The book of Deuteronomy recounts, like a sermon, God’s instruction from the mouth of Moses before ancient Israel enters the Promised Land for the first time.
From the outset, Deuteronomy stands as a canonical and narrative hinge, marking a significant transition in the story of Israel’s history.
Canonically, Deuteronomy concludes the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Hebrew Bible—and introduces the so-called Deuteronomistic History, which spans from Joshua through 2 Kings.
Narratively, it concludes the exodus and wilderness wandering, anticipating a new era of life in the Promised Land. In this respect, Deuteronomy is a book of transience and transition, conveying the essentials of what it means to be the people of God.
Deuteronomy illuminates a trifold relationship between God, the land, and the worshipping community, where right relationship with God leads to a flourishing community, and disobedience leads to reciprocal consequences.
With the core of Deuteronomy (Chapters 12–26) reading as an extensive law code and the theological difficulty of retributive consequences, teaching and preaching this book can seem an insurmountable task. Despite this difficulty, the book is incredibly important, a fact the Old Testament itself attests.
Second Kings describes King Josiah finding a copy of Deuteronomy, an event that sparked massive religious reform and a climactic moment in ancient Israel’s history.
Deuteronomy’s thematic importance and transitional position in the Old Testament make this book a theological and narrative key for understanding Scripture’s account of biblical Israel’s history.
‘Deuteronomy’ in Opening Israel’s Scriptures by Ellen F. Davis
Ellen F. Davis’s goal with Opening Israel’s Scriptures is to model, as an endeavor in practical theology and biblical interpretation, a theological exegesis of the Old Testament that does justice to both the text itself and the readers of the text.
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Her exegesis theologically engages with contemporary biblical scholarship to provide an overview of the key themes, movements, and insights within Deuteronomy, making this work an excellent starting point for individual study, teaching, and preaching the text.
The chapter on Deuteronomy divides the book into two primary sections: Deuteronomy 1–11 and Deuteronomy 12–34, each of which provides instruction for the ancient Israelite community to fully enter the land and covenant with YHWH. In each section, Davis highlights torah, instruction, as a unifying motif, signifying God’s presence with God’s people.
Her analysis addresses key issues like authorship, dating, and the so-called Deuteronomistic History. Yet, she situates these issues within the context of ancient Israel’s history, unpacking their theological significance as they pertain to the community’s relationship to God.
Opening Israel’s Scriptures is always one of my first recommendations as a starting point for biblical studies. Davis provides a brief introduction to modern scholarship while intricately connecting these questions to the concerns of the modern reader, bridging the gap between the ivory tower of academia and the pulpit.
Her analyses of individual texts and the book of Deuteronomy as a whole guide modern readers through the difficult topics like war, politics, and law that make parts of the Old Testament seem unapproachable.
She provides theologically rich explanations and applications for these difficult texts through digestible and approachable insights that make a great beginning for sermon preparation, lesson planning, or individual study.
Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy by Mark E. Biddle
In this commentary on Deuteronomy, Mark E. Biddle walks through the text of Deuteronomy in sections, providing a close reading that focuses on themes, literary structure, and theological insights.
The commentary also contains helpful sidebars explaining key historical information, difficult translation decisions, and histories of interpretation. Additionally, the introduction concisely explains more technical issues like authorship, date, genre, and canon.
Biddle’s analysis is clear and approachable, providing a helpful exegetical guide for studying Deuteronomy in depth.
While the thematic, theological, and topical analysis in the body of the commentary is good, I find the sidebars with accessible explanations of interpretive issues to be the real strength of the commentary.
I recommend this commentary as a reference for interpreting difficult sections and as a general guide for studying particular passages, utilizing the sidebars extensively to learn about the world behind the text.
‘Deuteronomy’ in the Global Bible Commentary by Mercedes García Bachmann
One of the most important parts of teaching and studying Scripture is considering perspectives different than your own—reading in conversation with those who have different backgrounds and life experiences.
These conversations illuminate the text in new light and challenge the assumptions we might bring because of our own contexts. The Global Bible Commentary provides a helpful conversation partner in this endeavor.
Mercedes García Bachmann explains how her Argentinian context influences her reading of Deuteronomy, challenges the way our shared modern context might hinder our collective reading, and provides a close reading of key passages of Deuteronomy.
Her exegesis considers these contexts—individual, modern, and ancient—to illuminate key themes for modern worshipping communities.
Other notable resources
Word Biblical Commentary: Deuteronomy, Vol. 1 & 2 by Duane L. Christensen
For those looking for a more technical study of Deuteronomy, the Word Bible Commentary’s two volumes by Duane L. Christensen provide a line-by-line analysis of the book. Though a bit dense at times, this commentary is great for an in-depth study of the biblical text, especially if you want to dust off your Hebrew, to prep for a sermon or bible study.
I also love podcasts and online resources as more accessible entry points for clergy and laity alike.
The Bible Project
The Bible Project has a series of helpful tools, from an eight-minute video summary of the content of Deuteronomy to a more detailed podcast outlining the structure, content, and purpose of the book. These resources provide helpful starting points and teaching aids both for personal study and for recommending to students and congregants.
The Bible for Normal People
Additionally, The Bible for Normal People’s episode on Deuteronomy, “Episode 39: Understanding Deuteronomy & the Story of Israel’s Kings”, carefully unpacks the theology of Deuteronomy as it relates to the rest of the Hebrew Bible.
This podcast does a fantastic job of explaining the diverse witness of Scripture, the complicated history of scholarship, and the often-challenging themes of retribution present throughout Deuteronomy in accessible language, digesting difficult topics in modern scholarship into clear, applicable theological takeaways.
Madde Ely recently graduated with her Master of Divinity from Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary. She is currently a Ph.D. student at Baylor University researching food, agriculture, and ecology in the Old Testament. The views expressed in this resource article are those of the author.
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