DEUTERONOMY 31-34

Elsewhere (see “Deuteronomy: Introduction to the Literary Structure”) I proposed the literary organization of this book, summarized in Figure 1.

Figure 1: The Structure of Deuteronomy

I. Introduction: Israel's Past (1:1-4:49)

II. God Gives the Law to His People (5:1-11:25)

III. Specific Legislation (11:26-28:68)

II'. God's Covenant with His People (29:1-30:20)

I'. Conclusion: Israel's Future (31:1-34:12)

Although the final portion of Deuteronomy (Section I') appears to many scholars be a miscellaneous collection of writings, there are various indications that it should be viewed as a structured unity. First to note is the phrase “all Israel,” which appears in the beginning and closing verses of this section. This common literary device is called an inclusio, and it obviously acts to unify these chapters, which in Thompson's view constitute “a covenant renewal.” Childs sees a certain progression of thought as one proceeds from chapter to chapter within this section, but not one that could be construed as a symmetrical literary structure. However, one such simple scheme, using current chapter divisions and literary types as a guide, is shown below:

A. Historical Events (ch. 31)

B. Poem (ch. 32)

                        B'. Poem (ch. 33)

A'. Historical Events (ch. 34)

This breakdown does capture the variously noted similarities between Deuteronomy 31 and 34, noted by both Mayes and Thompson dealing with the last events of Moses' life. However, other schemes are equally attractive.

Hamilton counts seven separate speeches in chapter 31. These may be grouped as follows, with Joshua the subject of every other unit:

            A. Israel will conquer Canaan (vv. 1-6)

B. To Joshua – The LORD will be with you (vv. 7-8)

C. Moses to the leaders (vv. 9-13)

D. Joshua is appointed (vv. 14-15)

A'. Israel will forsake the LORD in Canaan (vv. 16-22)

B'. To Joshua – I will be with you (v. 23)

C'. Moses to the leaders (vv. 24-29)

Mayes divides ch. 31 into an ABA structure and proposes major literary divisions for the remainder of the section as well. Using his divisions and unit titles, the following overall scheme for Section I' may be proposed (Fig. 2), which retains most of the parallels shown above for ch. 31, as well as considering 32:45-34:12 as a separate unit, in agreement with Mayes' analysis.

Figure 2: The Structure of Section I'

A. Joshua as Successor (31:1-29)

1. Instillation of Joshua by Moses (31:1-8)

2. Future Reading of the Law (31:9-13)

1'. Instillation of Joshua and Command to Moses to Write Song (31:14-23)

2'. Provision for Preservation of the Law (31:24-29)

B. The Song of Moses (31:30-32:44)

A'. The Death of Moses (32:45-34:12)

2. Conclusion to the Law (32:45-47)

1. Announcement of Moses' Death (32:48-52)

2'. Moses' Farewell Blessing (33:1-29)

1'. Death of Moses (34:1-12)

Attributions of the law directly to Moses are symmetrically situated in the third subsections of A (31:22) and A' (33:1) as well as the center section B (33:1).

An inclusio for this all-important central section is formed by allusions to the oral law of Moses in its opening and closing verses. Also, the eight literary units in subsections A and A' are seen to alternate in theme between continuity of leadership and continuity of the legal covenant. Section A'2' thus makes sense in this context, whereas it would appear out of place if merely viewed as a psalm. The structure portrayed in Fig. 2 is consistent with other parallels found within these chapters:

Sections                                 Parallel

A'1 & A'1'                             Moses' last days

A2 & A'2                              Teaching future generations

Conclusion of A2 & A'        Crossing the river

A2 & A2'                              Commands to Levites

A'2'                                       Framework at 33:1-5 and 33:26-29 with mention of Jesurun

Thus, chapters relegated to the status of a mere repository of miscellaneous material are seen to be every bit as carefully organized as is the rest of Deuteronomy.