Chapter Objectives:
1. Pentateuch
2. 2 Creation Stories
3. JDEP sources
4. Original Sin
5. Abraham>Isaac>Jacob>Joseph
6. Promise Land>Exodus>Promise Land
7. Ambrahmic, Exodus and Sinai Covenants
8. Sinai
9. Death of Moses
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
The call of Abraham begins a new history of blessing,
which is passed on in each instance to the chosen
successor (Gen 18:18; 22:15-18; 26:2-4; 28:14). This call
evokes the last story in the primeval history by reversing
its themes: Abraham goes forth rather than settles down;
it is God rather than Abraham who will make a name for
him; the communities of the earth will find blessing in
him.
Abraham’s journey to the center of the land, Shechem,
then to Bethel, and then to the Negeb, is duplicated in
Jacob’s journeys (33:18; 35:1, 6, 27; 46:1) and in the general
route of the Conquest under Joshua (Josh 7:1; 8:9, 30).
Abraham’s journey is a proleptic “conquest” of the land
he has been promised. In building altars here (vv. 7, 8)
and elsewhere, Abraham acknowledges his God as Lord
of the land.
1.
2.
3.
•
•
•
•
Ancestral (Patriarchal) Stories in general (Gen 12-50)
Abraham and Sarah Stories (11:27-25:18)
Look ahead to the Jacob cycle (25:19-ch. 50)
-------------------------------------------------------------Two full cycles of stories (Abraham and Jacob), not three. Isaac shadowy.
Wordplay on right of firstborn (bekorah) and blessing (berakah).
Ancestral stories’ (chs. 12-50) links to Gen 1-11: themes of land and
progeny; Abraham’s family part of the migration of the seventy nations,
yet set apart from them; Ugaritic (today Syria) stories, Kirta and Danel,
pre-1200 BC, have similar themes: childless king, anxious prayer,
compassionate God (El), and eventually an unlikely child.
Genre of stories varies. Stories skillfully and economically told, with care
for dramatic tension. No more than two speak; words reveal thoughts;
“background” rather than “foreground” (Erich Auerbach); divine-human
communication taken for granted. Gen 37-50, “Joseph Story,” differ,
extraordinary in style and depth of theological reflection.
Three generations of Abraham’s family in Canaan (Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob), and then descent into Egypt.
Common Themes in the Ancestral Stories (Wenham, Genesis)
- Heroes must leave their homeland
12:1; 28:2; 37:28 (38:1)
- All quarrel with their brothers
(13:7); 27:41; 37:4
- Three go down to Egypt (one to Gerar, toward Egypt) 12:10; 26:1; 37:28; 46:6
- Their wives are barren and quarrel (of Abraham and Jacob) 16:1-6; 29:31-30:8
- Younger sons are divinely favored (also Joseph)
17:18-19; 5:23l;48:14;
49:8-12, 22-26.
- Brides met at well
24:15; 29:9
- Promises of children, land, blessing
e.g., 12:1-5; 26:2-5; 28:13-14
- Gentiles acknowledge God’s blessing on patriarch21:21-22; 26:28-29; 41:39-40
- Burial in cave of Machpelah
23:1-20; 25:9; 35:27-29; 49:29-32
- Patriarch buried by both/all children
25:9; 35:29; 50:7-8
- Good relations with “Canaanites,” but endogamous marriage!
27:46; 38:2
Possible Chiastic Arrangement of Abraham Stories (T. Alexander)
A Sarah endangered, Abraham in Egypt
13:1
B Lot Episode I
C Covenant with Abraham
D Birth of Ishmael
C Covenant with Abraham
B Lot Episode II
A Sarah endangered, Abraham in Gerar
12:1013:2-14:24
15:1-21
16:1-16
17:1-27
18:1-19:38
20:1-18
• Abraham cycle Introduced by 11:27, “These are the
generations of Terah”; next section introduced by 25:12, 19,
“These are the generations of Ishmael, Isaac.
• Abraham’s journey (12:4-9) to the center of the land,
Shechem, then to Bethel, then to Negeb, foreshadows Jacob’s
journeys (33:18; 35:1, 6, 27; 46:1), and the general route of the
Conquest under Joshua (Josh 7:1; 8:9, 30). Abraham’s journey
is a symbolic “conquest” of the land he has been promised.
• Two accounts of the covenant with Abraham, ch. 15 (J, “cut a
covenant”) and ch. 17 (P, “establish a covenant,” and “eternal
covenant” berit ‘olam). “Eternal covenant” used also of
covenant with David, and is used of future covenant.
• Covenant in ANE and OT: agreement between two parties
sworn before the witnessing god(s). Covenant of grant versus
conditional covenant?
Selected Episodes
Gen 13-14. Abraham and Lot part; The four kings.
Melchizekek (NT, Hebrews 5-7).
 Chs. 15 and 17: J and P covenants
 Chs. 18-19. Abraham’s visitors and the destruction of Sodom.
 21:9-21. Expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael. Parallel to ch. 22
 Ch. 22: “voice,” etiological legend? Father “giving up” son
(or not) as Judah in 38:11 and Jacob in 43:11. NT: John 3:16.
 Ch. 23. Cave at Machpelah. Humor?
 Ch. 24: a bride for Isaac
 Legacy of Abraham. His faith. Judaism, Christianity, Islam
 Looking ahead to the Jacob cycle (25:19-ch. 50)

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
Abraham, 3.5 billion humans revere him in their scriptures, but for
different reasons: Jews for his election, Christians for his faith, and
Muslims for his monotheism.
The faith of Abraham. His call and commission (12), frustrations
and disappointments, test (22), & rediscovery of God.
Isaac cycle (25:19-50:25). Toledot formula in 25:12, 19; 36:1 (9); 37:2.
Chiastic structure: Canaan 25-28; Aram-Naharaim/Paddan 29-33;
Canaan 34-50. Wordplay on bekorah (right of first-born) and
berakah (blessing). Rivalries: Jacob-Esau, Rachel-Leah, four primary
Leah sons (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah)-Rachel son (Joseph)
Jacob-Esau, three attempts to wrest bekorah from Esau. Does Isaac
know what Rebekah knows? Has God promised anything to
Jacob? Laban does to Jacob what Jacob did to Esau.
Chs. 32-33. End of Haran phase and entry into Canaan. Jacob still
shrewd and resourceful head of the family; his children still
young.
Isaac’s Family (cont.)
•
•
•
Chs. 34-37. Three Leah
sons try to displace Jacob.
Death of Rachel (16-20)
affects Jacob. Fourth
Leah son, Judah,
unsullied.
Chs. 37-50: usual:
“Joseph Story”; 38 & 49
out. Climax: ch. 45. But . .
. 37:2, “This is the line of
Jacob,” matches 36:1,
“This is the line of Esau,”
and chs. 37-59 have many
actors, esp. Jacob.
Ch. 37 introduces elder
Rachel son--Joseph. Ch.
38 introduces only Leah
son left--Judah.
{
{ Joseph

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
Ch. 37: Double dream of
dominance; clueless son and
selfish father.
“Went down away from his
family.” Judah’s and Reuben’s
strategies. Why?
Brothers show bloody coat to
the father: “recognize whose
this is.”
Depressed further, Jacob
continues to fail as family
leader.
Chs 39-41. Joseph successful in
Egypt by interpreting dreams.
44:14-45:28. Key: Joseph
recognizes his brothers’ sale of
him was necessary for the
family’s survival.
{ Judah




Ch. 38. “Went down away
from his family.” Marries a
Canaanite, withholds his son
from Tamar, visits prostitute.
Tamar in disguise pregnant
by Judah.
Tamar shows seal, cord, and
staff to Judah: “Recognize
whose this is.”
Key: Judah recognizes that
Tamar has replaced his two
dead sons (Er and Onan).
{
Adam von Noort 1561-1641. Metropolitan Museum in
New York
Testament of Jacob
Genesis 49
Testament of Jacob
{
Judah 49:8-12
8“You, Judah, shall your brothers praise
—your hand on the neck of your enemies;
the sons of your father shall bow down to you.
9Judah is a lion’s cub,
you have grown up on prey, my son.
He crouches, lies down like a lion,
Like a lioness—who would dare rouse him?
10The scepter shall never depart from Judah,
or the mace from between his feet,
Until tribute comes to him,*
and he receives the people’s obedience.
11He tethers his donkey to the vine,
his donkey’s foal to the choicest stem.
In wine he washes his garments,
his robe in the blood of grapes.*
12His eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth are whiter than milk.
{
Joseph 49:22-26
“Joseph is a wild colt,
a wild colt by a spring,
wild colts on a hillside.
23Harrying him and shooting,
the archers opposed him;
24But his bow remained taut,
and his arms were nimble,
By the power of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25The God of your father, who helps you,*
God Almighty, who blesses you,
With the blessings of the heavens above,
the blessings of the abyss that crouches below,
The blessings of breasts and womb,
26the blessings of fresh grain and blossoms,
the blessings of the everlasting mountains,
the delights of the eternal hills.
May they rest on the head of Joseph,
on the brow of the prince among his brothers.
Genesis to Exodus
1.
2.
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Transition from Gen. Exodus in Pentateuch.
Outline of Exodus. Its two moments: liberation and
formation. Its drama. Moses
3. Historicity of the Exodus.
4. The name Yahweh. Plagues, esp. the 10th.
5. Liturgical reenactment (chs. 12-13, 19).
6. Exodus 15.
1. Transition from Gen. Exodus in Pent.
•
•
•
•
•
By Gen 50, third and climactic generation of the family.
Whole (12 and 70) & healed.
Joseph makes brothers swear to bring his bones back to
Canaan. Jacob’s are there.
Exod 1, a Pharaoh “who knew not Joseph,” raising specter of
danger.
Exodus: a family becomes a people/nation
Exod 1:1-7 picks up defining imperative of Gen 1:26-28: “Be
fruitful and increase!” “Fill the earth and subdue it!” [take
your territory]
Outline of Exodus. Its two moments: liberation
and formation. Its drama. Moses role
I. The Hebrews Freed from Pharaoh in Egypt (1:1-18:27)
(A) Danger (1:1-2:22)
(B) God Commissions Moses: First Narrative (22:23-6:1)
(C) God Commissions Moses: Second Narrative 6:2-7:7)
(D) The Ten Plagues (7:8-13:16) and accompanying rituals
(E) The Destruction of the Egyptian Armies and the Thanksgiving of
Miriam (13:17-15:21)
(F) Journey to Sinai after the Egyptians Have Been Destroyed (15:2218:27). Three tests.
II. Israel at Sinai (19:1-40:38)
(A) Solemn Concluding of the Covenant (19:1-24:18)
(B) Divine Command to Build & Maintain the Dwelling (Chaps. 25-31
(C) Apostasy and Renewal of the Covenant (chaps. 32-34)
(D) Building of the Dwelling & Descent of the Glory (chaps. 35-40)
The name Yahweh. Plagues, esp. the 10th.
Liturgical reenactment (chs. 12-13, 19).
Yahweh, form of the verb hayah, “to be,” prob. causative, “to
cause to be, to create.” Possibly, an abbreviated sentence
name, ’El du yahweh seba’ot, originally “God who creates the
heavenly host.” Most important: significance of “Yahweh”
comes not from its etymology, but from its close association
with the exodus..
 “Plagues” (mĕgēpāh) are usually “signs and wonders,”
demonstrations of divine power designed both to persuade
and give glory to God. Two clusters of miracles in OT.
 Tenth plague: death of firstborn. Capricious? Cf. Exod 1:22;
4:22-23. Hardening of Pharaoh’s heart.
 Passover, Unleavened bread. Note Exod 19:16, 18.

Historicity of the Exodus
Biblical minimalism (“The Copenhagen School”) since 1990s makes two main claims: (1) Bible does
not offer reliable evidence for what had happened in ancient Israel; (2) "Israel" itself is a problematic
subject for historical study. The exodus never happened. “Minimalism” is derogatory term and so is its
opposite, “maximalists,” who are either “Neo-Albrightians” and evangelical scholars

Basis of Minimalist denials: no corroborative evidence for the exodus; “mythic” or “folkloric”
traditions in any case; written down too long after alleged events.

True, no certain archaeological evidence in Delta for any historical period, BUT there is good evidence
for Semitic pastoralists pasturing in northeast Delta region from 1900 to 700 BCE esp. during famines.
Hyksos, Semitic, constituted 17th dynasty (1650-1540 BCE), Avaris their capitol. Hapiru. Tomb of
Rekhmire: POWs making bricks.

Place names in Exod 1:11, Raamses (prob. = Pi-Ra’amasses, “House of Raamses”) and Pithom (prob.
= Retabeh). Raamses ceased to exist after 1075, when the Pelusiac branch of the Nile shifted away from it.
Minimalists claim that these names reflect much later geography.

Route of exodus. Coast has receded ca. 20 miles making it likely that “Sea of Reeds” (Yam Suph) was
near along Mediterranean, explaining why Israel turned back. They had to avoid the heavily fortified
“Way of the Land of the Philistines.”

Conclusion: no good reason for doubting that a group of slaves escaped from Egypt and persuaded
others to join them in Canaan. Enslaved or oppressed peasants in Canaan could identify with the Egyptian
story.

15:1Then
Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:
I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted;
horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.
2My strength and my refuge is the LORD,
and he has become my savior.
This is my God, I praise him;
the God of my father, I extol him.
3The
LORD is a warrior,
LORD is his name!
4Pharaoh’s chariots and army he hurled into the sea;
the elite of his officers were drowned in the Red Sea.
5The flood waters covered them,
they sank in the depths like a stone.
6Your
right hand, O LORD, magnificent in power,
your right hand, O LORD, shattered the enemy.
7In your great majesty you overthrew your adversaries;
you loosed your wrath to consume them like stubble.
8At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up,
the flowing waters stood like a mound,
the flood waters foamed in the midst of the sea.
9The
enemy boasted, “I will pursue and overtake them;
I will divide the spoils and have my fill of them;
I will draw my sword; my hand will despoil them!”
10When you blew with your breath, the sea covered them;
like lead they sank in the mighty waters.
11Who is like you among the gods, O LORD?
Who is like you, magnificent among the holy ones?
Awe-inspiring in deeds of renown, worker of wonders
12You
stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them!
13Faithfully you led the people you redeemed;
in your might you guided them to your holy encampment.
14The peoples heard and quaked;
anguish gripped the dwellers in Philistia.
15Then
were the chieftains of Edom dismayed,
the nobles of Moab seized by trembling;
All the inhabitants of Canaan melted away;
16terror and dread fell upon them.
By the might of your arm they became silent like stone,
while your people, LORD, passed over,
while the people whom you created passed over.
17You brought them in, you planted them
on the mountain of your heritage—
The dais of your throne, LORD,
the sanctuary, LORD, that your hands established.
18May the LORD reign forever and ever!
Exod 19: Moses elicits free assent of the people; “priestly
people,” i.e., set apart as the LORD’s own; the LORD IS
revealed in the storm, speaking Ten Commandments to all.
 Book of the Covenant, chs.21-23, apodictic and casuistic
law, sampling of laws.
 Ratification of the covenant, ch. 24, in two rituals, one,
sprinkling blood on altar and people, and the other, great
Sheik inviting representatives of people to share a meal
with Him.
 Chs. 25-31. Tabernacle and its court foreshadow later
Temple in Jerusalem. “House/palace” of LORD, popular
worship in court. Ordination of priests in chs. 28-29, partly
through their being clothed with sacred vestments, is
continued in Leviticus 8-10. Priest represents people.

Exodus 19-40: Israel at Sinai 2



Chs. 25-31. In the P account of the construction of the tabernacle in Exod
25–31, the seven speeches of Moses (each initiated by a divine
command) imitate the seven-day construction of the universe in Gen 1.
Though of widely varying lengths, the speeches are recognizable by their
common introduction, “The LORD spoke to Moses”: 25:1–30:10; 30:11–
16; 30:17–21; 30:22–33; 30:34–38; 31:1–11; 31:12–17. Moses’s seventh
speech harks back to Gen 2:2–3: “For in six days LORD made heaven and
earth, and on the seventh day he ceased [creating] and was refreshed”
(Exod 31:17). The point: Tabernacle/Jerusalem Temple reflect and
represent divine power and life.
Chs. 32-34. Apostasy of the people, under Aaron, shortly after the
ratification. Moses, the true servant, persuades the LORD not to destroy
the people and to accompany them to the Promised Land. Important
issue for exiles.
Chs. 35-40. Tabernacle is built according to instructions. Glory (kābôd)
of the LORD fills the Tabernacle, signifying divine forgiveness, presence,
and accompaniment.
Exodus, Leviticus, and
Numbers
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Exodus and Liberation Theology according to
Norbert Lohfink.
Leviticus. Relating to God through gift exchange.
Structure of book. Types of offerings. What is
sacrifice?
Lev 16. Day of Atonement or Purgation?
Lev 17-26. The Holiness Code (H).
Numbers. Three parts (1-10; 11-25; 26-36). Two
generations (chs. 1 and 26). 10:11: the journey
resumes. Episode of the spies (chs. 13-14) and of
Moses’ sin (ch. 20): lessons for exiles.
Balaam Episode (Num 22-24).
Apostasy at Baal Peor (Num 25).
Five theses of Norbert Lohfink on Liberation Theology
1) God is interested in the here and now. "Thy will be done on earth as it
is in heaven." "In the Bible there is really no basic opposition between
'this world' and 'another world.'"
2) God is interested in material things. God in the OT leads people into
a land of milk and honey and Jesus does not transpose that worldliness
into unworldliness. Jesus feeds the hungry and there are to be no needy
among the Christians in Jerusalem (Acts 4:34).
3) God is interested in society. The faith and goodness of individuals are
to be realized in union with God's people. "Hear O Israel...you (pl.) shall
love Yahweh your God with all your heart..." (Deut 6:4). God delivers not
individuals but a people. Zion is God's city, the place where a new
people is to begin (Second Isaiah). In the NT, communities (ekklesia)
form. Book of Revelation ends with the vision of a new Jerusalem.
Five theses of Norbert Lohfink on Liberation Theology
4) God is interested in plenitude and riches. Term "church of the poor" occurs in
Qumran mss (4QpPs 37:2, 9, and 3:10) but not in NT. Contemporary interest in
the concept comes from André Gelin's The Poor of Yahweh, born of the French
spirituality of immediate post-war years, and modern generation of middle and
upper middle class youth rebellion. God creates so that all have enough and are
"sated." Bible images Zion as a place from which fertilizing streams water the
earth (Ezek 47), and where God's glory that shines over it attracts pilgrims from
the nations (Isa 60). Same themes in NT: Rev 21:23-26, and Magi in Matt 2:11.
5) God's interest in the world unleashes a drama. "Thy will be done" means
"Realize the plans You have for this world!" God has a plan for world history to call people together to transform them and through them to transform the
world. Mark 3:33-35 shows that God intends people to break away from their
human family to enter a new kind of family. God's will is therefore historical
and dramatic, not a static concept. Solidarity with the convoked group
therefore does not limit divine love to a particular group. God's plan for the
world in one particular phase begins with the poor. Partisanship toward poor
and "struggle" of the poor are not timeless and metaphysical but dramatic and
historical.
Leviticus. Relating to God through gift exchange. Structure of
book. Purity and impurity. What is sacrifice? Types of sacrifices.
How to honor and placate the Holy One in the encampment? How can the All-Holy One live amid a
sinful people?
Ritual impurity. Source: bodily flows, corpses, etc. Effect: temporary, contagious defilement of
persons and objects. Resolution: bathing, waiting. N.B. These render one “temporarily unfit to
encounter the sacred.” Klawans, Jewish Study Bible , 2041-7.
Moral impurity: Source: sins: idolatry, sexual transgression, bloodshed. Effect: long-lasting
defilement of sinners, land, and sanctuary. Resolution: atonement and punishment, and ultimately,
exile.
Sacrifice: Latin sacrum + facere, “make holy.” Transference of property from profane to sacred realm.
Fundamental sacrificial terms connote “gift,” mattanah (23:8), minchah, (NRSV “grain offering”), ’
isheh “food-gift” (NRSV “offering by fire”).
Lev 1-5, sacrifices characterized by donor (burnt, cereal, well-being); 4-5, sacrifices required for
expiation, 6-7, sacrifices regrouped by sanctity (Milgrom, HarperCollins Study Bible.
NRSV “sin offering,” better, “purification offering”: removes sin inflicted on sanctuary by
inadvertent violation of prohibitions, i.e., those not done “with a high hand” (= advertently).
Lev 16. Day of Atonement or Purgation?
Lev 17-26. The Holiness Code (H).




Lev 16. Milgrom: Moral impurity creates stain or
miasma that is attracted magnet-like to the sanctuary.
Unless removed, it will cause All-Holy One to leave
camp.
High priest enters once yearly to smear blood on cover
of ark; blood acts as detergent or carrier of stain and is
smeared on “(e)scape goat” that carries it into
wilderness “no-place.”
Hebrews: Christ, high priest, enters once only into
heavenly tabernacle; his blood sanctifies all
P has strands in Lev. “P” (1-16): spatial holiness limited
to sanctuary; descriptions of sacrificial system,
inaugural service at sanctuary, and laws of impurities.
“H” ( = “Holiness Code”), spatial holiness extended to
promised land. Adapts P “holiness” to laity.
Numbers.
Two generations (chs. 1 and 26). 10:11: the journey resumes. Episode of
the spies (chs. 13-14) and of Moses’ sin (ch. 20): lessons for exiles





Book structured by two genealogies, chs. 1 and 26, depicting first
and second generations. Further, chs. 1-10, preparations for moving
out, people obedient though occasional mention of death. Chs.11-25,
rebellion, culminating in ch. 25, though with occasional glimpses of
hope. Chs. 26-36, second generation, no deaths, victories, triumph.
Story of the spies in chs. 13-14 and of Moses in ch. 20. P elements in
both, with lessons for the exile.
Balaam chs. 22-24
Culminating sin and apostasy in ch. 25, with resonances of Exod 3234 with God acting in mountains and people’s apostasy in the plains
of Moab.
Chs. 26-36. Second generation. No deaths recorded. Victories and
careful and fair distribution of the land.
Balaam and Balak Num 22-24
Preceded by ch. 21: four kings
(Edom, Arad, Sihon and Og ) stand
in Israel’s way on the Plains of
Moab; three are defeated. Then
Balak hires the famous seer
Balaam to curse Israel.
22-24: three parts 22:1-14, Balak
hires Balaam, and 22:15-24:35,
Balaam and the ass; 22:36-24:25.
Oracles about Israel.
In 1967 inscription depicting
Balaam in a positive light as an
important light was found at Deir
`Allāh in eastern Transjordan. In
Bible, only Num 22-24 gives
positive picture of Balaam.
Balaam .
Balaam speaks of Yahweh, “my
God” (22:18) and “the Spirit of
God descends upon him” (24:2.
God is able to turn a pagan seer
into a Yahwist prophet!
{
Lectures on Deuteronomy and Deuteronomistic History
Deuteronomy—general perspective: Moses addresses Israel on how they
are to live in the land they are about to enter. Perennial stance of
Judaism and Christianity.
Origins of Deuteronomy.
(a) Genre: treaty/loyalty oath-turned-speech. Neo-Assyrian Empire
(935-612 BCE) treaties and loyalty oaths, and its conquest of the
Northern Kingdom.
(b) Josiah’s reform, after a century of Assyrian domination. Deut 5-28 is
“the book of the Torah” in the Temple (2 Kings 22:8), which formed the
basis of the
reform of Josiah (640-609 BCE), described in 2 Kings 23.
Highlights of Deuteronomy. Chs. 5-11, Sermons on the Great
Commandment; ch. 12, central sanctuary; 17:8-18:22, chief officials;
26:16-19, swearing of the covenant; chs. 29-30, treaty at Moab; chs. 3132, Song of Moses.
Deuteronomic History (Deuteronomy to 2 Kings). History of scholarship.
Literary structure. Speeches as editorial comments.
Genre of Loyalty Oath Neo-Assyrian Empire




In ANE political life, treaties were common. Best known are from Hittite (2nd
millennium) and Neo-Assyrian (935-612 BCE) Empires. Regulated
international interactions and thus had common features: included rituals and
sworn oaths by both parties; they defined both the contours of the
relationship and the consequences of disloyalty. Thus they included
stipulations, lists of divine witnesses, and curses.
Hittite treaties, vassal or parity, were intended to foster loyalty in partner, so
they included a detailed historical prologue detailing what the suzerain had
done for the vassal king. The treaties even commanded loyalty and “love.”
See William Moran’s ground-breaking article on Blackboard.
Neo-Assyrians used treaties and loyalty oaths in first millennium to regulate
matters in their “western” territories including the Northern Kingdom, Israel.
Loyalty oaths were imposed on subjects so they would accept the king or his
son (and successor) as their king. Unlike earlier Hittite treaties, they seek to
engender fear, threatening with curses; they also insist on the interior
disposition of loyalty. Best example: Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon (681-670
BCE; = VTE). See sample comparison of VTE and Deut below.
Deuteronomy seems to have adapted and subverted such loyalty oaths,
insisting rather on interior loyalty not to an Assyrian king, but to the divine
king Yahweh.
Comparison of VTE and Deut 28
Highlights of Deuteronomy Part 1
Chs. 5-11: Sermons on the Great Commandment in different situations
Moses Is Made the Mediator of the Decalogue (5:1-6:3). “You shall love (‘āhēb)…”
 Israel Is to Love Yahweh Alone upon Entering the Land (6:4-25). [Uses rituals (e.g.,
Exod13:11-16 that link later rites celebrating the primal events of the exodus. Rites
enable later generation to experience event. "When the Lord brings you into the
land. . . you shall do [a ritual act]. . .// When in time to come your child asks you,
`What does this [rite] mean?' you shall say to him, `By strength of hand the Lord
brought us out of Egypt. . . '" Our text adapts by substituting for the rite "these
words" (6: 6) and "these statutes" (6:24)]
 Israel Is to Remain Faithful to Yahweh despite threats from Seven Nations (7).
 Israel Is to Live by Divine Commandment in the Land as It Lived by Manna in the
Wilderness (8). [Text alternates mention of fundamental command, desert,
cultivated land, fundamental command, =cultivated land, desert, fundamental
command.]
 The One Lord Who Rules History also Rules the Fertility of the Land (10:12-11:17)
 Conclusion to the First Part of the Covenant Formulary and Transition (11:18-32)
 Not Israel's Righteousness but Yahweh's Grace Gives the Land (9:1-10:11)
Ch. 12. Law of Central Sanctuary.
 “the place that the LORD your God will choose” = Jerusalem. Revised calendar ch.
16
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Highlights of Deuteronomy Part II
Chief officials detailed in 17:18-18:19.
No single person has absolute power, even the king. Lohfink sees an anticipation of the
political philosophy of Montesquieu (1689-1755) who inaugurated idea of separation of
judicial, executive, and legislative powers as a way of preserving individual liberty.
Transferability of the Mosaic office (18:15-22). Attained a messianic sense, Acts 3:22.
Swearing of the covenant (26:16-19). You have agreed today to the declaration of Yahweh
 that he will be your God
 that you will walk in his ways
 that you will keep his statues and his ordinances
 that you will obey his voice
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Yahweh has agreed today to your declaration
 that you are ready to be his people, a special possession as he promised you,
 that you are to keep all his commandments
 that he will set you high over all nations he has made, in praise and in fame and in
honor
 that you shall be a people holy to Yahweh your God, as he has spoken.
Covenant at Moab. Chs. 29-30.
Chs. 31-32. The Song of Moses as a “witness” against the people: Introduction 1-6;
Gracious Act 7-14; Rebellion 15-18; Divine Anger & punishment 19-25; Day of judgment
& new beginning 26-43
Deuteronomistic History (DH, Deut to Kings)
Previous scholarship: Joshua was the 6th book (hexateuch,
hexa- = 6). Martin Noth, 1943, proposed DH, Deut to Kings,
a single work designed to convince exilic generation that
exile was just punishment for Israel’s sins. Its “speeches”
(Josh 1, 23; Jdg 2:6-3:6; 1 Sam 12; 2 Sam 7; 1 Kings 8; 2 Kings
17) were editorial interpretations.
 Frank Cross (and others): two editions, the first composed
under Josiah to support his reforms (emphasizing the
Mosaic and Davidic promises) and the second to include
the exilic destruction. The first edition (Dtr) probably began
with Deut 1-3:28 + 31:1-8 + Joshua forward, ending with 2
Kings 23:25a, which has the look of an ending. The second
edition (Dtr2) added material at beginning (Deut 4-34) and
at end (23:23b-25:30). Later, separately, an editor made Deut
the fifth book of the Pentateuch by adding the J-E account of
the death of Moses in Deut 34, effectively separating Deut
from the DH.

Joshua. Deut speeches (1, 23-24)
I. Conquest
(from K. L. Younger, NOAB)
A. Preparation (1:1-5:12)
B. Conquest of the land (5:13-12:24)
Central campaign (5:13-8:35): Jericho,
Achan
and Ai; covenant renewal at
Shechem
Southern and Northern campaigns (9:111:15): Introduction (9:1-2); Southern (9:310:43); Northern 11:1-15).
Summary of total conquest (11:16-23)
Selective list of defeated cities’ kings (12)
II. Allotment of the Land (chs. 13-24)
B’. Division of the land (chs. 13-21)
Land remaining (13:1-7)
Transjordanian tribal allotment (13:832)
Cisjordan tribal allotment (14-19)
Allotment to persons of marginal status
(chs. 20-21). Cities of refuge, Levitical
cities.
A’. Epilogue to conquest and allotments
Misunderstanding with Transjordanian
tribes (ch. 22
Concluding charges (chs. 23:1-24:28)
Appendices (24:29-33)
{
Definitions of History
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History is more or less bunk. Henry Ford
History has had assigned to it the office of judging the past and of
instructing the present for the benefit of future ages. To such high
offices the present work does not presume; it seeks only to show the
past as it really was (wie es eigentlich gewesen). Leopold Van Ranke:
History of the Latin and German Peoples, 1824.
History, real solemn history, I cannot be interested in. . . .The quarrels
of popes and kings, with wars and pestilences in every page; the
men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all. Jane
Austen
Genuine historical knowledge requires nobility of character, a
profound understanding of human existence -- not detachment and
objectivity. Friedrich Nietzsche
The historian can learn much from the novelist. Samuel Eliot
Morison
Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present
controls the past. George Orwell
History is the intellectual form in which a civilization renders
account to itself of its past. Johann Huizinga
References:
Clifford, R. S.J. (2013). Old Testament Narrative Introduction
[PowerPoint presentation]. Chestnut Hill, MA.