Deuteronomy Outside the Box Themes and Issues in Biblical Studies

This inaugural volume in the series, Themes and Issues in Biblical Studies, includes 19 articles that, collectively, provide readers with informed presentations of a range of current debates concerning Deuteronomy as well as key themes and their implications. A number of long-standing hypotheses are re-examined, with alternative options proposed. E-publication of individual chapters has preceded the printing of the finalized collection in hardback and paperback versions. Issues that have been included are: the proposed influence of Esarhaddon's Succession ade on Deuteronomy 13 and 28; berit as treaty, covenant, or instructions; Deuteronomy in dialogue with ancient Near Eastern law collections; reconceived Yahwism; Torah as a tool of propaganda and hegemony adapted from Persian data; characteristics of the Samaritan version of Deuteronomy; the role of Deuteronomy in the Pentateuch; where and when Deuteronomy might have been written, and the influence of Deuteronomy on the final shape of the psalter. Themes that have been examined include: geographical dimensions of the book; parenting; economic dimensions of the book; ethnicity and power; pedagogy; Moses as master scribe; pragmatism, utopia and dystopia in the book; ethics; and the memory of Cisjordan as a landscape of fortified cities.