(18) When he is seated on his royal throne, he shall have a copy of this Teaching written for him on a scroll by the levitical priests.

As would be expected, academic circles have attributed the anomalies of this book to its having different authorship from a different time period than most of the material in the first four books of the Torah. [See, for example, Moshe Weinfeld, Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic School (Oxford: Clarendon, 1972), an important work in the tradition of Julius Wellhausen’s documentary hypothesis. See also, however, Joshua Berman, "Histories Twice Told: Deuteronomy 1–3 and the Hittite Treaty Prologue Tradition," in Journal of Biblical Literature 132.2 (2013): 229–250, who critiques this approach and presents an alternative more in line with traditional sensibilities. For an overview of the classical academic consensus and Berman’s impact upon it, see Aaron Koller, “Deuteronomy and the Hittite Treaties,” The Bible and Interpretation (September 2014), http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/2014/09/kol388003.shtml.]

But this is certainly not the only way to understand Devarim’s uniqueness. Long before academic Bible study, classical commentators looked in a different direction to deal with the issues the book raises. They studied the elements that clearly already existed in the book itself and didn’t require speculation beyond that. To begin with, they examined Moshe’s new and different role in the book of Devarim, focusing on the fact that his voice is much more pronounced in this book. Once we ourselves fully understand this undisputable fact, it will certainly be easier to explain many of the other differences as well.

‘EILEH HADEVARIM’ (THESE ARE THE WORDS). This book is known to constitute a review of the Torah, in which Moses our teacher explains to the generation entering the Land most of the commandments of the Torah that pertain to Israelites [as distinguished from the priests]. He does not mention anything relative to the law of the priests, neither about their performance of the offerings nor the ritual purity of the priests and their functions [in the Sanctuary], having already explained these matters to them. The priests, being diligent in their duties, do not require repeated admonitions. The Israelites, [i.e., the non-priests], however, are admonished time and again about the commandments that apply to them, sometimes to add further clarification and sometimes only to caution the Israelites with multiple warnings. Thus there are in this book many admonitions regarding idolatry that follow one after another, as well as chastisements and a sound of terrors casting upon them the fear of all the punishments for the transgressions. ...

(22) Then all of you came to me and said, “Let us send agents ahead to reconnoiter the land for us and bring back word on the route we shall follow and the cities we shall come to.” (23) I approved of the plan, and so I selected twelve of you, one representative from each tribe.

(1) GOD spoke to Moses, saying, (2) “Send agents to scout the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelite people; send someone from each of their ancestral tribes, each one a chieftain among them.” (3) So Moses, by GOD’s command, sent them out from the wilderness of Paran—all of them being men of consequence, leaders of the Israelites.

שלח לך SEND THEE (more lit., for thyself) — i.e. according to your own judgement: I do not command you, but if you wish to do so send them. — God said this because the Israelites came to Moses and said. “We will send men before us etc.”, as it is said, (Deuteronomy 1:22): “And you approached me, all of you, [saying, We will send men, etc.]”, and Moses took counsel with the Shechinah (the Lord), whereupon He said to them, I have told them long ago that it (the land) is good, as it is said, (Exodus 3:17): “I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt … [unto a land flowing with milk and honey]”. By their lives! I swear that I will give them now an opportunity to fall into error through the statements of the spies, so that they should not come into possession of it (the land) (Sotah 34b; cf. also Rashi on Sotah 34b:8 מדעתך and Midrash Tanchuma, Sh'lach 5).

Ben Bag Bag said: Turn it over, and [again] turn it over, for all is therein. And look into it; And become gray and old therein; And do not move away from it, for you have no better portion than it.

The Gemara records another discussion between bar Hei Hei and Hillel. Bar Hei Hei said to Hillel: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between he who serves God and he who does not serve Him” (Malachi 3:18). There are two redundancies here: “The righteous” is the same as “he who serves God,” and “the wicked” is the same as “he who does not serve Him.” Hillel said to him: The one “who serves Him” and the one “who does not serve Him” are both referring to completely righteous people. But the verse is hinting at a distinction between them, as one who reviews his studies one hundred times is not comparable to one who reviews his studies one hundred and one times. Bar Hei Hei said to him: And due to one extra time that he did not review, the verse calls him a person “who does not serve Him”? He said to him: Yes. Go and learn from the market of donkey drivers. One can hire a driver to travel up to ten parasangs for one dinar. However, he will travel eleven parasangs only for two dinars. This shows that any departure beyond the norm is considered a significant difference.

The Gemara cites other statements relating to Torah study. Rava says that Rav Seḥora says that Rav Huna says: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Wealth gotten through vanity [mehevel] shall be diminished; but he that gathers little by little shall increase” (Proverbs 13:11)? If a person turns his Torah into many bundles [ḥavilot], by studying large amounts in a short period of time without reviewing, his Torah will diminish. But if he gathers his knowledge little by little, by studying slowly and reviewing, his knowledge shall increase.Rava said: The Sages know this, but nevertheless they transgress it, i.e., they fail to heed this advice. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak says: I did this, as I studied little by little and regularly reviewed what I had learned, and my learning has in fact endured.

The Gemara relates: Levi and Rabbi Shimon, son of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, were sitting before Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, and they were learning the Torah portion. When they finished the book that they were learning and were ready to begin a new subject, Levi said: Let them bring us the book of Proverbs; and Rabbi Shimon, son of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, said: Let them bring us the book of Psalms. He compelled Levi to acquiesce, and they brought a book of Psalms. When they arrived here, at the verse: “But his delight is in the Torah of the Lord,” Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi explained the verse and said: A person can learn Torah only from a place in the Torah that his heart desires. Levi said: My teacher, you have given us, i.e., me, permission to rise and leave, as I wish to study Proverbs, not Psalms.