6.1 Introduction to Deuteronomy
ATPS-BIB509
1. Importance of Deuteronomy
1.1 ". . . the importance of Dtn is . . .
evidenced by the many modern scholars
who hold that Dtn constitutes the center
of OT theology." [Childs, IOTS, 204]
– Capstone of Gen-Deut.
– Introduces the Deuteronomistic History
(Deut-2 Kgs)
1.2 The relationship between 2 Kgs 22-24
(de Witte)
DEUTERONOMIC DEUT JOSIAH‟S
COMMAND ACTION
Break down their alters, 7.5; 12.3; 2 Kgs 23.4, 6,
pillars, Asherim, carved 16.21 7, 14
images
Prohibition of worshipping 17.3 2 Kgs 23.4, 5
“the host of heaven”
Destroy the high places and 12.2 2 Kgs 23.13
other pagan shrines
Prohibition of worshipping the 17.3 2 Kgs 23.5, 11
sun and moon
Prohibition of cultic 23.17 2 Kgs 23.7
prostitution
DEUTERONOMIC DEUT JOSIAH‟S
COMMAND ACTION
Prohibition of worship of 12.31; 18.10 2 Kgs
Molech 23.10
Prohibition of worshipping 12.29-30 2 Kgs
of foreign gods and goddess 23.13
Prohibition on calling up 18.11 2 Kgs
the dead 23.24
Passover to be celebrated at 16.1-8 2 Kgs
a single location 23.21.23
Curses of God on covenant 27.15-26; 28.15-68; 2 Kgs
violators 29.20-28; 30.17-18 22.11-13,
17
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. General Perspectives
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]
See: Weinfeld, Deuteronomy
and the Deuteronomic School
& his Anchor Bible
Commentary
2. General Perspectives
2.3 G. Mendenhall and
others have compared
Dtn with the Hittite
suzerain treaties:
• PREAMBLE ("These
are the words..."). Dtn
1.1-5; "These are the
words which Moses
addressed to all
Israel…"
2. General Perspectives
• 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.
2. General Perspectives
• 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.
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." [Olson, Deuteronomy and the
Death of Moses: A Theological Reading, 6]
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 (deuterono,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]
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. Authorship
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
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).
5. The Text of Deuteronomy
5.1 MT:
1. “The Hebrew text of Deuteronomy
has been preserved in a remarkably
good condition, in contrast to the
text of other OT books (e.g., the
books of Samuel or Job).” [Craigie,
34]
2. Chapter 32 and 33 are problematic.
“. . . in Deuteronomy 32, 4QDeutq
most often agrees with the
Septuagint, not the Masoretic Text
or the Samaritan Pentateuch.”
[TDSSB, 146]
5. The Text of Deuteronomy
5.2 Qumran:
1. “Of the thirty-three Deuteronomy scrolls, thirty
were discovered at Qumran (two in Cave 1), three
in Cave 2, twenty-two in Cave 4, and one each in
Caves 5, 6, and 11), and three more were found at
sites farther to the south (one at Masada, one at
Nah9al H9ever, and one at Murabba(at).
Although none of these scrolls is complete, at least
part of every chapter of the book is represented
between them.” [The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible, 145]
5. The Text of Deuteronomy
2. "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]
5. The Text of Deuteronomy
5.3 LXX:
1. “At times the translator does not follow the
syntactic cuts which the Masoretic
accentuation presupposes, but of course the
translator was faced with a unpointed text.
What changes in syntactic patterns in Deut
do suggest is that the translator read his text
differently. That the Deut translator at times
presupposed a different vocalization is true,
but that was the case with the translators of
the other books of the Pentateuch as well; it
would be unreasonable to assume that he
would have had exactly the same reading
tradition as the Masoretes of a much later
age, particularly in view of the at times quite
complex syntactic patterns of the book.”
[John Wevers, Notes on the Greek Text of
Deuteronomy, ix]
6. Deuteronomy & the Pentateuch
6.1 “In subject matter it is closely
related to Exodus-Numbers, being
wholly concerned with Moses, and its
final chapter (Deut. 34) concludes the
history of Moses begun in Exod 2.
However, the view of Martin Noth
that Deuteronomy was not originally
connected with Exodus-Numbers but
is, on the contrary, the first part of
another work, a „Deuteronomistic
History‟ - a history of Israel written
during the Babylonian Exile and
including the books of Joshua, Judges,
Samuel, and Kings - has been very
widely accepted.” [Whybray, Introduction to
the Pentateuch, 85]
7. Outline of Deuteronomy
7.1 Duane Christensen:
A. THE OUTER FRAME: A look Backwards
(Deut 1-3)
B. THE INNER FRAME: The Great
Peroration (Deut 4-11)
C. THE CENTRAL CORE: Covenant
Stipulations (Deut 12-26)
B‟ THE INNER FRAME: The Covenant
Ceremony (Deut 27-30)
A‟ THE OUTER FRAME: A Look Forwards
(Deut 31-34)
7. Outline of Deuteronomy
7.2 Jeffrey H. Tigay:
I. Heading (1.1-5)
II. Prologue: First Discourse (1.6-4.43)
III. Second Discourse: The covenant
made in Moab (4.44-28.69)
IV. Third Discourse: Exhortations to
observe the covenant made in Moab
(29.1-30.20)
V. Epilogue: Moses‟ last days (31.1-
34.12)
8. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26)
8.1 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." [Cairns, 4]
8. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26)
– "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]
8. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26)
8.2 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
8. 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."
8. 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."
8. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26)
8.3 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.
8. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26)
8.3 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.
8. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26)
8.3 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.
8. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26)
8.4 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]
8. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26)
8.4 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]
8. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26)
8.4 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]
8. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26)
8.4 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). The Deuteronomic law, by
contrast, ever attentive to the needs of
indigent persons, enjoins the Israelite to
give the carcass to the resident alien
(14:21).” [Weinfeld]
8. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26)
8.4 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]
8. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26)
8.4 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-
8. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26)
8.4 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]
8. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26)
8.4 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
8. The Legal Code (chp. 12-26)
8.4 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]
9. Keys to Deut's Law
9.1 "First, Dtn emphasizes that God‟s covenant is
not tied to past history, but is still offered to all
the people." [Childs, 224]
9.2 "Secondly, the promise of God to his people
still lies in the future." [Childs]
9.3 "Thirdly, Dtn teaches that the law demands a
response of commitment." [Childs]
9.4 "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]