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 sources3 refer to the book as משנה תורה, referring to the book's review of earlier history and law.4  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 Torah5 span many years (from the thousands of years of Sefer Bereshit to the almost 4 decades of Sefer Bemidbar), the vast majority of Sefer Devarim6 transpires over a period of at most 5 weeks.7
  • Characters – The main characters of Sefer Devarim, like of Sefer Shemot, Vayikra, and Bemidbar, are Moshe and the nation.8 However, while the  Israelites of earlier books constituted the generation that left Egypt (דור יוצאי מצרים), in Devarim they are 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 unique in Torah in being written almost entirely in first person, from 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 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.10
  • Genre – The middle units containing Moshe's speeches are distinguished from each other by their genre, one being historical in nature and the other legal.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.  [Similar declarations serve as a refrain throughout the speech, separating its subsections.]12
  • Change of Speaker

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 1-513 provide the primary motivation for suggesting that these verses constitute a double introduction to the book.

  • Content – Verses 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.  The historical speech, on the other hand, was said by Moshe "מפי עצמו" and is thus introduced in verse 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 five, 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 makes 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 "תורה" that Moshe was to teach "בעבר הירדן" 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 ends by recounting a series of conquests over giants.  With Hashem's help, he teaches, 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, Amon, Moav, and the Bashan, while the fourth unit takes place in Arvot 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. 
    • Chapter 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", perhaps a reference to the Decalogue which is discussed right afterwards.15
    • Chapter 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, 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 6-12 mix narrative and law.