The fifth and final book of the Torah features Moshe's retelling of the Israelites’ forty-year sojourn in the Sinai desert. Its title is Devarim, words, because the first verse begins “These are the words that Moshe spoke”—and indeed, Moshe's words fill the book. The Latin title, Deuteronomy, alludes to the fact that much of the book is Moshe's repetition of earlier history and lessons—in Hebrew as well, the book is called Mishnah Torah, repetition (or relearning) of Torah.

Moshe encourages the people and tries to set them on the right course for the future; in some ways, this could be called the first Mussar lecture. God then dictated Moshe's teachings back to him, to write into the Torah.