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1.1.2.3 The Deuteronomic Code^11
The laws in the Book of Deuteronomy are intimately bound up with
the narrative, an indication that the book was produced as a unit,
a product of a nativist revival movement which sought to purify
Israel’s cult, to rid it of all elements it considered idolatrous or poly-
theistic, to centralize all worship in one place and to minimize con-
tact with other peoples. The laws themselves often have the character
of legislation, binding the hearers to observe the law.^12 The laws
include more family regulations than does the Covenant Code; they
also show evidence of change from the common law reflected in the
narratives and the few family laws of Exodus in the direction of less
authority for the individual head of household.^13 On the other hand,
the laws have a minimalist view of monarchy and do not invest the
king with major areas of authority. A more collective view of authority
is established through the persons of elders and judges. Deuteronomy
is structured as a treaty agreement between God the overlord and
Israel, and the laws are presented as the stipulations of this treaty.
In this way, breaking the law also involves breaking the oath of
treaty and faithlessness to God, and the community must rectify the
situation in order not to be itself considered faithless to God.1.1.2.4 Forms of the Laws^14
The laws are generally described as “casuistic” (case law), which pro-
vide legal remedies for the situations envisioned by the composers
of the law, and “apodictic” statements: prescriptions and proscrip-
tions directly addressed to the hearer/reader that do not detail the
punishment for transgressions. A third type, “participial” (“the one
who does.. .”), should be seen as a subset of case law, since it too
provides for sanctions. Theories about different origins or times for
the different forms of law have not been borne out.^15very early or late; most recently, Knohl has argued that H results from an eighth-
century movement in which the priests became more socially conscious than they
had been before (The Sanctuary of Silence.. .).(^11) The classic work on Deuteronomy is Weinfeld, Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic
School. Most recently, see the articles in Braulik, ed., Bundesdokument und Gesetz, and
Levinson, Legal Innovation.
(^12) This characteristic is stressed by Westbrook, “Cuneiform Law Codes...,” who
believes this not to be true of the cuneiform codes.
(^13) On this point, see Frymer-Kensky, “Deuteronomy.” See also Rofé, “Family
and Sex Laws...”
(^14) The classic study is Alt, “Ursprünge...”
(^15) See Sonsino, “Forms of Biblical Law.”
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