Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- How have the laws in Deuteronomy shaped Western legal systems? Do you recognize some of the provisions? Or are they all irrelevant today?
- Why are the laws about community so prominent? Do the Israelites seem like a very community-focused group?
- Do you think the Israelites knew that Moses murdered a man in Egypt? What kind of problems could that juicy bit of information have caused?
- Did the Israelites believe that idols were demons or just replicas of gods made of wood and stone? Why is the text so dead-set against them?
- If you could represent Moses in a trial before God, would you argue that he should be allowed to enter the Promised Land? Why didn't God let him to see Israel after all this effort?
- Does Moses seem angry in Deuteronomy? Or is he just exhausted? Why is he so devoted to the Israelites after all this time?
- Why does Deuteronomy even exist if it just repeats other parts of the Torah?
- Why is Deuteronomy the last book of the Pentateuch? How does its position make its case more or less convincing?
- Where is God in Deuteronomy? Is he more or less distant than in the rest of the Bible? Why?
- Why is Moses buried in a secret place? What does that say about his relationship with God? With the Israelites?
- Who is the audience of Deuteronomy? Do you think the authors hoped we'd be reading it millennia later?