Background of Deuteronomy

The material we know as Deuteronomy is the final product of a long process. There is little consensus as to its history, but a common description of this process indicates that an initial ordering of older traditions took place in the Northern KingdomThe Northern Kingdom consisted of ten of the twelve tribes of Israel and lasted for 200 years until it was destroyed by Assyria in 721 B.C.E. In the northern kingdom the kings were evil. Prophets like Elijah and Amos railed against them and their evildoing. More before 722 B.C.E. Following the fallThe fall refers specifically to the disobedience of Adam and Eve when they listened to Satan rather than adhering to God’s command not to eat the fruit from the tree. When people act contrary to God’s will, they are said to fall from from grace… More of the north to Assyria in 722/721 B.C.E., Levitical priests brought the corpus to Jerusalem where it inspired the reforms of Hezekiah in 727/715-698/687 (the dates are uncertain). Its rediscovery during the repair of the templeThe Jerusalem temple, unlike the tabernacle, was a permanent structure, although (like the tabernacle) it was a place of worship and religious activity. On one occasion Jesus felt such activity was unacceptable and, as reported in all four Gospels, drove from the temple those engaged… More (2 Kings 22:3-20) spurred the reforms instituted by Josiah in 622/621 (2 Kings 23). It received its final form in the exile where it introduces and forms the theological basis of the Deuteronomistic HistoryDeuteronomistic history refers to the narrative contained in the books of Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings. This narrative, probably written in the age of Israel’s exile (mid-6th century B.C.E.), recounts Israel’s history prior to the exile. More, which addresses the questions of those who had experienced the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar II in 587/586 B.C.E., the destruction of the temple, the end of Davidic rule, and deportation to Babylon: Had God abandoned them? Why was Israel’s history a history of failure? Especially important in this regard was Deuteronomy’s explanation that both the fall of the north and the Babylonian exile were due to Israel and Judah’s covenantal violations.