On this side of the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying -- the word for 'explain' is be'er, to make clear or set forth. Deuteronomy is not new law but exposition and application of Torah to the generation that will inherit Canaan. The location matters: still outside the land, Moses speaks the law that will govern life within it, making Deuteronomy both retrospective (reviewing forty years) and prospective (looking toward Canaan).

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