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 

This is a masterful performance of biblical interpretation in the service of the church. Daniel Block models a reading of Deuteronomy that is attentive to the way the words go, the world out of which the text speaks, and the way the witness of Deuteronomy reverberates across the canon of Scripture. Block’s reading of Deuteronomy is an invaluable resource that will help the church to hear the voice of God through the sermons of Moses. Take up and read.

Christopher B. Ansberry

Associate Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies

Grove City College, Pennsylvania

In this third and final volume of Hearing the Gospel According to Moses, Daniel Block once again demonstrates that this work is the culmination of his research into the book of Deuteronomy. A thorough historical-grammatical analysis of the text and a high view of Scripture go hand in hand with sobriety and surprising openness and creativity. For example, Block presents a fresh, new understanding of the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32), suggesting that it functioned as Israel’s national anthem, sung as an antiphonal liturgy during the Torah reading at the Sukkoth festival. Furthermore, the Song embodies the essence of Moses’ preaching. Block’s decades of teaching Deuteronomy in North America and Asia give him the experience needed to produce such a crystal-clear didactic presentation. In addition, sections on the canonical and theological significance of each biblical chapter outline the book’s view of God, man, and society, showing how Deuteronomy helps Christians today to serve God and their neighbor.

Koert van Bekkum

Professor and Department Chair of Old Testament & Academic Vice Dean for Research

Evangelische Theologische Faculteit, Leuven

Daniel Block may be the greatest Christian commentator on Deuteronomy in this generation. He excels at showing how this pivotal Old Testament book may be proclaimed within a New Covenant context. We rejoice at the publication of this third and final volume of his commentary, which brings to resolution the themes and motifs Block has traced throughout this epic set of Mosaic sermons. This work will help a generation of Christian preachers and theologians understand Moses’ foundational role in Biblical theology, and how the teachings of Jesus and Paul build upon rather than overturn those of Israel’s greatest prophet.

John Bergsma

Professor of Theology

Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio

Daniel Block, renowned for his rigorous scholarship and meticulous textual analysis, has produced another outstanding scholarly contribution in The Gospel of Moses: Commentary on Deuteronomy (Volume III), covering chapters 24 to 34 of Deuteronomy. Through introductory remarks and meticulous section-by-section analysis, Block adeptly elucidates the canonical and theological significance of each passage, providing insightful commentary accessible to every generation of God’s people.

In this third volume, Block delves into the sacred obligation incumbent upon God’s people to manifest salvation through covenant fidelity and to extend grace to their fellow beings. He navigates the divine guidance leading them to anticipate the fulfilment of eschatological promises while concluding the narrative arc of Moses’ life. For example, Block summarizes, declaring, “Apart from celebrating Moses’ life, this closing chapter celebrates the faithfulness of YHWH.” This divine faithfulness—ultimately consummated in the redemptive work accomplished by the New Testament Christ—serves to illuminate the historical experiences of Moses and anticipates the culmination of God’s redemptive grace. Block engages in a scholarly discourse with contemporary research on Deuteronomy, offering unique insights into the development and fruition of the theological themes of “gospel” and “redemption” from the Old Testament to the New Testament. This comprehensive commentary stands as an invaluable resource for scholars, pastors, and all earnest seekers of biblical truth in the nuanced landscape of the twenty-first century.

Cynthia Chang

Associate Professor of Theological Studies

Singapore Bible College

With this third volume of the 1,200-page commentary on Deuteronomy, Professor Block completes his monumental exposition on Hearing the Gospel According to Moses, aptly showing his readers the cutting edge of 21st century Evangelical scholarship. He demonstrates an unassuming confidence unentangled with the Fundamentalist issues of Mosaic authorship or Biblical inerrancy. He also guides us earnestly to rethink our Reformation roots in the theological paradox of Luther’s “Law and Gospel” as well as the dogmatic venturing into Calvin’s “original use of the Law.”

According to a semi-official report released in 2008, it was estimated that there were then around 80 to 100 million Christian believers in mainland China (Li Fan Christianity in Contemporary China, Beijing 2011, p.4 n.1). A faithful and solid ministry of the Word is the only way for us all to grow and mature into the stature of the fullness of Christ. Majority World churches, and Chinese churches in particular, are indebted to Inspirata Publishing for their admirable effort to produce this commentary simultaneously in English and Chinese, the latter in traditional and simplified characters respectively, and all three editions in both paperback and digital formats. This is certainly a dream finally coming true at long last! Soli Deo Gloria.

Stephen Lee

President Emeritus

China Graduate School of Theology, Hong Kong

Daniel Block is one of the preeminent biblical scholars of our era. His masterful analysis in this detailed commentary on Deuteronomy is the fruit of a lifetime’s careful study of this magnificent, gospel-infused book. This volume is a valuable gift to the worldwide church, especially since it is readily available in both English and Chinese. Scholars, pastors, theological students, and laypeople alike are invited to learn from Block’s insights. This clearly written and theologically astute volume weaves Block’s substantive academic insight quite naturally together with pastoral wisdom and spiritual depth. It is a rare achievement that I hope will have a large readership in the years ahead.

Jeffrey P. Greenman

President & Professor of Theology and Ethics

Regent College, Vancouver BC

Deuteronomy is foundational to Old Testament theology. Many books in the Old Testament were written according to the theology of Deuteronomy, and thus studying Deuteronomy constitutes one of the most important elements of studying the Old Testament. Professor Daniel I. Block’s commentary on Deuteronomy is a milestone in the academic world. All pastors, scholars and believers who wish to study Deuteronomy seriously should read it. This commentary brilliantly explains to us how the seemingly dull instructions could become meaningful in daily life and sustain our faith.

Lawrence Ming Him Ko

Philip Teng Associate Professor & Chair of the Division of Biblical Studies

Alliance Bible Seminary, Hong Kong

This brilliant, interesting, and highly readable commentary is balanced and up-to-date in terms of both its scholarship and its reflections on the contemporary relevance of the book of Deuteronomy. Daniel Block has given us an essential, inspiring guide-book on this fifth book of Moses, aiding us by his guided reflections to understand the important and unique theological messages of Deuteronomy and to be personally transformed before God. Making full use of his expertise in exegesis, Block provides us with new, helpful literary and theological insights into texts which are often ambiguous or difficult to grasp. He succeeds impressively in explaining expressions and words that ordinary readers of the Bible would find puzzling and uncertain. His reflection sections at the end of each unit of text likewise open our eyes to ageless truths. This commentary is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the Gospel in Deuteronomy. Simply superb.

Jimmy Man

Vice-President & Associate Professor of Biblical Studies

Evangel Seminary, Hong Kong

Years ago, I sat under Dan Block’s teaching as he shared with pastors on the gospel of Moses. It was a day of deeply informed scholarship given for the life of the church. This final volume of Block’s masterful Deuteronomy commentary continues that tradition as it combines surpassing scholarly expertise with a pastor’s conviction that Deuteronomy truly is good news. His work is clearly expressed, drawing out exegetical and historical insights towards revealing the text’s canonical and theological significance. The 3-volume format allows Block to explore the text deeply and sets this work as a standard of scholarship. I highly commend this volume to pastors and teachers for their commentary shelves. It will refresh and teach the church for years to come.

Lissa M. Wray Beal

Professor of Old Testament

Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto

Among evangelical scholars of today, Dr. Dan Block is one of the most qualified and competent writers to guide us through an exegesis of Deuteronomy! Just as the book of Deuteronomy is the classic work of Moses’, arising from his forty-year experience of leading Israel, this book is the essence of the Dan Block’s decades of immersion in the field of the Old Testament.

Deuteronomy is “the Gospel of Moses” and the theological charter for Israel’s entry into the land of Canaan. After spending much of his life studying this most important book for Old Testament theology, Block has accurately mastered its essence: “covenant and grace.” By interpreting Deuteronomy in the context of other Old Testament texts, and following the canonical progression of salvation history, including interrelationships with other literature, especially the New Testament, the richness of God’s revealed will in the Old Testament is revealed in its fullness!

In addition, Block not only interprets the context of Deuteronomy from the perspective of a scholar, but he also writes with pastoral sensitivity, addressing the real world where his readers live. His efforts remind readers today of God’s voice through the legacy of Moses. Thus this Hebrew text from more than 3,000 years ago can serve as a model for the church to act and for individuals to behave as human beings made in God’s image. This book is not only a commentary, but also a book of doctrine and pastoral care! It will lead readers to a deeper understanding of the nature of the Gospel. As Augustine said, “The new is in the old concealed, and the old is in the new revealed.” Blessed are the readers who study and follow the gospel and grace revealed in this book!

Timothy San-Jarn Wu

Professor of Old Testament

China Evangelical Seminary, Taiwan

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).