DEUTERONOMY, the fifth book of the Law in the Old Testament. The name is a Greek mistranslation of the term Mishneh hat-Torah, "copy of the Law," found in Deut. xvii. 18 and Josh. viii. 32. It is ostensibly an account of the Law as given by Moses just before his death in the plains of Moab, the theory of the book being, apparently, that the Law given 38 years earlier at Horeb was confined to the "Ten Words" (see DECALOGUE ), and that the present precepts are offered as a rule for life in the country which Israel will soon enter.
The original extent of the book is not fully determined. It may well have begun with iv. 44, or even with xii. I (though this is less probable). Chaps. xxvii., xxix.–xxxiv. may have been later appendices, and it is extremely unlikely that the two poems formed a part of the original book. There are signs of a double tradition, e.g., xii. 2-7 and 8-14 cover the same ground ostensibly. The curious variation between the use of the second plural and the second singular in addressing Israel has led some scholars to be lieve that we have here the interweaving of two different docu ments, though it must be admitted that the two forms interchange – so frequently and irregularly that analysis on this basis is most precarious. The tone and style of the book are very clearly marked. The whole has a humanitarian outlook, which is mani fested both in modifications of existing laws and in the promulga tion of new regulations. It thus contains repeated exhortations to love Yahweh, and to recognize His love to Israel. The ritual and ceremonial elements are comparatively slight.
(b) Absolute. Part of the importance of Deuteronomy for the history of Hebrew literature and thought lies in the fact that it seems possible to assign an actual date to its promulgation. Its main ritual provision, the concentration of sacrifice, finds prac tical expression in the religious measures of Josiah, 621 B.C. (II. Ki. xxii. ; xxiii.) and Deuteronomy, or a nucleus of the book, has therefore been identified with the Book of the Law found by Hilkiah in the temple. If that view be correct, then Deuteronomy is a "programme" based on the teaching of the 8th century prophets, and compiled during the 7th century.
Whilst this is the "regnant hypothesis," it has not passed un challenged. It involves two difficulties. One is that the provisions —or some of them—intended to meet the new order are unwork able in practice. Even in II. Ki. xxiii. 9 it is stated that the priests of the local sanctuaries, brought to Jerusalem as prescribed in Deut. xviii. 6-8, were not permitted to share in the offices per formed by the Jerusalem priesthood in the temple. The other difficulty is that while the reform of Josiah tended to exalt Jeru salem, the Book of the Covenant (on which the Deuteronomic code is clearly based) and the historical traditions followed in Deuteronomy are of northern provenance, belonging to E rather than to J. Attempts have been made to solve these problems by throwing the date of the book either forward or backward.
Here it can only be remarked that these solutions raise other difficulties which would also have to be solved. te Whatever the exact date of the book may have been, its influ ence on Hebrew literature and thought is undeniable. In its spirit and from its point of view the Book of Kings was written, and some of the material now found in our prophetic books (espe cially Jeremiah) bears the same stamp, alike in matter and in style. It sprang out of and represents one of the most important schools of thought in the history of Israel.