Let’s be honest: Most of the titles of the books of the Torah don’t require a lot of brainpower to understand what might be on the inside.
If you’re just reading the titles out loud, you could probably make sense of them. Genesis (not the car) would be about the beginnings, Exodus is about an exit, Leviticus probably pertains to the Levites (if you’re already familiar with who the Levites are, that is), and Numbers probably has some math involved.
But what is a “Deuteronomy”? That sounds almost like a technical book, like an appendix found at the back of an encyclopedia.
Instead, it’s basically a sermon—one long, gigantic sermon that acts as a full retelling of the Law, with exposition on key points and elaboration in areas that need more understanding. The New Testament book of Hebrews, in the eyes of many, operates in a similar way.
In that view, it’s basically what happens every single Sunday morning in pulpits all across America. Except this one came from Moses, which makes it much more authoritative (especially to Jews) than ramblings from my outlines.
Most Old Testament books find their titles in the opening words. Since Deuteronomy 1:1 has the word “words” in its opening statement, the Hebrew name for this book is also known as Devarim.
So why do we call this book “Deuteronomy” instead of “Devarim”?
That’s because the name “Deuteronomy” comes from the Greek word for this book in the Septuagint, which calls it “Deuteronomion.” That word (used by first century Jewish rabbis such as Philo) is a translation of the phrase found in Deuteronomy 17:18: “a copy of the Law.”
Several scholars reject this name outright (preferring Devarim), claiming that the name Deuteronomy is a mistranslation of the phrase in Deuteronomy 17:18. Most prefer the name though, since “a copy of the Law’ is exactly what the book of Deuteronomy is about.
You’ve probably felt the impact of Deuteronomy without realizing it. In Deuteronomy 27:2-3, Moses tells the Israelites to set up large stones once they cross the Jordan. Afterwards, they were to write on them “all the words of this Law.”
In Joshua 8:32, that’s exactly what they do. In that verse, a “copy of the Law of Moses” is written and placed near the stones.
That phrase—“the Law of Moses”—is telling. Yes, it obviously refers to the law given to Moses and delivered by Moses to the people.
But Deuteronomy specifically is the Law of Moses, since that book includes not just the Law, but his very authoritative teaching. The Jews regarded the first five books of the Pentateuch to be the pillar of their religion, which includes Deuteronomy.
For that reason, when you read the phrase “the Law of Moses” your mind should drift not only to the law delivered in Exodus, but also the law re-delivered in Deuteronomy.