Devarim
Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22

This week Nehemia Gordon, Keith Johnson, and Jono Vandor discuss the Torah portion of Devarim covering Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22. The trio begins by noting how the Greek mistranslation of the title of Devarim as “Deuteronomy” muddles its meaning. With the book’s title settled, a puzzle appears in the very first verse: How could Moses have spoken from the “east side” of the Jordan? And the hits just keep on coming as they expound on giants and ghosts; on which is worse—a thief in the night or a highway robber; on the one thing that could not be found in all of Canaan, and exactly whose idea was this anyway? Gordon closes with an example from the Portion of the über-diligence of the scribes who preserved these wonders for us.
