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| The ] is the title given to the hypothetical author of the ] book of '']''. Some scholars would attribute the book of '']'' to |
The ] is the conventional title given to the hypothetical author of the ] book of '']'', an unknown guiding spirit who stands at the head of a circle of 7th- and 6th-century scholars. Some scholars would attribute the book of '']'' to the Deuteronomist circle as well. Some traditionalists hold that the books of Scripture exist outside of Time and that none of the history that follows applies to books of the ]. | ||
| For many neutral readers of the texts, the underlying unity of purpose and theological position of the books between ''Deuteronomy'' and '']'' has been demonstrated in detail by ] (Noth 1981 etc). The Deuteronomist circle, in Noth's characterization, expressed the outlook of a particular circle of Jews, who held as central the "book of the law" that was rediscovered in 622/621 BCE in the ] and taken to the young king Josiah, who rent his clothes in anguish when he read it. The Deuteronomist was succeeded by a tradition of editing and redaction that assembled into their present form the books of the ]; section ends with the release and honor of the captive king ] by the Babylonians. | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| In the history of ideas, the accomplishment of this individual or group of editors is extraordinary: they worked with a variety of written sources of several periods, giving them unifying themes, among which was that Israel would one day be driven from the land. A chronology in precise years was imposed on the material. Long speeches set at climactic moments encapsulate the themes of the narrative. Other Biblical writers explained the nation's misfortunes and successes by observations of cult and ritual. The Deuteronomist took the broader view that disaster followed disobedience to God's law | |||
| ⚫ | Among |
||
| The ''Book of Deuteronomy'' is presented as a series of three long sermons by ]. A small amount of interpository material, along with a coda describing the death and subsequent Divine burial of Moses, which obviously could not be of Mosaic origin, has been added. ] ] argued that the actual compilation of the book came hundreds of years after Moses' time; many scholars felt that it might be the "book of the Law" read by ], with some suggesting that he was in fact the Deuteronomist; many ]ic scholars who insist that the ]s had lost the true Mosaic law agree with this analysis. | |||
| ⚫ | A natural deduction predating modern criticism was that the "book of the Law" found by ] the priest that spurred the reforms of King ] was the core of the book we recognize as ''Deuteronomy''. Christian scholars ] and ] made this connection in the late 4th century, but it lay fallow until the critical readings of the 19th century. Conservatives take this story at face value and say that Hilkiah found the ancient and long-lost text of the original book of commands and warnings; one see it possible that Hilkiah was the Deuteronomist who had interpolated some post-Mosaic traditions and other anachronisms to strenghten his reform movement: the limiting of cult to one temple, the role rewards and rewards of the priesthood, detailed instructions about food and sacrifice. ] has tended to agree with this conclusion and expand upon it by identifying the sections of ''Deuteronomy'' that were added to the original core. Only the most staunchly conservative defended ''Deuteronomy'' as being exactly what it purported, transcriptions of Moses' sermons delivered shortly before his death, but they defended this quite vehemently (as do their modern successors today, usually in the context of ] and ]). These traditionalists often attribute the interpository material and the concluding passage to ] except that the very staunchest of them would suggest that ] revealed to Moses advance knowledge of the form that his death would take and the details of its circumstances, meaning that these even these passages would be of Mosaic authorship. Even moderate conservatives see this as straining credulity. | ||
| ⚫ | Among historians and others who accept the critical viewpoint, however, are many that doubt the existence of a sole "Deuteronomist"; they would suggest that the book probably achieved its current form over decades or even centuries. Some ] scholars see linguistic similarites pointing to both Leviticus and Deuteronomy as being of a common authorship, others question or deny this. It would seem fair to state that the existence of a single ] is less proven than the case for a sole ] being the author of '']'' and '']''. | ||
| ==References== | |||
| *Martin Noth, ''The Deuteronomistic History'' 1981. | |||
| *G. von Rad, ''The Problem of the Hexateuch and Other Essays'' 1966, chapter 9 | |||
| *E. W. Nicholson, ''Preaching to the Exiles'' 1970 | |||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 13:30, 25 December 2004
The Deuteronomist is the conventional title given to the hypothetical author of the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, an unknown guiding spirit who stands at the head of a circle of 7th- and 6th-century scholars. Some scholars would attribute the book of Leviticus to the Deuteronomist circle as well. Some traditionalists hold that the books of Scripture exist outside of Time and that none of the history that follows applies to books of the Bible.
For many neutral readers of the texts, the underlying unity of purpose and theological position of the books between Deuteronomy and 2 Kings has been demonstrated in detail by Martin Noth (Noth 1981 etc). The Deuteronomist circle, in Noth's characterization, expressed the outlook of a particular circle of Jews, who held as central the "book of the law" that was rediscovered in 622/621 BCE in the Temple in Jerusalem and taken to the young king Josiah, who rent his clothes in anguish when he read it. The Deuteronomist was succeeded by a tradition of editing and redaction that assembled into their present form the books of the Pentateuch; section ends with the release and honor of the captive king Jehoiachin by the Babylonians.
In the history of ideas, the accomplishment of this individual or group of editors is extraordinary: they worked with a variety of written sources of several periods, giving them unifying themes, among which was that Israel would one day be driven from the land. A chronology in precise years was imposed on the material. Long speeches set at climactic moments encapsulate the themes of the narrative. Other Biblical writers explained the nation's misfortunes and successes by observations of cult and ritual. The Deuteronomist took the broader view that disaster followed disobedience to God's law
The Book of Deuteronomy is presented as a series of three long sermons by Moses. A small amount of interpository material, along with a coda describing the death and subsequent Divine burial of Moses, which obviously could not be of Mosaic origin, has been added. 19th century textual critics argued that the actual compilation of the book came hundreds of years after Moses' time; many scholars felt that it might be the "book of the Law" read by Ezra, with some suggesting that he was in fact the Deuteronomist; many Islamic scholars who insist that the Jews had lost the true Mosaic law agree with this analysis.
A natural deduction predating modern criticism was that the "book of the Law" found by Hilkiah the priest that spurred the reforms of King Josiah was the core of the book we recognize as Deuteronomy. Christian scholars Jerome and John Chrysostom made this connection in the late 4th century, but it lay fallow until the critical readings of the 19th century. Conservatives take this story at face value and say that Hilkiah found the ancient and long-lost text of the original book of commands and warnings; one see it possible that Hilkiah was the Deuteronomist who had interpolated some post-Mosaic traditions and other anachronisms to strenghten his reform movement: the limiting of cult to one temple, the role rewards and rewards of the priesthood, detailed instructions about food and sacrifice. Higher criticism has tended to agree with this conclusion and expand upon it by identifying the sections of Deuteronomy that were added to the original core. Only the most staunchly conservative defended Deuteronomy as being exactly what it purported, transcriptions of Moses' sermons delivered shortly before his death, but they defended this quite vehemently (as do their modern successors today, usually in the context of Orthodox Judaism and Christian fundamentalism). These traditionalists often attribute the interpository material and the concluding passage to Joshua except that the very staunchest of them would suggest that God revealed to Moses advance knowledge of the form that his death would take and the details of its circumstances, meaning that these even these passages would be of Mosaic authorship. Even moderate conservatives see this as straining credulity.
Among historians and others who accept the critical viewpoint, however, are many that doubt the existence of a sole "Deuteronomist"; they would suggest that the book probably achieved its current form over decades or even centuries. Some Hebrew scholars see linguistic similarites pointing to both Leviticus and Deuteronomy as being of a common authorship, others question or deny this. It would seem fair to state that the existence of a single Deuteronomist is less proven than the case for a sole Chronicler being the author of 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles.
References
- Martin Noth, The Deuteronomistic History 1981.
- G. von Rad, The Problem of the Hexateuch and Other Essays 1966, chapter 9
- E. W. Nicholson, Preaching to the Exiles 1970