment The Shema of Deuteronomy 6:4–5 — "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength" — was identified by Jesus as the greatest of all commandments. It is the foundation of all biblical ethics and Christian discipleship.
3. It prophesied Israel's entire future Deuteronomy 28–30 contains prophecies of Israel's exile, scattering, and eventual restoration so precise and detailed that they read like history — written 800 years before the events occurred. This is powerful evidence of divine inspiration.
4. It points to Jesus Deuteronomy 18:15 prophesied a coming Prophet like Moses. Moses himself — Israel's greatest prophet, lawgiver, and deliverer — pointed beyond himself to Jesus Christ, who would fulfil everything Moses represented and so much more.
5. It ends with grace Even after all the warnings and curses, Deuteronomy 30 closes with a breathtaking offer of restoration. No matter how far Israel falls, God promises:
"The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live." — Deuteronomy 30:6
This is a promise of inner transformation — of God changing human hearts from the inside — that the New Testament identifies as the new covenant work of the Holy Spirit. Moses saw it coming 1,400 years before Pentecost.
How Deuteronomy Completes the Pentateuch
| Book | Hebrew Title | Key Theme | Written |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genesis | Bereshit — "In the Beginning" | Creation and the Patriarchs | ~1446–1400 BC |
| Exodus | Shemot — "Names" | Slavery, Deliverance, the Law | ~1446–1400 BC |
| Leviticus | Vayikra — "And He Called" | Holiness, Sacrifice, and Worship | ~1445 BC |
| Numbers | Bemidbar — "In the Wilderness" | Wilderness, Rebellion, Renewal | ~1446–1406 BC |
| Deuteronomy | Devarim — "Words" | Moses' Farewell and Final Instructions | ~1406 BC |
Together these five books form a complete and unified theological narrative — from the creation of the world to the edge of the Promised Land — that provides the foundation for everything that follows in the rest of the Bible.
A Simple Timeline
| Period | Event |
|---|---|
| ~1526 BC | Moses born in Egypt |
| ~1446 BC | The Exodus — Israel leaves Egypt |
| ~1446–1406 BC | 40 years in the wilderness |
| ~1406 BC | Moses delivers his three farewell speeches — Deuteronomy written |
| ~1406 BC | Moses climbs Mount Nebo, views the Promised Land, and dies |
| ~1406 BC | Joshua leads Israel across the Jordan into Canaan |
| ~621 BC | The Book of the Law (likely Deuteronomy) rediscovered in the Temple under Josiah |
| ~150 BC | Earliest surviving Deuteronomy manuscripts (Dead Sea Scrolls) |
| ~27–30 AD | Jesus quotes Deuteronomy repeatedly during His ministry |
| Today | Deuteronomy remains one of the most quoted books in the entire New Testament |
Conclusion
The Book of Deuteronomy was written by Moses in 1406 BC — the final year of his extraordinary life — making it approximately 3,400 years old. It is not merely a repetition of the law. It is a farewell address of breathtaking emotional depth, theological richness, and prophetic precision — from a man who knew God face to face, speaking his last words to the people he gave his life for.
It is quoted by Jesus more than almost any other book. It contains the greatest commandment. It prophesied Israel's entire history centuries before it happened. It pointed forward to a coming Prophet greater than Moses himself. And it closes with a promise of heart transformation that would only be fully understood when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Church 1,400 years later.
Moses never entered the Promised Land on earth. But in Matthew 17, on the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses appeared alongside Elijah — standing in the Promised Land, in glory, talking with Jesus. The man who was forbidden to cross the Jordan finally made it home.
That is the grace of God.
"Choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the Lord is your life." — Deuteronomy 30:19–20
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Who wrote the Book of Deuteronomy? Moses wrote Deuteronomy, as confirmed by Deuteronomy 31:9 and 31:24, by Jesus who quoted it repeatedly as authoritative Scripture, and by consistent Jewish and Christian tradition. The final chapter recording Moses' death was likely added by Joshua under divine inspiration.
Q: When was the Book of Deuteronomy written? Deuteronomy was written in approximately 1406 BC — the fortieth year of Israel's wilderness journey, in the final weeks of Moses' life. This makes it around 3,400 years old.
Q: What does Deuteronomy mean? The English title means "Second Law" or "Repetition of the Law" from the Greek. The original Hebrew title is Devarim meaning "Words" — referring to Moses' personal farewell speeches to Israel.
Q: Why did Jesus quote Deuteronomy so much? Jesus quoted Deuteronomy more than almost any other Old Testament book — especially during His temptation in the wilderness. He treated it as the supreme expression of covenant faithfulness and used it as His weapon against Satan's attacks.
Q: What is the Shema in Deuteronomy? The Shema is found in Deuteronomy 6:4–5 — "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength." Jesus called it the greatest commandment of all. It has been the central daily confession of Jewish faith for over 3,000 years.
Q: Did Moses really prophesy Israel's exile in Deuteronomy 28? Yes — in extraordinary detail. The blessings and curses of Deuteronomy 28 describe Israel's conquest, prosperity, disobedience, military defeat, siege, famine, exile, and scattering among the nations — written approximately 800 years before the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles actually occurred.
Q: Why could Moses not enter the Promised Land? In Numbers 20, Moses struck a rock in anger rather than speaking to it as God commanded. God told Moses this act of disobedience meant he would not lead Israel into Canaan. Moses accepted this judgment but pleaded with God to let him at least see the land — which God graciously allowed from the top of Mount Nebo.
Q: Who is the Prophet like Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15? Deuteronomy 18:15 promised that God would raise up a prophet like Moses. The New Testament identifies this as a direct prophecy of Jesus Christ, quoted in Acts 3:22 by Peter and Acts 7:37 by Stephen — both applying it explicitly to Jesus.
