How to Recognize a Deuteronomic Text

In the accompanying article, I describe the theological revolution that is reflected in the fifth book of the Pentateuch (Deuteronomy) and in what scholars call the Deuteronomic History, which consists of the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings. To emphasize the differences heralded in the Deuteronomic literature, I contrast the concepts found in this literature with other books of the Bible, especially Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. The reader will notice that sometimes I also contrast the Deuteronomic outlook with other passages in the Former Prophets (Joshua-Kings) that I call pre-Deuteronomic. How do I know that these passages are pre-Deuteronomic? This is a complicated, technical subject, but a brief explanation follows.

An older stratum of tradition is embedded in the Former Prophets. The Deuteronomic author had this earlier tradition before him as he fashioned the Former Prophets. He used this older tradition as a source. He supplemented this with a framework and with speeches that reflected his ideology and his stereotypical phraseology. Thus, for example, the Book of Joshua contains old conquest narratives to which the Deuteronomist added a Deuteronomic framework, including two programmatic speeches. One of these speeches—by God to Joshua—opens the Book of Joshua. The second is Joshua’s valedictory speech in Joshua 23, which abounds in Deuteronomic theology—no anthropomorphisms, no allusions to the Ark leading the Israelites in battle.