“These are the words that Moses spoke to all the people of Israel while they were in the wilderness east of the Jordan River” (Deuteronomy 1:1 NLT)

So begins the 5th book of the “Torah” (Hebrew: Law). The name Deuteronomy (From the Greek Septuagint: deutero “second” + nomos “law”) means “second law” because it’s a re-telling of the 40 days in the wilderness by Moses. For those who are reading the Bible for the first time, it is a bit confusing because the story starts over again after the book of Numbers. It is helpful to see Deuteronomy as the record of three speeches that Moses made to the Israelites reminding them of everything that had happened, and of all that God commanded, before they finally enter the Promised Land.