Review in: JBL
Gevonden op: http://www.academicroom.com/bookreview/deuteronomy-1-11-new-translation-introduction-and-commentary
Deuteronomy 1-11: A New Translation with Introduction and
Commentary, by Moshe Weinfeld (AB 5), New York/London: Doubleday, 1991. Pp. xiv
+ 458. $34 ($42 Canada).
The book of Deuteronomy has been a frequent storm center in
the history of biblical interpretation. Considered by some the linchpin of
pentateuchal criticism and by others the "theological center" of the
Hebrew Scriptures, Deuteronomy forms both the capstone of the Pentateuch and
the introduction to the Deuteronomistic History. The frequent quotations of
Deuteronomy in the New Testament and in the classic rabbinical sources are
evidence of its authority within both Jewish and Christian traditions. Given
Deuteronomy's importance at so many levels, there have been surprisingly few
good commentaries on Deuteronomy which combine critical acumen, literary sensitivity
and theological insight. The void has begun to be filled by a number of recent monographs
on Deuteronomy. Among these welcome newcomers is Moshe Weinfeld's contribution
to the Anchor Bible series: Deuteronomy I-U: A New Translation, Introduction
and Commentary.Weinfeld is Professor of Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He has distinguished himself over almost thirty
years with a long list of books and articles on Deuteronomy. The best known is
his 1972 monograph entitled Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomistic School, a book noted
for its thesis that Deuteronomy was in large part the product of sages in the wisdom
tradition of ancient Israel. Weinfeld has also stressed the importance of
ancient Near Eastern treaty forms in understanding Deuteronomy, particularly
the suzerain-vassal treaties of the Hittite and neo-Assyrian varieties.
Weinfeld's scholarly attention to Deuteronomy has ranged broadly, covering
ancient Near Eastern, biblical and contemporary historical and theological
concerns. The present commentary is a mature and well crafted distillation of a
lifetime of work and thought.
Deuteronomy 1-11 begins with an extensive and readable
84-page introduction. Weinfeld presents his own positions on various issues
along with selected scholars with whom he significantly agrees or disagrees.
The seventeen topics range from historical and tradition-critical concerns
("Deuteronomy and Its Northern Roots:' "Deuteronomy and the Reform of
Josiah,""Deuteronomy and Wisdom Literature") to literary and
critical questions ("The Literary Form of Deuteronomy:' "Composition
and Structurcn"Singular and Plural Layers:' "Relation of Deuteronomy
to the Tetrateuch), to issues of a more thematic and theological bent
("The Idea of the Election of Israel:' "The Land in Deuteronomy
"Deuteronomy as Turning Point in Israelite Religion"). The
introduction is followed by a thirty-seven page bibliography on Deuteronomy
which clearly undergirds Weinfeld's work in both the introduction and the heart
of the commentary on Deuteronomy 1-ll which follows.
Weinfeld divides chapters 1-11 into two major sections: Deut
1:1-4:43 (Moses' First Address: Historical Survey) and 4:44-ll:32 (Moses' Second
Address: Introduction to the Exposition of the Law). Deuteronomy I-U is further
subdivided into twenty-three smaller sections ranging from a few verses to
whole chapters. Each section contains a fresh translation, textual notes, notes
and comment. The "Textual Notes" are largely text-critical in
character and include consideration of unpublished Qumran fragments of the text
of Deuteronomy. The "Notes" defend translations against other options
in understanding a phrase, explore historical and critical issues, introduce
rabbinic readings, and refer to parallel texts elsewhere in Deuteronomy or the
Hebrew Bible.
The "Comment" sections build on Weinfeld's broader
concerns to illuminate the literary structure, themes and theology of
Deuteronomy It is the integration of the work of a skilled translator,
historical-critical scholar, and biblical theologian that is this commentary's
overriding strength. Weinfeld reaches independent conclusions and cannot be
easily placed in any one "camp:' Readers will not always agree with
Weinfeld's positions, but one will always find his conclusions clearly stated
and defended. Weinfeld's judicious sampling of traditional rabbinic and Jewish
interpretations opens the reader to the range of interpretations available in
the history of biblical inter-pretation. Ibn Ezra discerns an order in the
subject matter of the last five commandments of the Decalogue; from destroying
and violating another's body (murder, adultery) to taking another's property by
force (stealing), by mouth (false witness) or by mere intention (coveting).
Weinfeld comments on the brutal holy war requirement in Deuteronomy 21 that the
native population must be exterminated: "the rabbis could not conceive the
removal of the Canaanites in such a cruel, radical manner and circumvented
plain Scripture" by reinterpreting Joshua's conquest to allow for
Canaanites either to leave Canaan, make peace with Israel, or fight. Weinfeld
cites Philo and Martin Buber when discussing the second person singular
"you" form of the Ten Commandments and its implied "I-Thou"
relationship. Weinfeld's broader interpretive concerns are woven into the
entire commentary.
Some questions arise as the reader works through this
commentary. Weinfeld, for example, argues that Deuteronomy comes after and not
before the Priestly tradition in date. The Priestly tradent for Weinfeld seems
more ritualistic, magical, sacral and hence more primitive and earlier. On the
other hand, Weinfeld argues that Deuteronomy is more rational, humanitarian and
"secular" and thus later. But can such a clear distinction between
the sacral-holy character of P and the secular-social character of D really be
sustained? The purity laws in Deuteronomy 14, the concern for the worship
place, festivals and liturgy in Deuteronomy 12, 16 and 26, the consistent
concern for Levitical priests and prophets all suggest that Deuteronomy is not
so much a more secular document. Rather, it has a different understanding of
the sacral. And even if one could argue for such a sacral versus secular
distinction between P and D, the assumption that a more secular or humanitarian
tone necessarily entails a later dating is not self-evident. D and P may simply
represent two different traditions of separate groups within Israel whose
relative dating must depend on comparisons other than just the alleged sacral
versus secular distinction.
Weinfeld is known for his thesis that Deuteronomy is
associated with the wisdom tradition in ancient Israel. He rehearses what he
perceives as the distinctive verbal and conceptual affinities between
Deuteronomy and the wisdom literature, especially the book of Proverbs.
Weinfeld concludes, 'All of this might support my thesis that scribes and wise
men were engaged in the composition of Deuteronomy" (p. 65). The key word here
is "might." It seems that Weinfeld has backed off somewhat from his thesis
in Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic School, recognizing that a list of
scattered parallels is not overwhelming evidence for authorship as much as some
borrowing from the wisdom tradition. The most one can say is there
"might" be a connection of some sort.
One final question arising from the commentary is this: what
does Weinfeld think is the central purpose which this book served in ancient
Israel? Is it liturgical, political or theological? At times, Weinfeld argues
that an attack on the cult was the book's central aim. "The very purpose
of the book of Deuteronomy," writes Weinfeld, "was to curtail and
circumvent the cult and not to extend or enhance it" (p. 37). Deuteronomy,
claims Weinfeld, replaces the temple with the synagogue and the system of sacrifice
and ritual with prayer and Torah reading. At other times, Weinfeld links the central
purpose of Deuteronomy with kingship and the political programs of King Hezekiah
and Josiah in their nationalistic efforts to restore old Israel, both north and
south. At other times, especially in the discussion of Deuteronomy 4 and 30,
Weinfeld sees Deuteronomy's central concern as introducing a "new
consciousness of sin" (p. 59) and a word of hope for the exiles.
Deuteronomy, writes Weinfeld, proclaims that "there is hope for
restoration if the nation returns with sincerity" (p. 216).
The scattered and varied nature of Weinfeld's responses to
the question of Deuteronomy's central purpose suggests a need for the author to
spell out more clearly his assumptions about how one interprets this biblical
book. Which level is definitive Hezekian, Josianic, exilic, post-exilic? What
criteria does one use to determine what is a central purpose of the book? Was
the transformation of worship in Deuteronomy an attack on the cult or a
reasonable adjustment to the realities of the exile and the loss of the temple
as a place of worship? Questions such as these may b e answered in the second
volume of Weinfeld's Deuteronomy commentary, which will cover chaps. 12-34. In
light of the contributions of this present work, we are fortunate that we have not
yet heard the last word from Weinfeld on Deuteronomy.
Dennis T. Olson
Princeton Theological
Seminary, Princeton, KJ 08542
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