Inheritance and Dominion: An Economic Commentary on Deuteronomy
Gary NorthDeuteronomy is not read because Deuteronomy lays down the law. So does the Book of Exodus, but Exodus contains a lot of historical information in it. Pastors can preach from it without touching on biblical law. Leviticus has a lot of law in it, but there is so much material on the sacrifices and the ceremonies that pastors can preach on Leviticus’ many “types” of this or that New Testament theme. They can avoid the law. Like Exodus, Numbers has historical information in it.
This book is long because it is a Bible commentary relating to a specialized area. A standard Bible commentary comments — or should — on every passage. It cannot include much information on any one passage. This commentary is different. It is designed to convey extensive knowledge about a few verses that relate to the topic at hand: economics. The reader is seeking more information per passage than a standard commentary can provide. This book can be read cover to cover, but it is designed to be read one chapter at a time. I assume that a pastor who is preaching on one passage wants information on this passage and no other, for today. The same is true of a reader who reads a passage and wants to see if it has any economic implications. This is the reason why the book is repetitive. I assume that most people will not read it straight through, and even if they do, they will forget what I say about a specific passage.