Deuteronomy: The Overall Picture
Last week with David Meir-Levi we reviewed the format of Deuteronomy and how it parallels the vassal treaties between the kings and their subjects. These type treaties were in existence for thousands of years. There were these types of treaties in the time of King Josiah, which is a clue that the book of Deuteronomy might have been written at that time. However it was discovered that the Hittite treaties from 1000 years previous also had similar structure. There are those who date the book in the 7th Century because the structure of the curses and blessings seemed so close to those in documents of their time. AND then there are those who still say that Moses wrote the book and it is plausible that he also was familiar with vassal treaties as he was a prince in Egypt where similar treaties were used. So the conclusion is, yes, the structure is similar to the vassal treaties, but there is no way to certify a definite date on the writing.
An Example: Outline of a Typical Vassal Treaty 15th Century BCE
I. Preamble -- "These are the words..."
II. Historical Prologue -- antecedant history: the events which lead to and now form the basis of the treaty.
III. General Stipulations -- substantive statements regarding the future relationship which is related to the antecedant history and which summarizes the purpose of the specific stipulations which will follow.
IV. Specific Stipulations
V. Divine Witnesses -- the gods are called upon to bear witness.
VI. Blessings and Curses -- what will happen if the covenant is kept or broken.
(from Quartz Hill School of Theology - not Jewish but a good outline! )
This week with Rabbi Marder we also talked about the structure of Deuteronomy. As Rabbi Marder pointed out that there are 3 major discourses in Deuteronomy:
The 1st speech: Review - Chapter 1: 6 to 4:43 is a retrospective summary of the journey and 40 verses on observing the law.
The 2nd speech: Laws - Chapter 5 to Chapter 28, reviews the commandments and details the Laws to live by in The Land. This is often referred to as the Covenant made at Moab. But this continues the detail and spells out the consequences for not following the laws.
The 3rd speech: Peroration – Chapter 29 + represents the summation, the concluding argument, the peroration that is Moses’ final opportunity to convince the Israelites to keep this covenant.
One other interesting point made based on the overall look at the structure and format of the book is that it speaks to all types of people and all types of learners. There are oral, visual and tactile messages in the laws to enhance the understanding. (a very sophisticated technique and observation)
Now as Moses prepares for his final arguments he tells the Israelites that they are now ready to understand. Now that they have listened and seen, they were given the insight needed to succeed. This marks a major turning point in the book!
Next week we will explore why all this took 40 years!
More on Deuteronomy Structure:
Deuteronomy a Constitution
An Example: Outline of a Typical Vassal Treaty 15th Century BCE
I. Preamble -- "These are the words..."
II. Historical Prologue -- antecedant history: the events which lead to and now form the basis of the treaty.
III. General Stipulations -- substantive statements regarding the future relationship which is related to the antecedant history and which summarizes the purpose of the specific stipulations which will follow.
IV. Specific Stipulations
V. Divine Witnesses -- the gods are called upon to bear witness.
VI. Blessings and Curses -- what will happen if the covenant is kept or broken.
(from Quartz Hill School of Theology - not Jewish but a good outline! )
This week with Rabbi Marder we also talked about the structure of Deuteronomy. As Rabbi Marder pointed out that there are 3 major discourses in Deuteronomy:
The 1st speech: Review - Chapter 1: 6 to 4:43 is a retrospective summary of the journey and 40 verses on observing the law.
The 2nd speech: Laws - Chapter 5 to Chapter 28, reviews the commandments and details the Laws to live by in The Land. This is often referred to as the Covenant made at Moab. But this continues the detail and spells out the consequences for not following the laws.
The 3rd speech: Peroration – Chapter 29 + represents the summation, the concluding argument, the peroration that is Moses’ final opportunity to convince the Israelites to keep this covenant.
One other interesting point made based on the overall look at the structure and format of the book is that it speaks to all types of people and all types of learners. There are oral, visual and tactile messages in the laws to enhance the understanding. (a very sophisticated technique and observation)
Now as Moses prepares for his final arguments he tells the Israelites that they are now ready to understand. Now that they have listened and seen, they were given the insight needed to succeed. This marks a major turning point in the book!
Next week we will explore why all this took 40 years!
More on Deuteronomy Structure:
Deuteronomy a Constitution
JPS Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy
Author: Jeffrey H. Tigay
Excellent Review of the Speeches
A look at structure and parallels
Labels: deuteronomy, Moses, speeches, structure, vassal treaty
posted by Chavarah @ 7:45 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home