The ground of Sabbath observance was made rest for the servants as well as the master.
In the joyous harvest feasts the servants, land less Levites, foreign sojourners, fatherless, and widows were to be given opportunity to share, and the tithes of the produce were to go for the nourishment of these classes. Emphasizing justice, mercy, and knowledge of God as the supreme things, Deuteronomy sought to formu late laws which should give effect to these prin ciples in worship, business, family life, and the entire conduct of the nation. The perpetuity of the nation was indeed declared dependent upon faithfulness to the covenant of Sinai, which required loyalty to Jehovah expressed in a purified worship and a righteous, benevolent social order.
Upon the of Josiah and the establishment of Egyptian suzerainty the nation reacted sharply against the exacting demands of Deuteronomy. The Babylonian exile fol lowed speedily and burned the warnings of Deuteronomy into the hearts of some thought ful Jews. Out of these conditions there sprang a school of historians who composed such works as Judges and Kings with the primary purpose of enforcing the great lessons of Deuteronomy.
In literary form this book marks a transition in the growth of the Old Testament scarcely less obvious than that in thought. Its rounded periods and solemn, sonorous tone are in marked contrast to the simple, picturesque style of the earlier prose of Israel; here again its influence is plainly seen in the writings that follow the time of its publication.
Bibliography.— Carpenter, J. E., and Har ford-Battersby, G., 'The Hexateuch) (London 1900); Driver, S. R., 'Deuteronomy' (in (In ternational Critical Commentary,' New York 1895) • Eiselen, F. C., (The Books of the Penta teuch) (New York 1916); Fowler, H. T., 'A History of the Literature of Ancient (New York 1912) ; Kent, C. F., 'Israel's Laws and Legal Precedents' (New York 1907) ; also standard Bible dictionaries. Consult also Old Testament Introductions: Creelman, Cornill, Driver,