Studying Deuteronomy is like watching a time travel movie, or other mind-bending story, where it is hard to tell whether the protagonist is still in the past, or was always in the present, or is in a perpetual loop of appearing in the past, yet still in the present, yet actually in the past, and so on.
In this case, the feature revolves around the character, Moses, except that the book of Deuteronomy was completed long after Moses — though he does exist in context, yet much of the text is warning about an exile that was already happening, or had already happened, yet is foretold to happen, yet hadn’t happened yet.
As the old saying goes: clear as mud, right?
Here is another way to unpack Deuteronomy, as well as its relationship to the Pentateuch: Look at the overarching message of keeping to the covenant and the consequences of not keeping to it.
However, arriving at this conclusion starts with examining Deuteronomy’s structure and authorship (spoiler alert: Moses is not the only author), its differences and similarities when compared to the Pentateuch, and its theological influence because of the Exile.
To begin, Deuteronomy, the last book in the Pentateuch, is a moving target when trying to determine when exactly it was written. The evidence is so widely varied, that some of it implies an early date, perhaps when Hittite treaties were formed, or before the reforms that Josiah instituted (Robson 20); or to a later date because of its change in rhetoric, its stark differences from the rest of the Pentateuch, and its clues that exile was already underway or had ended. (Robson 26, 57).
In general, the approximate date of Deuteronomy’s completion is 550 B.C. (though its formation also traces back to the 7th century), as its style and tone is similar to the books of Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings. Moreover, because of the stylistic similarities between all above books and their link to the Deuteronomic style, they all are aptly part of what is called “Deuteronomic History.” (Boadt et al. 328).
Although pinpointing Deuteronomy’s dating is quite the puzzle, its structure is not as confounding, albeit still a bit confounding: Overall, Deuteronomy is written through the lens of Moses’ ministry — all of it from a third-person perspective (Robson 22), and much of it involving mega speeches that recap the tenets of prior covenants, the commandments as delivered at Mount Sinai, and no shortage of reminders throughout the book about obeying the covenant, as the consequences of not obeying would be anything but good. In fact, chapters 12 to 26 are so chalk full of covenant law, and which mirror Exodus 20-23, they are referred to as “second law.” (Boadt et al. 327, 304).
Yet the audience for Deuteronomy does not square with the other books in the Pentateuch. Keeping in mind the Assyrian takeover of the Northern Kingdom in 7th century B.C., followed by the Babylonian takeover of the Southern Kingdom in 6th century B.C. — which then cemented the Exile — scholarship traces Deuteronomy’s origin to the Northern Kingdom: The combination of Elohist influence, the strong connection to covenant as preached by Hosea, and the passionate praise for Yahweh in 1 and 2 Kings, sets the initial tone for Deuteronomy. Then, as the Northern Kingdom merged beliefs with the Yawhist influence in the Southern Kingdom, most likely during Hezekiah’s reign, and with the help of Northern Kingdom prophets, Deuteronomy was further shaped to speak more directly to post-exilic Jews (Boadt et al. 310, 311).
This becomes even more apparent when comparing Deuteronomy to the other books in the Pentateuch. When looking at similarities between Deuteronomy and the rest of the Pentateuch, many passages in Deuteronomy correlate with prior books. For example, the formlessness of creation in Genesis 1:1 lines up with the formlessness of the wilderness described in Deuteronomy 32:10. Additionally, land boundaries described in Deuteronomy 1:7 line up with those in Genesis 15:8-10, as part of the Abrahamic covenant (Robson 33). And that’s just a small sampling comparison between two of the five books!
Still, the differences are just as, if not more, apparent. One primary example is the how the Decalogue is proclaimed in Deuteronomy versus that in Exodus – particularly regarding the Sabbath: Exodus 20:8-11 states to “remember” the Sabbath, while Deuteronomy 5:2-1 states to “observe” the Sabbath – which implies that the Sabbath had already been well-established (Robson 35).
What’s more, the vocabulary and style between Deuteronomy and other Pentateuch books varies greatly. As Lawrence Boadt explains in Reading the Old Testament, expressions such as “you shall keep the commandments which I command you this day”, and “to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul”, can only be found in Deuteronomy (304).
All of this leads to the overarching message mentioned at the beginning of this post: Keep to the covenant or face the consequences of not keeping it. The authors of Deuteronomy reinforced this message by combining Moses’ presence as lawgiver with a reinforced view of obeying covenant laws, a deep knowledge of Israel’s continual failings to remain faithful to the covenant, and the mass destruction that would occur if Israelite disobedience persists (Boadt et al. 330).
One concluding example is in Deuteronomy 28:58-68 – Moses continually stresses the consequences Israel will face if they continue with idolatrous behaviors and persist in their disobedience to the covenant. In short, this is both prophetic and devastatingly fulfilled – just as the 7th and 6th century Israelites experienced (Head 218).
Works Cited
Boadt, Lawrence, et al. Reading the Old Testament : An Introduction. New York, Paulist Press, 2012.
Johnston, Philip, and David G. Firth, editors; James Robson, consulting editor. Interpreting Deutoronomy: Issues and Approaches. IPV Academics, 2012.
Head, Peter M. “The Curse of the Covenant Reversal: Deuteronomy 28:58-68 and Israel’s Exile.” Churchman, vol. 111, no. 3, 1997, pp. 218-26.