What is in the Deuteronomic History?

Answer 1

The Book of Deuteronomy is believed to be the Book of Law that was said to have been found in the Temple during the reign of King Josiah - around 622 BCE. Many scholars believe that the book was actually written at this time, but placed in the Temple, to be found, so as to lend antiquity to it. In fact, the Book of Deuteronomy clearly has the same style as the books of the Deuteronomic history, written around the time of Josiah, and used the same relatively modern Hebrew.

Deuteronomy was written by Moses to record the message he gave to the Israelites just prior to their entry into the promised land of Canaan. The word itself in Greek deuteronomos means literally 'second law' , since this was the second time the law had been given to the Israelites. This was the 'new generation' who had arisen after their parents refused to enter Canaan due to unbelief and Deuteronomy is like a renewing of the covenant between God and Israel.

The end of the book contains an epitaph about the death of Moses which obviously was added later, but there is increasing concensus about the facts supporting Mosaic authorship of this document.

The ideas developed in the 19th century by Graf, Wellhausen, Kuenen and others regarding the date of authorship are now thoroughly discredited in terms of any factual base. The idea that writing was not in use in Moses time led the proponents of this theory to propose a later date for its authorship as mentioned above. This has been thoroughly refuted by archaeological discoveries which show that writing was widespread even in the time of Abraham centuries before Moses.

Another presuppositional reason for putting Deuteronomy into the time of Josiah was the mistaken idea that religion in Israel and elsewhere took an evolutionary path from primitive polytheism (many gods) through to Henotheism (one chief god among many) to Monotheism (one true God). Thus, according to this mistaken view Israel's religion followed this path and 'could not' (they stated it as plainly as that) have had such a view of God at such an early stage in their history. Mistaken is an appropraite term (as used by scholars in referring to this theory) since Archaeology has demonstrated that Monotheism was early, that Israel did not go through the alleged evolution in their religion and that even other nearby cultures descended into polytheism after an earlier Monotheism not the other way around.

In addition to this there are a number of clear cultural and historical incongruities which are not explained by Deuteronomy being put into the time of Josiah, which are explained when it is placed in its proper historical and literary time period in Moses' time. Deuteronomy simply does not fit into the time of Josiah and only the entirely subjective criteria (so-called by scholars) of Wellhausen and the other theorists could place it there.

Further to all this it is worth noting that outside of The Bible there is not one shred of historical or textual evidence of any kind for the existence of the alleged writer of Deuteronomy in the time of Josiah. There is also not one single shred of textual evidence for the existence of the document refered to as the Deuteronomic history. Needless to say, there is no real evidence inside the Bible either. So, it is a complete fabrication to purport to compare an existent document with a fictional one. It gives a degree of credibility to the Deuteronomic history which it clearly does not deserve. Scholars have long recognized the possibility both today and in the ancient past for authors to use different styles as occasions demand, and so there is no reason whatsoever to even propose the existence of such a history.

Archaeological evidence also thoroughly refutes the false assertion regarding differences in Hebrew according to time of writing. Terms previously thought to be later have been found earlier. This is another example of a false theory refuted by facts. The real facts actually point in the opposite direction to the theory.

To put it very simply, Moses wrote Deuteronomy around 1400 BC prior to the Israelites entering Canaan, a momentous event in their history which he was not himself to participate in. There was no fraudulent placing in the temple to give an 'appearance of antiquity'. It was actually and factually ancient but had not been followed. Scholars have also determined that authors were able to use different literary styles as the occasion required. We do this even today. Moses was no exception.

Answer 2

The Deuteronomic history is a term first used in the 19th century by the founders of the Documentary Hypothesis and those who followed them. People such as Graf, Wellhausen, Kuenen, and others developed an elaborate Literary Theory based on multiple authors representing differing times and points of view could be identified by certain literary characteristics, much as the JEDP hypothesis of multiple authorship of the Torah attempted to identify distinct source documents. While many of the assumptions and conclusions of the early documentary hypothesists have proven unsupportable, the scholarly consensus is that the Deuteronomic histories, like the Torah, have undergone a process of multiple authorship and redaction. For a more detailed discussion of the scholarly basis for the Documentary Hypothesis, see The New Oxford Annotated Bible (3rd Edition), pp. 3-7 and introductions to the individual books.

Answer 3

A:Deuteronomy is the Christian name for the fifth book of the Pentateuch. It is derived from two Greek words, deuteros('second') and nomos ('law') - the book is thought of as a 'second giving of the Law'. The Hebrew name of this book is Devarim ('sayings' or 'words').

Tradition says that Moses not only wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, but the Book of Deuteronomy as well, which raises the question of why he would write another book containing much of the same historical narrative and laws and even use a different authorship style in doing so.

It appears that Deuteronomy was the book of law that 2 Kings 22:8 describes as 'found' by Hilkiah, the high priest, in the Temple, presumably to give the book the appearance of great antiquity. In case we feel that we should never doubt the religious authorities on these matters, this was not the only time that a scroll was first hidden, then found, so as to disguise its authorship. Jeremiah chapter 36 even tells how just a few years later, the scribes hid another scroll in the Temple, to be found and read to the king. The Book of Jeremiah demonstrates that the religious authorities were well aware of the practice.

There are good reasons for believing that Deuteronomy was written during the seventh century BCE and given to the people of Judah as part of the Deuteronomistic reforms being undertaken by King Josiah.

Answer:

Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Torah. It is included in the Torah scroll which contains the five books of the Torah. It was written by Moses (Deuteronomy 31:24) at the word of God (Deuteronomy 1:3). It has many subjects not mentioned in the rest of the Torah, or which contain many further details. Its immediate purpose was to prepare the Israelites for entering into the land, which is why it contains such passages as that of the king (in ch.17) and of battle (in ch.20).

Here are some further points:

1) Judaism is not based only on Deuteronomy. It includes the entire Torah, which was given by God to Moses (Exodus 24:12). King Josiah was several centuries later.

2 a) In the time of King Yoshiah (Josiah), there were hundreds - probably thousands - of Torah scrolls possessed by the Jewish people, just like today.

b) King Amon had burned copies of the Torah (Talmud, Sanhedrin 103b), so it was understandable that King Yoshiah was thrilled when he found a scroll (see 2 Kings ch.22: the whole Torah, not just Deuteronomy) right there in the Temple grounds, which had escaped Amon's depredation.

c) Yoshiah was agitated because the scroll was found rolled to the prophecy concerning the eventual exile (see Talmud, Yoma 52b); and because it was the very scroll which had been written by Moses himself (2 Chronicles 34:14).

d) Deuteronomy, along with the rest of the Torah, existed long before the time of Yoshiah. Two centuries earlier, when King Amatziah killed the assassins of his father Joash, he spared their children "as is written that fathers shall not die because of their children and children shall not die because of their fathers" (II Kings 14:6), which is a quote from Deuteronomy (24:16).

Answer 4

Answer

The Deuteronomic History consists of the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings. They are a well-integrated set of books clearly written by a single author, although written anonymously. It provides a history of Israel and Judah, largely from a Judahite perspective, from the legendary conquest of the Promised Land until the end of the Judahite monarchy.

Answer 5

The Book of Deuteronomy is believed to be the Book of Law that was said to have been found in the Temple during the reign of King Josiah - around 622 BCE. Many scholars believe that the book was actually written at this time, but placed in the Temple, to be found, so as to lend antiquity to it. In fact, the Book of Deuteronomy clearly has the same style as the books of the Deuteronomic history, written around the time of Josiah, and used the same relatively modern Hebrew.

For information, please visit:

http://christianity.answers.com/bible/the-pentateuch-explained

http://christianity.answers.com/bible/the-book-of-deuteronomy

Answer 6

The term "Deuteronomic history" refers to the Books of Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings. These form an integrated block of text covering the period from the conquest of Canaan through to the end of the kingdom of Judah and the beginning of the Babylonian Exile. Scholars have identified a common author, whom they call the Deuteronomist or 'D' source, because they also see this as the principal source of the Book of Deuteronomy.
The Books of Chronicles is another history that more or less parallels the Deuteronomic history, but presents the priestly point of view. It attempts to resolve some of the inconsistencies found in the Deuteronomic history and introduces new theological concepts by placing them in a pre-Exilic context. The principal author is now referred to as the Chronicler, but it was actually written as a composite work some time after the Return from the Babylonian Exile.

Answer 7

According to dictionaries, "Deuteronomic History" is a relatively recent theory which postulates that the Books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings were based upon a single literary work. This is one of the theories coming from the circles of Biblical-Criticism. See also:

Debunking the JEPD Documentary Hypothesis

The authorship of the Hebrew Bible

Answer 8

the hebrew, "Devarim" means "sayings" it basically a recap of the past 4 books
Dueteronomy is the fifth book in the bible that talks about the Isrealites entering Canaan.