LECTURE 5: King Josiah and the Book of Deuteronomy
This lecture tells the story of how one particular scroll—the one that King Josiah, c. 640-609, is said to have discovered (in 2 Kings 22–23)—helps us to understand how and when the Bible was written. What can the story of this scroll teach us about the rising authority of the written word in ancient Israel and why some people (looking at you, Jeremiah) may not have trusted that authority right away? Nevertheless, the written word would come to rule the day, and those who wrote down the Hebrew Bible would have a profound impact on its final shape.
Siloam Inscription (from the period of Hezekiah, discovered on the rock wall of the lower entrance to the tunnel of Hezekiah in the south part of the Temple)
Many of the things mandated by the scroll that King Josiah discovered are not found in other ancient legal and narrative materials in the Bible. The book of Exodus, for example, describes how Passover should be celebrated by household (Exod 12:1–28), and says nothing about everyone celebrating it in Jerusalem, which is what Josiah’s scrolls asserts (2 Kgs 23:21–23). The esteemed priest to king David, the prophet Samuel, to cite another example, offers sacrifices in a variety of places, well beyond Jerusalem (Mizpah in 1 Sam 7:9; builds an altar in Ramah in 1 Sam 7:17; Samuel and the people sacrifice at Gilgal in 1 Sam 11:14–15; Samuel finds David in Bethlehem under the ruse of a sacrifice there in 1 Sam 16:1–5)—but based on the fact that Josiah tears down all of the other altars, it seems Josiah’s scrolls says that sacrifices are only to be offered in Jerusalem (2 Kgs 23:7–20). In other words, Josiah’s scrolls had some ideas that would have been completely unfamiliar to, if not radical innovations for, the people of Judah.
To see how Deuteronomy reworks and supplements some of the laws of Exodus, consider Exod 21:2–11 and then how a similar law appears in Deut 15:12–18. Or consider Exod 23:14–17 and then compare to Deut 16:1–17. You can read the law collections in their entirety in Exodus 21–23 and Deuteronomy 12–26.
I mentioned the amulets from Ketef Hinnom. You can read more about those, and see a photo, here.
You can read the text of Esarhaddon’s Vassal Treaty here. Of particular interest are sections 37–56, which include the standard curses and which are very similar to those found in Deuteronomy 28.
Fragment of clay tablet containing Esarhaddon vassal treaty with Ba'al of Tyre
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