Hearing the Gospel According to Moses: A Commentary on Deuteronomy (Volume 2)

For renowned Old Testament scholar Dr. Daniel Block, Deuteronomy is the “Gospel according to Moses.” Moses’ farewell pastoral addresses call God’s people to remember his grace in salvation, covenant relationship with him, and his revelation of a way of blessing in a lost world. Deuteronomy is to the Old Testament what John’s Gospel and Paul’s letter to the Romans are to the New, laying the theological foundation for our entire Scriptures. 

What is the Gospel of Moses? How did Moses communicate that Gospel? How did he lay the foundation for the New Testament? How are Moses’ teachings for ancient Israel relevant for New Testament Christians? 

Based on a lifetime of research and ministry, by discussing the literary features of each passage and exegeting the text verse by verse, this three-volume commentary offers readers a profound grasp of the Gospel according to Moses in Deuteronomy and its relevance for today. 

 

Recommendations 

Professor Block’s latest volume on Deuteronomy is a most welcome contribution to our understanding of this critically important portion of God’s word. He has proven himself over the years to be a dependable and faithful interpreter. We are all in his debt for his work on Deuteronomy, and especially on display in this volume are his keen insights on the legislative portions of the book (through chapter 23). His exegesis and lucid style illuminate the materials as critically important in the “gospel according to Moses,” always carefully explaining its continued significance for today’s Christian readers. 

Bill T. Arnold
Paul S. Amos Professor of Old Testament Interpretation 
School of Biblical Interpretation, Asbury Theological Seminary 

 

Anyone who works in the Pentateuch, and who works in the book of Deuteronomy in particular, is familiar with the stellar work of Daniel I. Block. His research reveals a deep familiarity with the Hebrew text and with contemporary literature, and his study of the book of Deuteronomy has resulted in a litany of articles and in a commentary series. His work is insightful, not always following the course of mainline commentators. He often takes the reader’s hand, as it were, and resourcefully points out the many ways that Deuteronomy represents a “5th Gospel.” 

Barry Beitzel
Emeritus professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages 
Trinity Evangelical University 

 

Daniel Block has provided a wonderful resource for modern people to improve their lives, especially in their interactions with the deity and with other people. Block thoroughly explains the inspiring speeches of Moses to the ancient Israelite people as they prepared to enter their Promised Land, as recorded in the book of Deuteronomy. The Israelites had already experienced divine deliverance from Egypt and miraculous provision for their needs in the wilderness. Now they needed further instruction and encouragement to continue rightly responding to and cooperating with the grace of their covenant Lord in their worship and all aspects of their lives. Block’s remarkably detailed and profound interpretation of Deuteronomy enables modern readers to understand the character and principles of the same loving and righteous God. His good news of salvation and beneficial teaching transform the lives of those who accept Him as their covenant Lord.  

Roy E. Gane
Prof. of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Language 
Andrews University 

 

At last—Daniel Block’s magnum opus on the book of Deuteronomy is available in print! These volumes are the fruit of over a decade spent immersed in the text of Deuteronomy, teaching it to graduate students in Wheaton and around the world as well as to his beloved Sunday School class. Here we benefit from Dr. Block’s own translation, more charts and diagrams, and robust and detailed commentary, unconstrained by the word limits of his previous commentary. I’m grateful to Inspirata Publishing for making this rich resource available for future generations. Mazel tov! 

Carmen Joy Imes
Associate Professor of Old Testament 
Talbot School of Theology, Biola University 

 

This comprehensive work, the second in a monumental tripartite series on Deuteronomy, is vintage Block. Thorough and meticulous, he provides the reader with a translation, literary structures helpfully created, and a careful, thoughtful interpretation of the Hebrew text, not neglecting canonical and biblical theological significances of particular passages. I particularly appreciated Block’s insights into applications for worship. Ample footnotes point students of this biblical book to a number of other trails to follow should they be inclined to do so. However, for me as a preacher, this work is everything I need for preparing sermons on Moses’ sermons. All that to say, for everybody, welcome to Deuteronomy demystified! 

Abraham Kuruvilla 
Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching 
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary 

 

Daniel Block’s work on Deuteronomy is unmatched both in its God-honoring insight and its breathtaking scope. These volumes of his full-length commentary on this peerless part of Scripture are the culmination of years of careful, sensitive, and penetrating work on the text. This commentary is a priceless, Christ-centered contribution to the church, and I thank God for it!  

Gary Millar 
Principal 
Queensland Theological College 

 

About the Author 

Daniel I. Block (PhD, University of Liverpool), is the Gunther H. Knoedler Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL. He is the author of more than 120 scholarly papers and many popular articles on biblical texts and topics. His published books include The Book of Ezekiel (2 volumes, NICOT, 1997, 1998), Judges and Ruth (NAC, 1999), Deuteronomy (NIVAC, 2012), For the Glory of God: Recovering a Biblical Theology of Worship (2014), Ruth: The King is Coming (ZECOT, 2015), and Covenant: The Framework of God's Grand Plan of Redemption (2021).