Faith & RitualGreek → English
Deuteronomy
/ˌdjuːtəˈrɒnəmi/noun
The fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, presenting Moses's final restatement of the law.
The Greek roots
δεύτερος
deúteros
second
νόμος
nómos
law
Literally: “second law”
The story of the word
The name records a mistake. The Septuagint translators read the Hebrew phrase meaning a copy of this law as though it said this second law, and δευτερονόμιον stuck. The book is indeed a repetition of law, so the error did no damage, but the Greek title has outlived the Hebrew one in most of the world.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 14th century
Same family
deuteriumautonomyeconomyPentateuch
In a sentence
The Shema, recited twice daily, comes from Deuteronomy.