Structure – Sefer Devarim/0

Structural Analysis – Sefer Devarim
Moshe's 'Last Lecture'

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Boundaries of the Book

• Names – The name "אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים", which is derived from the opening words of the book,¹ dates back to antiquity.²  Rabbinic sources³ refer to the book as "משנה תורה", referring to the book's review of earlier history and law.⁴  This term is found already in Devarim itself and in Sefer Yehoshua, though from the context of these verses it is difficult to know which book/s or texts the phrase encompasses.
• Themes – Sefer Devarim is distinct from previous books of the Torah in that it is consists almost entirely of Moshe's various speeches before his death. The book contains very little new narrative, as Moshe instead reviews past history and concentrates on reinforcing the nation's relationship with Hashem and preparing them for their future in the Land of Israel.
  
• Setting – In contrast to Sefer Bemidbar, the events of which occur in multiple sites throughout the wilderness, all of Sefer Devarim takes place in a single location, the plains of Moav.
  
• Timing – While most of the earlier books of the Torah⁵ span many years (from the thousands of years of Sefer Bereshit to the almost four decades of Sefer Bemidbar), the vast majority of Sefer Devarim⁶ transpires over a period of, at most, five weeks.⁷
• Characters – The main characters of Sefer Devarim, like those of the books of Shemot, Vayikra, and Bemidbar, are Moshe and the nation.⁸ However, while the Israelites of earlier books were the generation that left Egypt (דור יוצאי מצרים), in Devarim they are already the next generation, דור באי הארץ. In addition, while the Israelites are active characters in these earlier books, they are mainly passive in Sefer Devarim.
  
• Speaker and genre – Sefer Devarim is distinct from the rest of Torah in that it is written almost entirely in first person, thus presenting to us the perspective of Moshe.⁹ This reflects its distinct genre: a series of farewell addresses.
• Law and narrative – Similar to Shemot and Bemidbar, Sefer Devarim contains both narrative and legal material.  However, the proportions of each subject are reversed. While the majority of the other books is narrative, Devarim is mainly prescriptive in nature.
• Elaborate introduction – Unlike the other books of Torah, Devarim opens with an elaborate five verse introduction setting the book's location, time, and purpose, clearly demarcating that the book is a new and independent unit which stands alone.
  

Division into Units

I. Double Introduction (1:1-5)
II. The Historical Speech: Lessons from the Past (1:6 – 3:29)
III. The Legal Speech: Laws for the Future (4:1 – 32:52)
IV. The Final Farewell (33:1 – 34:12)

• Content – Sefer Devarim comprises Moshe's farewell addresses to the nation. The opening verses of the book introduce both of Moshe's main speeches. It is followed by Chapters 1-3 which comprise the historical, and shorter of these speeches, while the next section, the bulk of Devarim, contains his legal speech.¹⁰  The book closes with Moshe's blessings to the tribes and his death.¹¹
  
• Literary markers – Chapter 4 opens with the declaration, "וְעַתָּה יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁמַע אֶל הַחֻקִּים וְאֶל הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים", marking it as the beginning of the legal speech.¹²

Subdivision of Unit I – "Double Introduction"

A. Introduction to the Historical Speech (1:1-1:2)
B. Introduction to the Legal Speech (1:3-5)

The many doublings in verses Devarim 1:1-5¹³ provide the primary motivation for suggesting that these verses constitute a double introduction to the book.

• Content – Verses 1:3-5 specify that Moshe relayed "all that Hashem commanded" and that he "explained this Torah".  This is a fitting introduction to the legal speech in which Moshe explained laws commanded by Hashem ("מפי הגבורה").  The historical speech, on the other hand, delivered Moshe's own content ("מפי עצמו") and is thus introduced in verse 1:1 with the more general formulation, "these are the words spoken by Moshe".
• Location – The place names of verse 1 include those spoken about later in the historical speech.  Verse 5, in contrast, mentions Moav, the site in which Moshe makes his legal speech.
• Time markers – Verse 2 which speaks of the 11 day journey from Chorev to Kadesh Barnea alludes to the journey mentioned by Moshe in the beginning of his historical speech (1:17). Verses 3-5, in contrast, mention the fortieth year, as that is the date in which Moshe delivered the legal address.
• Parallels – Verses 3-5 are parallel in content to the opening of the legal speech at the end of Devarim 4, further supporting that they provide an introduction to that speech specifically. Both speak of the "תּוֹרָה" that Moshe was to teach "בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן" after the conquest of Sichon and Og.

Subdivision of Unit II – "The Historical Speech"

A. Appointing Leaders: Aids to Moshe (1:6-18)
B. Year 2: Derailed by a Fear of Giants (1:19-46)
C. Year 40: Conquering the Giants (2:1 – 3:20)
D. New Leadership: Replacing Moshe (3:21-29)

• Plot – The unit is framed by two accounts of leadership appointments, one to aid Moshe and one to replace him. In the middle units, Moshe tries to ensure that the people do not repeat the mistake of the spies by teaching them that their fear of giants is unwarranted.  As such, he begins by retelling the fiasco of the spies and concludes by recounting a series of conquests over giants.  Moshe conveys the message that, with Hashem's help, there is nothing to fear.
• Timing – The first two units recount events that took place towards the beginning of the nation's wandering,¹⁴ while the last two units speak of events of the 40th year.
• Setting – Each unit is set in a different location. The first unit speaks of events that took place while the nation was still camped in Chorev. The second section recounts the failure in Kadesh Barnea.  The third unit speaks of the nations of the eastern bank of the Jordan: Seir, Ammon, Moav, and the Bashan, while the fourth unit takes place in the plains of Moav.
• Characters – While the first two units speak of the nation as a whole, the third unit includes other nations, and the final one focuses on just Moshe and Yehoshua.
• Literary markers – Each of the first three units opens with a command to (or statement of) travel. Thus 1:6-7 commands, "רַב לָכֶם שֶׁבֶת בָּהָר הַזֶּה פְּנוּ וּסְעוּ לָכֶם", verse 19 continues, "וַנִּסַּע מֵחֹרֵב וַנֵּלֶךְ", and 2:1-3 echoes "וַנֵּפֶן וַנִּסַּע .. וַיֹּאמֶר י"י... רַב לָכֶם סֹב אֶת הָהָר הַזֶּה פְּנוּ"

Subdivision of Unit III – "The Legal Speech"

A. Introductions (4:1 – 5:30)
B. Speech of the "מצוה": Fundamentals of Loving God (6:1 – 11:32)
C. Speech of the "חוקים ומשפטים": Practical Laws (12:1 – 26:19)
D. Covenantal Agreements (27:1 – 32:52)

• Plot – The introductions of Chapters 4-5 present the events at Sinai as the basis for belief and observance.  Moshe then discusses the commandment to love God and other aspects of the nation's relationship with Hashem, providing further philosophical basis for observance. This leads into the practical laws of Chapters 12-26. The speech concludes with the establishment of covenants on both the relationship based laws and the practical laws.
• Openings – Each of the first three units opens with a declaration relating to the laws about to be discussed. 
• Devarim 4:1 opens, "שְׁמַע אֶל הַחֻקִּים וְאֶל הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים", providing a general introduction to the whole speech. The second half of this introduction states "אֵלֶּה הָעֵדֹת וְהַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים", adding "עֵדֹת", a reference to the Decalogue which is discussed right afterwards.¹⁵
• Devarim 6:1 similarly begins with "וְזֹאת הַמִּצְוָה הַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים", replacing "עֵדֹת" with "הַמִּצְוָה" which, from context, likely refers to the specific command to love God and is the subject of this sub-speech.¹⁶
• Finally, Devarim 12:1 opens "אֵלֶּה הַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים" as it begins to lay forth the practical laws between both man and God (הַחֻקִּים) and man and his fellow man (הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים).¹⁷
• Genre – The two main sections of the speech are distinguished by their genre. While Chapters 12-26 are almost entirely legal in nature, Chapters 6-11 mix narrative and law.

Subdivision of Unit IV – "The Final Farewell"

A. Blessings to the Tribes (33:1–29)
B. Moshe's Death (34:1–12)

• Plot – The first unit comprises Moshe's blessings to each individual tribe while the second describes Moshe's death.
• Genre – The two units are distinguished by their genre.  The blessings to the tribes are poetry, while the description of Moshe's death is prose.

¹ The first two words of the book are used in the name (and often only the second word "דְּבָרִים" is used), in order to differentiate it from the second book of the Torah "וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת".

² Eusebius cites Origen as writing that this was the name used by the Jews.

³ See, for example, Bavli Berakhot 21b, Bavli Megillah 31b and Bavli Sotah 17a.

⁴ See the NetzivDevarim IntroductionAbout R. Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin who questions this understanding (as most of the legal material in the book is not in fact a review), preferring the translation of Targum Onkelos, "פתשגן אורייתא", meaning an explanation or learning of Torah.

⁵ Sefer Vayikra is an exception.  It contains no explicit dates, and appears to take place in the very short timeframe between the books of Shemot and Bemidbar.  [The verses in Shemot 40:2,17 speak of the first day of the first month in the second year in the wilderness, and Chapters 7 and 9 in Bemidbar also describe events which took place in this same month. For more on the relationship between these events, see Chronology of Shemot 40.]

⁶ Moshe's various addresses encompass the entire book with the exception of the last chapter in which he dies and we are told that the nation mourned him for thirty days.  The rest of the book takes place in no more than 5 weeks.

⁷ The book opens on the first of Shevat, and ends with Moshe's death, which is not dated. Since we are told that the nation mourned him for a month, and that they crossed the Jordan on the 10th of Nissan after a 3 day period of preparation, many work backwards and assume that Moshe died on 7 Adar. However, as it is possible that there was time in between the mourning and the preparation for crossing, and the verses discussing the three day preparation period allow for multiple interpretations, others suggest that Moshe died up to a full month earlier. If so, all of his addresses might have taken place in just a week.

⁸ Sefer Vayikra is somewhat unique as well, since though it speaks of the entire nation as well, in many cases it singles out the priestly class.

⁹ This is highlighted by the lack of phrases such as "וַיְדַבֵּר י"י אֶל מֹשֶׁה" or "וַיֹּאמֶר י"י אֶל מֹשֶׁה". The former occurs about 90 times in Torah, but only once in Sefer Devarim, while the latter appears around 70 times but only twice in Devarim.

¹⁰ One might question the placement of chapters 4-11 which contain both narrative and legal material. As the narrative of these chapters is meant to provide background to and a philosophical basis for observance, this division includes them in the legal speech.

¹¹ Alternative divisions of the book have been offered:

• R. D"Z Hoffmann divides it into four: The Historical Speech (Chapters 1-4), The Speech of the Mitzvot (Chapters 5:1 - 27:8), The Speech of the Covenant (28:9-31:13), and Two Appendices (Moshe's Song in 31:14-32:47, and Moshe's Death in 32:38-34:12).  This structure is not significantly different from the one presented here, and contains two main variations.  While R. Hoffmann views Chapter 4 as the conclusion of the historical speech, we included it instead as the opening to the legal speech.  While he considers the chapters regarding the covenant a unit of its own, and Moshe's song as an appendix, we view all of those chapters as integrally related to and concluding the legal speech. An advantage of R. D"Z Hoffmann's reading is that it matches the changes in speaker (from third to first person) throughout the book.  Moshe's speeches, given in first person, are each separated by third person narrative (see 1:1-5, 4:41-5:1 and 27ff).

• D. Cohen-Tzemakh, in Olam HaTanakh Devarim, (Tel Aviv, 1994): 8, divides the book into three main sections and an appendix: A Historical Introduction (Chapters 1-11), Conditions of the Covenant, or, The Laws (Chapters 12-26), Blessing and Curses (Chapters 27-30), and an Appendix (Chapters 31-34).  This division suggests that the book is built off the structure of ancient near eastern covenants, which began by laying forth the historical background to the treaty, continued with the conditions of the covenant, and ended with warnings to heed the terms laid forth.

¹² Similar declarations serve as a refrain throughout the speech, separating its subsections.  See Devarim 4:45 and 5:1, 6:1, and 12:1, and the discussion below.

¹³ The verses repeat the who, what, where and when of the book several times:

• Who: Verses 1, 3 and 5 all declare Moshe as the one who is speaking.
• What: Moshe is said to either speak "these things" (verse 1), "all that Hashem commanded" (verse 3), or "explain this Torah" (verse 5).
• Where: Both verses 1 and 5 set the location of Moshe's speech. While verse 1 contains a long list of place names, verse 5 mentions only the eastern Bank of the Jordan.
• When: A time marker is given in both verse 3 (the fortieth year) and verse 4 (dating the speech to after the conquest of Sichon and Og). Verse 2 further mentions a length of time (eleven days from Chorev), but the function of this description is unclear.

¹⁴ The dating of the appointment of judges discussed in the first unit is debated, as it is unclear to which event Moshe is referring, the appointment of assistants in Yitro 18, or of the elders in Bemidbar 11.  As such, the event might have taken place in either the first or second year.  For a full discussion, see Appointing Moshe's Assistants.

¹⁵ The 10 commandments are referred to as testimonies, as they testify to revelation. If the mitzvot of the Decalogue are known as הָעֵדֹת it is understandable why the tablets are called לוחות העדות and the Tabernacle is known as משכן העדות.

¹⁶ The term "הַמִּצְוָה" is found in Torah almost exclusively in Sefer Devarim, and though at times it might refer to general commandments, in several places, such as Chapter 6, it seems to refer specifically to the command to love Hashem. The triad of "הַמִּצְוָה הַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים" appears several times in this unit (7:11, 8:11, 11:1), and not again until much later in the book, supporting the possibility that the "mitzvah" refers specifically to the relationship-based laws discussed in this section. See It is Not in the Heavens for further discussion.

¹⁷ See R. D"Z Hoffmann.