/ Resources / Biblical Hebrew / Devarim
The Book of Devarim
The Book of DEVARIM (“Deuteronomy”) is also known as:
“מִשְׁנֶה תּוֹרָה”
MISHNEH TORAH
“Secondary” Torah
because of the fact that the whole book is a (30 day) speech that Moshe is giving the Israelites before entering the land. In this “speech”, Moshe is repeating all of the endeavors that the people of Israel had experienced since going out of Egypt until that very moment. Moshe not only includes descriptions of all the different incidents that occurred to the nation, but also includes all the commands that were given to the people as well as new ones.
The book of DVARIM (Deuteronomy) draws a picture of the people of Israel just about to enter the promised land after walking in the desert for 40 years and also needing to say goodbye to their beloved leader, Moshe (who was told in advanced that he will not be entering the land with the rest).
The word DVARIM in Hebrew means:
דְּבָרִים
DVARIM
“things”
and also shares the same root as the verb:
לְדַבֵּר
LEDABER
“To speak”