AUTHOR: As in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, the authorship of Deuteronomy is attributed to Moses, however, some scholars say that the last chapters were written by Joshua, because Moses could not have reported his own death.

ORIGIN OF NAME: The Hebrew name of this book is "Devarim". Derived from the Greek words, "deuteros" meaning "second", and "nomos" meaning "law", or "repetition of the law".

THEME: The book covers the period of two months on the plains of Moab, present-day Jordan, in 1451 BC. Moses gave three farewell speeches shortly before his death. In them he recapitulated, with the people, all the laws of God for the Israelites, before crossing the Jordan. The past generation of Israel had perished in the desert. It was important, then, that the law be repeated and expounded to the new generation before they entered the Promised Land, with a call to obedience, mingled with the memory of the past generation's experiences. A lively and oppressive exhortation recalling the grave consequences of forgetting the benefits of the Lord and departing from his worship and his Law.

COMPILATION: Approximately 1445 / 1440 BC, it is the fifth book of the Pentateuch where Moses recalled the precepts of the Law to the new generation. It consists of 34 chapters and 959 verses.