Rewriting And Revision As Amendment In The Laws Of Deuteronomy

In this study, Kevin Mattison examines Deuteronomy's reworking of existing legal texts, arguing that Deuteronomy was designed to amend its main legal source, the Covenant Code (Exod 20:22-23:19). The model of amendment draws on existing models of replacement and supplementation in order to provide a more complete explanation of Deuteronomy's rewriting of the Covenant Code, which is characterized by a combination of presupposition, complementation, and contradiction. Internal revisions within the growing text of Deuteronomy exhibit a similar combination of these three factors. Deuteronomy's authors sought to amend the Covenant Code even as they continued to amend their own growing text. The author draws examples from laws governing sacrifice and slaughter (Deut 12:1-28), tithes and firstlings (Deut 14:22-29; 15:19-23; 26:12-15), and manslaughter and asylum (Deut 19:1-13).

La 4e de couverture indique : "Kevin Mattison argues that Deuteronomy was designed to amend the Covenant Code (Exod 20:22-23:19). He proposes a model of amendment, which draws on existing models of replacement and supplementation to provide a more complete explanation of Deuteronomy's rewriting of the Covenant Code."

Jeffrey Stackert explores literary correspondences among the pentateuchal legal corpora and especially the relationships between similar laws in Deuteronomy and the Holiness Legislation (Lev 17-26, the so-called "Holiness Code," as well as significant parts of the Priestly source elsewhere in the Pentateuch). Resemblances between these law collections range from broad structure to fine detail and include treatments of similar legal topics, correlations with regard to sequence of laws, and precise grammatical and lexical correspondences. Yet the nature and basis of these resemblances persist as debated points among biblical scholars. Through an analysis of the pentateuchal laws on asylum, seventh-year release, manumission, and tithes, the author argues that the Holiness Legislation depends upon both the Covenant Collection and Deuteronomy. He also elucidates the compositional logic of the Holiness legislators, showing that these authors do not simply replicate pre-existing legal content. Rather, they employ a method of literary revision in which they reconceptualize source material according to their own ideological biases. In the end, the Holiness Legislation proves to be a "super law" that collects and distills the Priestly and non-Priestly laws that precede it. By accommodating, reformulating, and incorporating various viewpoints from these sources, the Holiness authors create a work that is intended to supersede them all.

Scholars studying the ANE have noticed that Canaanite kings ruled as a representative of their god and served in a priestly role. Yahweh allows Israel to have a king "like all the nations" (Deut 17:14), but he shapes the monarchy according to his covenant. A key question remains, does God's allowance for a king "like all the nations" include a king-priest model? This study presents a synchronic view of the king as a priest within the MT of Samuel, analyzing the motif and considering how the narrator heightens the hope for the coming anointed one, whom the narrator describes as both king (1 Sam 2:10) and priest (2:35-36). This study will argue that, from the monarchy's inception, Yahweh considered Israel's kingship a sacral task. My study examined the king as a priest through a synchronic literary-theological approach.

“The book of Deuteronomy can rightly be called a compendium of the most important ideas of the Old Testament.” So begins this commentary on the book of Deuteronomy, which Bill Arnold treats as the heart of the Torah and the fulcrum of the Old Testament—crystallizing the themes of the first four books of the Bible and establishing the theological foundation of the books that follow. After a thorough introduction that explores these and other matters, Arnold provides an original translation of the first eleven chapters of Deuteronomy along with verse-by-verse commentary (with the translation and commentary of the remaining chapters following in a second volume). As with the other entries in the New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Arnold remains rooted in the book’s historical context while focusing on its meaning and use as Christian Scripture today. Ideal for pastors, students, scholars, and interested laypersons, this commentary is an authoritative yet accessible companion to the book of Deuteronomy.

"This book is for students, scholars, and general readers who are interested in the legal texts and ideas of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). The book explains the nature and history of biblical law, the legal significance of its rules, and its influence on early Judaism and Christianity"--

This indispensable monograph synthesizes current debates and offers a new historical and literary analysis of the book of Deuteronomy "In this exciting addition to the Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library, Stackert offers something genuinely new: he brilliantly weaves together biblical scholarship, cuneiform literature, and contemporary literary theory. This clearly written and engaging volume examines how the concept of scripture shaped ancient readers' understanding of Deuteronomy."--Bernard M. Levinson, University of Minnesota The book of Deuteronomy introduces and develops many of the essential ideas, events, and texts of both Judaism and Christianity, and it has thus been a resource--and in some instances even a starting point--for investigations of themes and concepts beyond it. In this volume, Jeffrey Stackert deftly guides the reader through major topics in the interpretation of Deuteronomy and its relationship to the other four pentateuchal books. Considering subjects such as the relationship between law and narrative, the role of Deuteronomy in Israel's history, its composition and reception history, the influence of cuneiform legal and treaty traditions, textual and archaeological evidence from the Levant and Mesopotamia, and the status of Deuteronomy within the larger biblical canon, this book introduces ongoing debates surrounding the book of Deuteronomy and offers a contemporary evaluation of the latest textual and material evidence.

In der Reihe Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) erscheinen Arbeiten zu sämtlichen Gebieten der alttestamentlichen Wissenschaft. Im Zentrum steht die Hebräische Bibel, ihr Vor- und Nachleben im antiken Judentum sowie ihre vielfache Verzweigung in die benachbarten Kulturen der altorientalischen und hellenistisch-römischen Welt. Die BZAW akzeptiert Manuskriptvorschläge, die einen innovativen und signifikanten Beitrag zu Erforschung des Alten Testaments und seiner Umwelt leisten, sich intensiv mit der bestehenden Forschungsliteratur auseinandersetzen, stringent aufgebaut und flüssig geschrieben sind.