THE TEXT IN ITS ANCIENT CONTEXT
Form criticism suggests that Deuteronomy contains the following elements: (1) Historical introduction(s) (Deut. 1:1–11:32); (2) stipulations of the agreement (Deut. 12:1–26:19); (3) citation of blessings and punishments for keeping or violating the covenant (Deut. 27:1–28:68); and (4) miscellaneous materials (Deut. 29:1–34:12). The following are major features of Hittite treaties: (1) The self-identification of the suzerain; (2) the historical recapitulation, in which the suzerain cites mercies shown to the vassal; (3) the stipulations of the agreement; (4) reiteration of the need for frequent rehearsal or review of the covenant; and (5) a curse and blessing for either violating or keeping the covenant. Although fragmentary, the data suggest Assyrian treaties contained the following elements: (1) Lists of witnesses; (2) the stipulations of the agreement; and (3) curses for violating the covenant (Mayes 1991, 32). Therefore, it is widely accepted that treaty traditions in the ancient Near East are the backdrop against which to discuss the present structure of Deuteronomy (Weinfeld 1992, 146–57).
Hittite and Assyrian treaties contain concluding sections that cite curses for violating the agreement. Deuteronomy 27:1–28:68 contains a series of curses and blessings. It appears to have been appended to Deuteronomy 12–26 by the redactor, for this narrative connects with the account that ended abruptly in Deut. 11:29–32. The presence of these series of curses and blessings ensures that the pattern of the final form of Deuteronomy more closely resembles that of treaty traditions in the ancient Near East.
THE TEXT IN THE INTERPRETIVE TRADITION
Moses and the elders instruct the people to erect stones, cover them with plaster, and write this teaching (hattôrâ hazzô’t) on them (Deut. 27:1–8). While the text is silent on the specifics of “this teaching,” contemporary Jewish scholarship on this verse suggests that “this teaching” denotes the regulations in Deuteronomy 12–26 (Tigay 1996, 248). What is more, rabbinic exegesis of this passage claims that the Israelite community wrote the contents of “this teaching” in seventy languages on the stones (m. Sotah 7:5).
Deuteronomy 27:4–5 instructs the community to construct an altar on Mt. Ebal, where the Levites, with six of the tribes that composed Israel, cite twelve morally and theologically reprehensible behaviors. The Levites also declare a malediction (’ārar), a divinely established, permanent condition of disaster, trouble, suffering, and pain in the lives of those who perpetrate them (Deut. 27:15–26; 28:16–68). Deut. 27:15–26 refers to twelve actions that are surreptitious but known by YHWH; consequently, YHWH will punish those who commit these offenses (Tigay 1996, 251–57). The text indicates that YHWH will use a nation from afar (gôy mērāḥôq) to punish Israel. The identity of the nation from afar (gôy mērāḥôq) spoken of in Deut. 28:47–68 that will subjugate Israel is unknown. In light of the calamities that befell Israel in 722 BCE and 586 BCE, Assyria and Babylon are often cited as this nation from afar (Tigay 1996, 269).
Deuteronomy 27:12 and 28:1–14 indicate that six of the other larger kinship subgroups that constitute Israel should stand on Mt. Gerizim and invoke a blessing (bārak), a divinely established, permanent condition of favor, happiness, health, fecundity, and peace in the lives of those who obey the contents of this teaching. Basil the Great (329–379 CE), one of the three Cappadocians fathers, applies an allegorical reading to this text by associating the basket in Deut. 28:5 with the soul, and argues that if the soul gets developed, it can be prosperous, that is, filled with good things. According to Basil, it must be nurtured and refreshed by heavenly waters (Lienhard 2001, 321). Current Pentecostal biblical scholarship would argue that growth of the soul comes from allowing the Spirit of God to nurture one’s soul (Warrington 2008, 46–48).
THE TEXT IN CONTEMPORARY DISCUSSION
Deuteronomy 27:15–26 lists twelve evil curses. These maledictions condemn seedy actions that are perpetrated in secret or without an audience. Since these deeds are carried out in private, it is easy for one to think that these actions are less dangerous than those moral actions that are noticeable by all and are easily detectable. Deuteronomic moral thought invites us to consider that furtive wicked deeds are a detriment to the community. Thematic similarities are present between key assumptions about the moral agent that inform Deut. 27:15–26 and the account about the Ring of Gyges in book 2 of Plato’s Republic. Both of these accounts bring into play the tenet that clandestine actions reveal the true character and real moral qualities of a moral agent. Actions done in secret neither hide our character nor obfuscate those values that underlie them: they reveal them.
THE TEXT IN ITS ANCIENT CONTEXT
Deuteronomy 29–30 contains another sermon by Moses. In these chapters, Israel is standing on the brink of entering the promised land, and Moses once again rehearses the deeds of YHWH in the life of Israel. The most conspicuous of these actions is the tradition of YHWH’s rescuing an oppressed group of slaves from bondage in Egypt, the nucleus of biblical Israel, and of YHWH’s entering a formal relationship with this group at Horeb. Moses admonishes Israel to abide by this covenant. He cites Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, and contends that the fate of these cities is what lies on the horizon if Israel violates the agreement YHWH has made with them. These chapters, therefore, continue that type of thinking that is widespread in Deuteronomic thought by making obedience to the law a necessary condition for well-being, fecundity, peace, and good fortune. Speeches of Moses introduce and are appended to the large block of law and curses and blessings in Deuteronomy 12–28. These orations “bookend” the nucleus of the book.
THE TEXT IN THE INTERPRETIVE TRADITION
Deuteronomy 29–30 reviews the journey of the Israelites from Horeb to Moab. What is more, this account revels in the defeat of Sihon and Og, two monarchs whom the Israelites engaged in combat on their way to the promised land. These chapters mention both Horeb and Moab, indicating that YHWH made covenants with Israel in both of these locations. The speech concludes with Moses admonishing the people to be faithful to YHWH by choosing life over death. It is argued that Deuteronomy 29–30 contains the concluding charge of the book (Craigie 1976, 356).
Deut. 29:14 contains a very interesting phrase. It says that the covenant was with those who are not here with us today (’ăšer ’ênennû pōh ‘immānû). This wording attracts attention, because elsewhere in Deuteronomy the narrator says that covenants were made at Horeb (Deut. 1:6) and at Moab (Deut. 1:5; 29:1). Since the people with whom YHWH cut a covenant at Horeb died in the wilderness, Deut. 5:2 implies that YHWH was cutting a covenant with those who were present at Moab. Now, Deut. 29:14 talks about YHWH cutting a covenant with those who are not present. About whom is the text speaking? Rabbinic exegesis contends that those “not present” in Deut. 29:14 refers to the souls of future generations of Jews. YHWH is cutting a covenant with those who are present at Moab as well as with those Jews who are forthcoming (Tigay 1996, 278).
The notion of YHWH cutting a covenant with Jews was a source of discussion in the early Christian community. The author of the epistle to the Hebrews says: “In speaking of ‘a new covenant,’ he has made the first one obsolete” (Heb. 8:13 NRSV). He also introduces Jer. 31:31–34 into the discussion of soteriology and Christology, arguing that the work of Jesus has brought into play a new, different mechanism for people to maintain a relationship with God. This covenant is not tied to the ongoing offering of animal sacrifices for atonement, but is linked to the act of accepting by faith the salvific atoning work of Jesus. For the writer of Hebrews, the first covenant, the one that was instituted at Horeb/Sinai and Moab, has been superseded by the covenant through Jesus.
THE TEXT IN CONTEMPORARY DISCUSSION
The “prosperity gospel” is present in many religious communities. This type of theology argues that good health, money, power, cars, and temporal success are how a right relationship with God is measured. In fact, it has become quite fashionable in many Christian circles to claim that obtaining possessions, capital, affluence, power, physical well-being, and good fortune is the entitlement of a person who is in good standing with God, via Jesus. At the center of this phenomenon is a type of preaching, teaching, and exposition of the Bible that reads the text through the lens of prosperity, perhaps through the lens of Deut. 30:15. This trend in theologizing brings into play a host of interpretive and theological issues, chief of which is an approach to biblical hermeneutics that embraces one, single idea or principle as the key criterion for understanding the Bible. In the case at hand, enjoying great wealth, success, and good fortune in this world is the theme that unites all of Scripture. While portions of the Bible speak about prosperity, a close look at prophecies in Amos, Jeremiah, and Micah reveals that a host of other principles are also present. Perhaps the reader should be wary of all forms of hermeneutical monism and embrace a framework for reading the Bible that affirms the texts’ diversity of thought surrounding the moral life.
THE TEXT IN ITS ANCIENT CONTEXT
Deuteronomy 31–34 casts light on several important speeches, deeds, and events in the final days of Moses: (1) The transfer of leadership to Joshua (Deut. 31:7–8, 14–15, 23; 34:9). Traditions that anticipate this event appear in Deut. 1:38 and 3:28. Moreover, Num. 27:12–23 contains an alternative account of Joshua’s appointment as the next leader of Israel. (2) The command to read the law every seven years during the Festival of Booths/Tabernacles (Deut. 31:9–13). (3) The construction of a poem, the Song of Moses, which speaks about Israel’s inclination toward apostasy and the proclivity of YHWH to punish Israel for her unfaithfulness (Deut. 32:1–43). A poem by this title appears in Exod. 15:1–21, but it celebrates the deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt. (4) Moses’ blessing of the tribes of Israel (Deut. 33:1–29). Genesis 49:1–28 preserves the traditions that Jacob uttered when he blessed those twelve tribes that afterward would constitute Israel. (5) The death and eulogy of Moses (Deut. 34:1–12). Deuteronomy 31–34 reflects the essence of the Deuteronomic program, namely, that observing the laws of YHWH and commitment to the exclusive worship of YHWH bring prosperity.
THE TEXT IN THE INTERPRETIVE TRADITION
Because the Song of Moses (Deut. 32:1–43) contains several individual literary units that imply moral and theological ideas, it has been the object of considerable reflection among the early church fathers. John Cassian (360–435 CE) took Deut. 32:7 to mean that individuals should take advantage of the wisdom of the elders and, when possible, they should confer with church leaders when unsure about decisions regarding ethical and theological matters. John Chrysostom (347–407 CE) took Deut. 32:15 to mean that the moral agent should guard against the dangers of abundance, for according to Deut. 32:15, bounty often leads to ungratefulness and to a set of other behaviors that cause one to ignore his or her need for God (Lienhard 2001, 332–34).
THE TEXT IN CONTEMPORARY DISCUSSION
Israel was in transition: it was on the brink of entering the promised land, and Moses had taken them as far as he could take them. However, he understands that if the community does reach the promised land, they will not reach it under his leadership. The Song of Moses provides a paradigm for transitioning leadership in religious organizations. It invites leaders to appreciate several items: (1) Leaders need to recognize that their time for supervising and providing leadership to a community will expire; (2) leaders can be gracious to individuals in the organization when they depart; (3) leaders can depart and pass on some insight into what they foresee will be challenges for the success of the organization; and (4) leaders can find public ways to support their successors before they depart. Leaders can finish strong.
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