Deuteronomistic Historians



Deuteronomistic Historians

Introduction

In 1981, bible scholar Martin Noth came up with a new theory: the idea that the books of Deuteronomy through Kings is all part of one large history put together by one redactor. He called the whole thing the “Deuteronomistic History,” named for Deuteronomy of course; its writer is either called the Deuteronomistic Historian or the Deuteronomist.

Deuteronomistic History

The theory that the Biblical narratives from Deuteronomy to 2 Kings were essentially the work of a historian or historians in the mid 6th Century BC, though scholars differ about the date and the nature of the activity, with some accepting only a Deuteronomistic 'revision' of earlier narratives during the exilic period. It portrayed Israel's fate in terms of her leaders' compliance or disregard for Israel's Law and her true prophets.

The History was eventually divided into the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, all of which follow the same Deuteronomy-influenced themes. The Jews call these books the “former Prophets” largely because these books are quite prophetic: Joshua, the judges, Samuel, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, and Josiah all fulfilled prophet-like roles, where they explained God's will to the Israelis.

The core of Deuteronomy's theology is a conscious covenantal pattern in which Yahweh and Israel are bound to each other by oaths of fidelity (Yahweh and Israel each faithful to the other) and obedience (Israel obedient to Yahweh); obedience to Yahweh's torah (laws) will bring blessings to Israel, disobedience will bring punishment. God exercises complete control over the process of history, and the events of the world are explicable in terms of Israel's fidelity to the Covenant. The Deuteronomistic history (the series of books following Deuteronomy, namely Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings) is not simple reportage of events so much as an explanation of the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE in terms of this God-directed history.

Discussion

The sins of Samaria and Judah extracted a terrible vengeance from YHWH, but in the midst of this turmoil we find the Deuteronomistic school at work, restricting history to speak theologically to the situation at hand. I will begin with Samaria first, seeing that Deuteronomy has its genesis in the Northern Tribes, and only later being brought to Jerusalem during the evacuation after the Assyrian invasion. Following that, I will discuss Judah and the only King to fulfill the Shema, Josiah.

The fall of the North finally occurred in 722 after many warnings by the prophets of YHWH. As Coogan notes, the prophets were a notable feature of the Deuteronomistic school and are given special status in the Book of Deuteronomy. Historians rightly note the various degrees of attention given to the Kings of the North, which fits well into the overall purpose of the Deuteronomistic History, and we can get a glimpse of their motivations if we consider that Deuteronomy was brought from the north, after their own kings failed to live up to the Covenant. Like Hezekiah and Josiah later, the Kings faced vassalage under the King of Assyria, removing them from the direct control of ...