Verse 58. Is evidently written long after the time of Moses, because at the commencement of his oration, Moses tells the elders to write 'the words' after they have crossed the Jordan, and this verse, therefore, could have formed no part of the original speech of Moses. Verse 61. The same applies here. *Chapter xxix., v. 23. 'Admah and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger.' We have no account of this anywhere in the Pentateuch. It has been assumed (but I am unable to learn on what ground) that these cities were destroyed at the same time with Sodom and Gomorrah. Verses 25 and 28. Dr. Giles observes that in these verses 'are described the evils that should happen to the Israelites in case of their not observing the law which had been given by Moses:-- '"Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt For they went and {89} served other gods, whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this Book. And the Lord rooted them out of their land in anger and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day."' 'Here is an allusion to the great downfall of the first Israelitish monarchy, too plain to be interpreted as a supposed case, merely of a misfortune which only _might_ befall them if they should be disobedient to God's commandments. The impression which the words irresistibly leave on the mind is, that the calamity of defeat and transportation into a strange country, had actually befallen them when those words were written.' *Chapter xxxi., w. 9, 19, 22, 24, and 26. These verses are, I believe, sometimes quoted as evidence of the authorship of the Pentateuch; but it has been urged in opposition, that it is idle to quote a work, while its authenticity is denied (_vide_ Watson's 'Apology for the Bible,' p. 183); and that the terms 'book' and 'volume' are not applicable to the age in which Moses lived (when the mode of writing was on thin slabs of plastered stone). Papyrus is not once spoken of, or alluded to, in the Pentateuch, and could not have been known to Moses. It is also asserted, that the 'book of the law' cannot possibly be identified with the Pentateuch, or even with the Book of Deuteronomy. (See remarks on page 7, and also Dr. Cooper's letter to Professor Silliman, pp. 29 and 38.) *Chapter xxxii. This is a song full of Oriental hyperboles. The language attributed to the Deity is absurd in the extreme, if read literally. Verse 4. The words 'He is the rock,' are omitted, both in the Douay and Breeches Bible.