been revealed through Moses and had been made accessible to the nation in a book. This book of the law can be seen to be identified with the book of Deuteronomy, although probably not exactly in the form in which it now exists. In fact the introductory chapters of Deuteronomy (Deut. 1–3) are widely taken to have been intended to serve as an introduction to this work combining the law book (Deuteronomy) followed by the account of Israel’s rise and fall as a nation (that is, the Deuteronomistic History).