Law And Theology In Deuteronomy

Asserting that the laws are a result of theology, and not the other way around, McConville focuses on the relation between the law of the Old Testament and the nature of God and of grace. He acknowledges Deuteronomy as a book of history and documentation of law, but also believes it gives great insight into the character of God. He begins his study with an introduction to the general theology of Deuteronomy. McConville then concentrates on several specific areas: The Alter–LawThe SacrificesThe TitheThe Law of FirstlingsThe FeastsThe Priests and Levites McConville examines the text from historical, linguistic, literary, and theological standpoints. He includes notes, a bibliography, and indexes.

Mark A. Awabdy provides a nuanced and extensive understanding of the noun gr (ger, engl. immigrant) in the book of Deuteronomy (D). He argues that a precise reconstruction of the historical referents of D's ger is impossible and has led scholars to misread or overlook literary, theological, and sociological determinants. By analyzing D's ger texts and contexts, evidence emerges for: the non-Israelite and non-Judahite origins of D's ger; the distinction between the ger in D's prologue-epilogue and legal core; and the different meanings and origins of D's " ger-in-Egypt" and " 'ebed-in-Egypt" formulae. Awabdy further contends that D's revision of Exodus' Decalogue and Covenant Code and independence from H reveal D's tendencies to accommodate the ger and interface the ger with YHWH's redemption of Israel. He concludes by defining how D integrates the ger into the community of YHWH's people.

Positioned at the boundary of traditional biblical studies, legal history, and literary theory, Deuteronomy and the Hermeneutics of Legal Innovation shows how the legislation of Deuteronomy reflects the struggle of its authors to renew late seventh- century Judean society. Seeking to defend their revolutionary vision during the neo-Assyrian crisis, the reformers turned to earlier laws, even when they disagreed with them, and revised them in such a way as to lend authority to their new understanding of God's will. Passages that other scholars have long viewed as redundant, contradictory, or displaced actually reflect the attempt by Deuteronomy's authors to sanction their new religious aims before the legacy of the past. Drawing on ancient Near Eastern law and informed by the rich insights of classical and medieval Jewish commentary, Levinson provides an extended study of three key passages in the legal corpus: the unprecedented requirement for the centralization of worship, the law transforming the old Passover into a pilgrimage festival, and the unit replacing traditional village justice with a professionalized judiciary. He demonstrates the profound impact of centralization upon the structure and arrangement of the legal corpus, while providing a theoretical analysis of religious change and cultural renewal in ancient Israel. The book's conclusion shows how the techniques of authorship developed in Deuteronomy provided a model for later Israelite and post- biblical literature. Integrating the most recent European research on the redaction of Deuteronomy with current American and Israeli scholarship, Levinson argues that biblical interpretation must attend to both the diachronic and the synchronic dimensions of the text. His study, which provides a new perspective on intertextuality, the history of authorship, and techniques of legal innovation in the ancient world, will engage pentateuchal critics and historians of Israelite religion, while reaching out toward current issues in literary theory and Critical Legal Studies.

Though written thousands of years ago, the book of Deuteronomy is unmatched in its relevance for the affluent Western church of today. Moses' words were meant to equip God's people for living godly lives in a prosperous, pluralistic world. The cultural changes now taking place in our own social setting make the parallel between Israel and the church—and what Deuteronomy has to say—both pertinent and instructive. This New Studies in Biblical Theology volume offers a significant study of Deuteronomy that recovers this Scripture's vibrant message for the contemporary Christian community. Showing the major contribution that Deuteronomy makes to our understanding of the Bible as a whole, J. Gary Millar explores Deuteronomy's ethical teaching in the light of its most important theological themes: covenant, journey, law, the nations and human nature. His perceptive analysis reveals the power with which Deuteronomy calls God's covenant people, from ancient Israelites to modern-day Christians, to hear God's voice and do his will. Whether read for its critical study of Scripture or for its practical insights into living faithfully today, this book will be a valuable resource for school, church and home. Addressing key issues in biblical theology, the works comprising New Studies in Biblical Theology are creative attempts to help Christians better understand their Bibles. The NSBT series is edited by D. A. Carson, aiming to simultaneously instruct and to edify, to interact with current scholarship and to point the way ahead.

This book deals with central and universal issues of reward, punishment and forgiveness for the first time in a compact and comprehensive way. Until now these themes have received far too little attention in scholarly research both in their own right and in their interrelationship. The scope of this study is to present them in relation to the foundations of our culture. These and related issues are treated primarily within the Hebrew Bible, using the methods of literary analysis. The centrality of these themes in all religions and all cultures has resulted, however, in a comparative investigation, drawing attention to the problem of terminology, the importance of Greek culture for the European tradition, and the fusion of Greek and Jewish-Christian cultures in our modern philosophical and theological systems. This broad perspective shows that the biblical personalist understanding of divine authority and of human righteousness or guilt provides the personalist key to the search for reconciliation in a divided world.

Arranged as a series of sermons, the book of Deuteronomy represents the final major segment of the biography of Moses. The sermons review events described in earlier books and challenges Israel to faithful living in the future. The theological significance of Deuteronomy cannot be overestimated. Few books in the Bible proclaim such a relevant word of grace and gospel to the church today. At its heart, Deuteronomy records the covenantal relationship between God and his people. God graciously has chosen Israel as his covenant partner and has demonstrated his covenantal commitment to them. Moses challenges the Israelites to respond by declaring that Yahweh alone is their God and by demonstrating unwavering loyalty and total love for him through obedience. Daniel Block highlights the unity between the God depicted in Deuteronomy and Jesus Christ. Christians who understand the covenantal character of God and who live under the grace of Christ will resist the temptation to retreat into interior and subjective understandings of the life of faith so common in Western Christianity.

One of the few areas of consensus in modern Deuteronomy scholarship is the contention that within the book of Deuteronomy there is a program of reform that was nothing short of revolutionary. Although there are divergent views regarding the specific details of this revolutionary program, most scholars agree that, in fundamental and profound ways, Deuteronomy was radical in its vision. This vision was expressed in key ideas: centralization of worship, secularization, and demythologization (of earlier traditions). However, Vogt argues that these ideas fail to account adequately for the data of the text of Deuteronomy itself. Instead, he claims, at the heart of Deuteronomic theology is the principle of the supremacy of Yahweh, which is to be acknowledged by all generations of Israelites through adherence to Torah. Thus, the book of Deuteronomy is in fact radical and countercultural but not in the ways that are usually adduced. It is radical in its rejection of ANE models of kingship and institutional permanence, in its emphasis on the holiness of life lived out before Yahweh, and in its elevation of Yahweh and his Torah. In the introductory chapter, the structure and ideology of the book are examined. Chapter 1 then examines some of the ways in which the theology of Deuteronomy has been understood, namely, in terms of centralization, secularization, and demythologization. Chapters 2–5 evaluate key texts that are used to support the idea that centralization, secularization, and demythologization are at the heart of the theology of Deuteronomy. An alternative reading of the texts is presented that highlights the supremacy of Yahweh and Torah. The final chapter investigates the theological and ideological implications of this alternative reading of key texts.