6.1 Introduction to Deuteronomy

1. 6.1 Introduction to Deuteronomy ATPS-BOT620

2. 1. Importance of Deuteronomy 1.1 ". . . the importance of Dtn is further evidenced by the many modern scholars who hold that Dtn constitutes the center of OT theology." [Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, 204] Capstone of Gen-Deut. Introduces the Deuteronomistic History (Deut-2 Kgs) 1.2 The relationship between 2 Kgs 22-24 (de Witte)

5. 2. General Perspectives 2.1 "Traditionally the book has been viewed as Moses� last will and testament (Philo), which he delivered in three final addresses to Israel." [Childs, 207] 2.2 ". . . M. Weinfeld. His central thesis is that Dtn was composed by scribes and sages from the royal house of Judah during the eighth to seventh century BC and that the book reflects the wisdom of the ANE as its major source." [Childs, 208]

6. 2. General Perspectives 2.3 G. Mendenhall and other compared Deut with the Hittite suzerain treaties: PREAMBLE ("These are the words..."). Dtn 1.1-5; "These are the words which Moses addressed to all Israel�" HISTORICAL PROLOGUE (Baltzer: "antecedent history," i.e., events leading to and forming the basis of the treaty). Dtn 1.6-4.49. GENERAL STIPULATIONS (Baltzer: statement of substance concerning the future relationship, which (1) is intimately related to the antecedent history, and (2) summarizes the purpose of the specific stipulations). Dtn 5-11.

7. 2. General Perspectives 2.3 G. Mendenhall and other compared Deut with the Hittite suzerain treaties: SPECIFIC STIPULATIONS. Dtn 12-26. DIVINE WITNESSES: various deities are called to witness the treaty. See 30.19; 31.19; 32.1-43. Possibly including provisions for the continuity of covenant and a successor for Moses. BLESSINGS AND CURSES: relating respectively to the maintenance or breach of the covenant. Dtn 27-28. Possibly including all of 27-30 as: curses and blessings, with exhortation.

8. 2. General Perspectives 2.4 ". . . the form of the present book of Deuteronomy is torah, a genre designation that might best be translated in its use in Deuteronomy as a program of �catechesis.� In its present form Deuteronomy is intended to function as a foundational and ongoing teaching document necessitated by the reality of human death and the need to pass the faith on to another generation." [D. Olson, Deuteronomy and the Death of Moses: A Theological Reading, 6]

9. 3. Name 3.1 "The name Deuteronomy comes from a mistranslation by the Septuagint translators of a clause in Deut 17.18, which refers to a repetition (deutero,mion) of this law. The Hebrew actually instructs the king to make �a copy of this law.� The error on which the English title rests, however, is not serious, for Deut is in fact a repetition of the law of Moses as delivered at Mount Sinai (Horeb) in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.... As with the other books of the Pentateuch, the Hebrew title is taken from the opening words of the book, ~yrbdh hla, sometimes cited in English as simply 'Devarim.'" [Christensen, WBC, xl]

10. 4. Authorship 4.1 "The book itself does indeed states that Moses "wrote the words of this law in a book" (Deut 31.9, 24), and that he "spoke" certain parts of the contents 'in the ears of all the assembly of Israel' (1.5; 4.45; 31.30)." [Cairns, ITC, 1] 4.2 List of Potential later material: The account of Moses� death (chap. 34) is obviously not from his hand. The writer is clearly already living in Western Palestine. In 1.1 he describes Moses a speaking �beyond the Jordan,� meaning specifically the

11. 4. Authorship southeastern corner of the land (similarly 1.5; 3.8; 4.46). For the writer, the Hebrew occupation of Palestine is already history (2.12).

12. 5. Text "The book of Deuteronomy is one of the three most popular books at Qumran, just as it is in the New Testament. It is too early to be able to give definitive account of the textual nature of Deuteronomy, but there is a wide variety of textual variants preserved in the manuscripts from Qumran, and some manuscripts which preserve text that is totally from scripture were apparently not biblical manuscripts but manuscripts of biblical excerpts used for liturgical purposes." [Ulrich]

13. 6. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26) 6.1 Parallels with Exod 20.23-23.19: "Research has shown that the Deuteronomic code (or block of torah), Deut 12-26, is closely related to the so-called Book of the Covenant, Ex 20.23-23.19. In fact, a careful comparison of the two reveals that (apart from one long section, Ex 21.18-22.15, which has its own separate history) only four short sentences in the Book of the Covenant (Ex 20.26; 22.28 29b, 31) are not reflected or expanded in the Deuteronomic code. So in practical terms the Deuteronomic code may be said to be an expanded edition of the Book of the Covenant." [Cairns, 4]

14. 6. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26) 6.1 Parallels with Exod 20.23-23.19: "The rights of those at risk (the poor, foreigners, widows, orphans, women) are of common concern to the Book of the Covenant and the Deuteronomic code, on the one hand, and the prophets Amos, Micah, Hosea, and Isaiah, on the other. Similarly, the concern that the processes of the judiciary should be impartial, humane, and free from extortion and corruption is shared by both." [Cairns, 15]

15. 6. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26) 6.2 Not found in the Book of the Covenant, but parallel in the Law code of the Ancient Near East: Deut 21.18-21 [Stubborn and Rebellious Son] CH168: "If a seignior, having made up his mind to disinherit his son, has said to the judges, �I wish to disinherit my son,� the judges shall investigate his record, and if the son did not incur wrong grave (enough) to be disinherited, the father may not disinherit his son". CH169: "If he has incurred wrong against his father grave (enough) to be disinherited, they

16. 6. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26) shall let him off the first time; if he has incurred grave wrong a second time, the father may disinherit his son." Deut 22.13-27 [Laws for wives and those engaged] CH127: "If a seignior pointed the finger at a nun or the wife of a(nother) seignior, but has proved nothing, they shall drag that seignior into the presence of the judge and also cut off his (hair)." CH128: "If a seignior acquired a wife, but did not draw up the contracts for her, that woman is no wife."

17. 6. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26) CH129: "If the wife of a seignior has been caught while lying with another man, they shall bind them and thrown them into the water. If the husband of the woman wishes to spare his wife, then the king in turn may spare his subject." CH130: "If a seignior bound the (betrothed) wife of a(nother) seignior, who had had no intercourse with a male and was still living in her father�s house, and he has lain in her bosom and they have caught him, that seignior shall be put to death, while that woman shall go free." CH131: "If a seignior� wife was accused by her husband, but she was not caught while lying with another man, she shall make affirmation by god and return to her house."

18. 6. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26) 6.3 Laws found neither in the Book of Covenant nor ANE: Exhortations to Israel to "cleave to the LORD" and love him with all the heart. - Primacy of loving God with all ones heart: Deut 6.4; 7.6-16; 8.5-6; 13.1-4, 10; 14.1-2; 26.1-11. Regulations designed to preserve the status and welfare of the Levites. - 12.18b-19; 14.27-29a; 18.1-8. Rules regulating the role of prophecy in Israel. - 13.1-5; 18.9-22.

19. 6. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26) 6.3 Laws found neither in the Book of Covenant nor ANE: Regulations concerning the "Yahweh�s war." 20.1-9 Kindling the fighting spirit [cf. Judg 7.1-3] 20.10-18; 21.10-14 Treatment of prisoners 23.1-8 Categories barred from participation, lest the ritual purity of the army be compromised. 23.9-14 Preserving the ritual purity of the encampment. 24.5 The newly-married exempted.

20. 6. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26) 6.3 Laws found neither in the Book of Covenant nor ANE: Regulations concerning the "Yahweh�s war." 25.17-19 Command to annihilate the Amalekites. Regulations defining the office of kingship - 17.14-20 [1 Sam 8; 12; Jud 9.7-15; Hos 5.1; 8.4; 10.15; 13.10-11]. Insistence that there is only one legitimate shrine where Israel may worship Yahweh. - 12.1-28; 14.22-29; 15.19-23; 16.1-17; 17.8-13; 18.1-8; 19.1-13.

21. 6. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26) 6.4 Deuteronomy�s revision of earlier laws: 1. Law of Slave and Maidservant (Deut 15.12-18 / Exod 21.1-11): "The casuistic section of this law in covenant code (Ex 21.3-4, 8-11), which deals with the owner�s rights in regard to the wife and children of the slave as well as the personal rights of the maidservant was totally omitted from Deuteronomy, because Deuteronomy does not view the slave and maidservant as property (chattel) belonging to the master�s house, as does the covenant code (Ex 21.1-11). Their status is defined as hirelings (Deut 15.18; cf. Lev 25.40) who sell their labor." [Weinfeld]

22. 6. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26) 6.4 Deuteronomy�s revision of earlier laws: 2. Law of Kidnapping (Deut 24.7 / Exod 21.16): The law is nationalized by adding "kidnapping a fellow Israelite" 3. ". . . casuistic laws dealing with injuries, theft, and damage to property (Ex 21.18-22.16) were omitted from Deuteronomy because they are not the concern of a religious-moral code. The only laws from this section that remains in Deuteronomy are the lex talionis �punishment in kind� (Ex 21.12-25) and the law of seducing a virgin (22.15-16)." [Weinfeld]

23. 6. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26) 6.4 Deuteronomy�s revision of earlier laws: 4. "The law of the sorceress in Ex 22.17 was broadened and developed in Deuteronomy (18.9-13), while the ban of the idolater (Ex 22.19) merited a separate chapter in Deuteronomy (chap 13; also 17.2-7)." [Weinfeld] 5. "The covenant code forbids the Israelite to wrong or afflict the resident alien (Ex 22.20-22; 23.9).The author of Deuteronomy, in contrast, not only enjoins the Israelite to refrain from discriminating against the resident alien, but also exhort the Israelite to love him (10.19; cf. Lev 19.34) and to be solicitous for his welfare (14.21, 29; 16.11, 14; 24.17, 19, 20)." [Weinfeld]

24. 6. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26) 6.4 Deuteronomy�s revision of earlier laws: 6. "The covenant code ordains that anything that has been torn by beasts, terefah, which Israelites are forbidden to eat for sacral reasons, should be cast to the dogs (Ex 22.25-26). According to the Deuteronomic law, however the creditor is also denied the right to select what article he wishes as surety (24.6, 17) and is even forbidden to enter the debtor�s house to collect it (24.11)." [Weinfeld]

25. 6. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26) 6.4 Deuteronomy�s revision of earlier laws: 7. "Ex 23.14 ordains that a stray animal must be returned to its rightful owner. The Deuteronomic legislator, however, extends this law to garments and all types of lost articles (22.3) and exhorts the finder not to ignore the lost object but to take it home with him and keep it until it is sought by its owner (22.2-3)." [Weinfeld] 8. "The laws of just judgment (Ex 23.1-3, 6-8) were developed in Deuteronomy (16.18-20; 17.8-13; 19.15-21; 24.17-18; 25.1-3), though in Deuteronomy 16.19 there are still signs of dependence on the covenant code." [Weinfeld]

26. 6. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26) 6.4 Deuteronomy�s revision of earlier laws: 9. "In the old codes we find three types of firstborn dedications: the firstborn of man, of a pure animal, and of an impure animal (Ex 13.1, 11-16; 22.28-29; 34.19-20; cf. Lev 27.26-27; Num 18.15-18). Deuteronomy, however, does not mention the firstborn of man or of impure animals, but only the firstborn of pure animals (Deut 15.19-23)." [Weinfeld] 10. "Concerning the sabbatical year, the covenant code commands that the land shall not be worked during that year and that its fruits be left ownerless so that the poor and even the beasts of the field should be able eat from them (Ex 23.10-

27. 6. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26) 6.4 Deuteronomy�s revision of earlier laws: 11; cf. Lev 25.1-7). Deuteronomy does not mention the law of releasing the land but only release of debts." [Weinfeld] 11. "Deuteronomy and JE are similar as regards the absence of exact dates for the festivals, for both are popular sources, unlike the priestly literature, which represents the priestly institution and must therefore be especially concerned with calendrical and other matters pertaining to the implementation of cultic ceremonies. The same is the case with the laws concerning the New Year Day and the Day of Atonement, which are mentioned in neither Deuteronomy nor JE." [Weinfeld]

28. 6. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26) 6.4 Deuteronomy�s revision of earlier laws: 12. "Deuteronomy and JE both enjoin pilgrimage to the holy sites (Ex 23.17; 34.23; Deut 16.16), with the difference that Deuteronomy adds the phrase "in the place that he will choose." [Weinfeld] 13. "JE and Deuteronomy command �the instruction of the children� (Ex 12.26-27; 13.8-15; Deut 6.20-25), which bears the character of a catechism aimed at inculcating in the younger generation a national religious education by means of recounting the event of he Exodus from Egypt." [Weinfeld] 14. "With regard to the scope of the promised land, Deuteronomy follows JE and speaks of a land that extends from the wilderness and the [Red] sea to the

29. 6. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26) 6.4 Deuteronomy�s revision of earlier laws: Euphrates� (Gen 15.18; Ex 23.13 [=JE]; Deut 1.7; 11.24). The priestly literature fixes the northern boundary at Lebo-Hamath (Num 13.21; 34.8) and excludes Transjordan from territory of the promised land. In the historical documents of he periods of territorial expansion both types of border designations are found (2 Sam 8.3 = 1 Chr 18.3; 1 Kgs 5.4 on the one hand, and 1 Kgs 8.65 and 2 Kgs 14.25 on the other)." [Weinfeld]

30. 7. Keys to Deut's Law 7.1 "First, Dtn emphasizes that God�s covenant is not tied to past history, but is still offered to all the people." [Childs, 224] 7.2 "Secondly, the promise of God to his people still lies in the future." [Childs] 7.3 "Thirdly, Dtn teaches that the law demands a response of commitment." [Childs] 7.4 "Finally, the ability to summarize the law in terms of loving God with heart, soul and mind is a major check against all forms of legalism." [Childs]