Companion to the BibleBarrows, E. P. (Elijah Porter)
Religion
Companion to the Bible
Barrows, E. P. (Elijah Porter)
Bible -- Study and teaching
Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and a review of the
journeyings of the people. With all this are intermingled various
additional ordinances.
V. DEUTERONOMY.
12. The Jewish name of this book is _Elle haddebharim_, _these are the
words_. The Greek name _Deuteronomion_, whence the Latin _Deuteronomium_
and the English _Deuteronomy_, signifies _second_ law, or _repetition of
the law_, as it is also called by the later Jews. The book consists of
discourses delivered by Moses to Israel in the plains of Moab over
against Jericho, in the eleventh month of the fortieth year of the
exodus. Deut. 1:1, 3. The peculiar character of this book and its
relation to the preceding books have been already considered in the
first part of the present work (Chap. 9, No. 10), to which the reader is
referred. It is generally divided into three parts. The _first_ is
mainly a recapitulation of the past history of Israel under Moses, with
appropriate warnings and exhortations, followed by a notice of the
appointment of three cities of refuge on the east side of Jordan. Chaps.
1-4. The second discourse begins with a restatement of the law given on
Sinai. Exhortations to hearty obedience follow, which are full of
fatherly love and tenderness. Various precepts of the law are then
added, with some modifications and additions, such as the altered
circumstances of the people required. Chaps. 5-26. In the _third_ part
the blessings and the curses of the law are prominently set forth as
motives to obedience. Chaps. 27-30. The remainder of the book is
occupied with Moses' charge to Joshua, his direction for depositing the
law in the sanctuary by the side of the ark, his song written by divine
direction, his blessing upon the twelve tribes, and the account of his
death and burial on mount Nebo.
13. As the book of Genesis constitutes a suitable _introduction_ to the
Pentateuch, without which its very existence, as a part of the divine
plan, would be unintelligible, so does the book of Deuteronomy bring it
to a sublime close. From the goodness and faithfulness of God, from his
special favor bestowed upon Israel, from the excellence of his service,
from the glorious rewards of obedience and the terrible penalties of
disobedience, it draws motives for a deep and evangelical obedience--an
obedience of the spirit and not of the letter only. Thus it adds the
corner-stone to the whole system of legislation, completing it on the
side of the motives by which it challenges obedience, and investing it
with radiant glory. The Pentateuch, then, is a whole. The first book is
inseparable from it as an _introduction_; the last as a _close_. The
three intermediate books contain the legislation itself, and in this
each of them has its appropriate province.
CHAPTER XX.
THE HISTORICAL BOOKS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account