That the book of Deuteronomy is a record of Moses's speeches is clear from the book. What we do not know is how Moses's speeches were originally organized. We do not know, for example, how many days Moses spoke and taught. And, if Moses spoke on for several days, which seems likely, we do not know how his speeches for each day were structured. These details the narrator does not tell us.
Commentators customarily speak of the book of Deuteronomy as being made up of three speeches by Moses: 1:4-4:40, 4:44-29:1 & 29:2-32:47. The basis for this division is supposedly found in the four "headings" that partition the book at 1:1-5, 4:44-5:1, 29:1-2a, and 33:1-2a. These headings are supposed to "introduce" each of the speeches that follow. It is important for us, however, to be careful about this way of viewing the book because it is extremely peculiar that—if Moses did indeed delivered the three speeches—he should structure his addresses to disproportionately, so that the second (and often assumed to be the main address) should be nearly five times the length of the first, and well over four time that of the third. Furthermore, it is difficult to imagine how any expositor would consider working through the pedagogically dense and attention demanding material in 12:1-28:68 in one go!
To be sure, the narrator has not told us that Moses gave three speeches. What he has done is leave us those "headings" by which we now partition the book into the three addresses. While this term "speeches" or "addresses" is convenient as a label for helping us get a grip on the book (and we shall continue to use them as such), it is important to recognize that these are not "addresses" in the sense that Moses went out one day and spoke to the Israelites 1:6-4:40 on one day, 4:44-29:1 on another, and so on. The narrator's concern is to record what Moses taught. This does not necessarily carry with it the demand that he has to record them in the order—chronological or logical—in which they were given. A narrator he may be, a minute secretary he is not.
Deuteronomy is a complex book (though not often realized, it is among the most literarily complex works in the Bible), and the best that any commentator can do is to provide a provisional, working structure. We suggest the following working structure:
1. First Editorial Introduction, 1:1-5.
2. Moses' First Address, 1:6-4:43.
3. Second Editorial Introduction, 4:44-49.
4. Moses' Second Address, 5:1-28:68.
5. Third Editorial Introduction, 29:1-2a.
6. Moses' Third Address, 29:2b-30:20.
7. Fourth Editorial Introduction, 31:1.
8. Moses' Final Acts & Instructions, 31:2-32:47.
9. Fifth Editorial Introduction, 32:48.
10. God's Final Instruction to Moses, 32:49-52.
11. Sixth Editorial Introduction, 33:1-2a.
12. Moses' Blessing on the Tribes of Israel, 33:2b-29.
13. Editorial Epilogue, 34:1-12.
The structure set out above provides only a broad sketch of how the material in the book is set out. Each of the sections suggested above is characterized by its own internal architecture the details of which will be discussed in the commentary on the relevant section, but may be glimpsed by clicking on the link "Detailed Structure of Deuteronomy" below.
Low Chai Hok
©Alberith, 2016