Structure – Sefer Devarim/0

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Structural Analysis – Sefer Devarim
"Moshe's Farewell Addresses"

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 sources refer to the book as משנה תורה, referring to the book's review of earlier history and law.3  This name is already found in Devarim itself and in Sefer Yehoshua, though from context it is difficult to know what book/s or chapters the title 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, whose events occur in multiple sites throughout the wilderness, all of Sefer Devarim takes place in a single location, Arvot Moav.
  • Timing – While most of the earlier books of the Torah4 span many years (from the thousands of years of Sefer Bereshit to the almost 4 decades of Sefer Bemidbar), the vast majority of Sefer Devarim5 transpires over a period of at most 5 weeks.6
  • Characters – The main characters of Sefer Devarim, like of Sefer Shemot and Bemidbar, are Moshe and the nation.7 However, while the Children of Israel are active characters in these earlier books, they are mainly passive in Sefer Devarim.
  • Speaker and genre – Sefer Devarim is unique in Torah in being written almost entirely in first person, from the perspective of Moshe. 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 other books focus on narrative, Devarim is mainly legal 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 marking that the book is a new unit of its own.

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)

  • Plot – Sefer Devarim comprises Moshe's farewell addresses to the nation. The opening verses of the book introduce Moshe's two main speeches. The second unit comprises the shorter of these, a historical speech, while the third unit, the bulk of the book, contains his legal speech. The book closes with Moshe's blessings to the tribes and his death.8
  • Genre – Moshe's speeches are distinguished by their genre, one being historical in nature and the other legal.  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.
  • Literary Markers – Chapter 4 opens with the declaration, " וְעַתָּה יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁמַע אֶל הַחֻקִּים וְאֶל הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים", marking it as the beginning of the legal speech.  Similar declarations serve as a refrain throughout the speech, separating its subsections.9

Subdivision of Unit I – "Double Introduction"

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 overcome their fear of giants so as not to repeat the mistake of the spies.  He begins by retelling the fiasco of the spies and ends by recounting a series of conquests over giants to prove that, with Hashem's help, there is nothing to fear.
  • Characters – 
  • Timing – The first two units recount events that took place towards the beginning of the nation's wandering,10 while the last two units speak of events of the 40th year. 
  • Setting –
  • Refrains – 
  • Literary Markers

Subdivision of Unit III – "The Legal Speech"