Book of Deuteronomy
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Recent papers in Book of Deuteronomy
I am currently revising and expanding the material presented in this paper in preparation for an upcoming Theopolis Explorations volume. The forthcoming book will explore some important areas that I was not able to cover at length in this... more
The purpose of this paper is to identify a number of allusions to Deuteronomy 30, as well as a citation of Leviticus 18:5, in Shepherd of Hermas Mandate 12
The rhetorical impact of the explicit and allusive references to Gerizim and Jerusalem in the first seven books of the Hebrew Bible (Genesis-Judges) implies that all these writings originate from the territory of Ephraim, and not from... more
This translation of Deuteronomy follows a similar approach to my translations of Genesis and Samuel. In this, as in my other translations, my priority was always to express the ideas in the text in the most natural way in English, and at... more
Paul's use of Deuteronomy 30:11-14 in Romans 10:1-8 has puzzled many an interpreter. This paper builds on previous work on Deuteronomy 30 to explain the text of Romans 10:1-8 and particularly Paul's use of Deuteronomy 30.
Deut 22:5 marks the single instance of a prohibition of transvestitism in the Bible, and in its whole cultural milieu. The context in which it is situated suggests that it may have been inserted there as an addition, after the Babylonian... more
This is a review of Daniel I. Block, The Triumph of Grace: Literary and Theological Studies in Deuteronomy and Deuteronomic Themes. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2017.
The similarities between Noah's ark and the saving boat in Mesopotamian flood accounts are widely known. Likewise known are the links between Noah's ark and the chest of Moses (Exod 2:3). However, the connections between the "chest" of... more
The Hebraic Concept of Time is non-linear, made up of repeating types and patterns. As opposed to Western chronology, the Gospels are not written in chronological order, but were written to show how Jesus is the fulfillment of types... more
This is my MA dissertation from 2011. A more recent (2016) examination of the same issue is offered in the Conference Paper entitled 'Ḥerem and the Deuteronomist'. Ḥerem, the total annihilation of the conquered enemies of Israel, has... more
The presence of Numeruswechsel, the frequent switching between singular and plural in second-person address, is especially prevalent in Deuteronomy. Studies of the phenomenon as it relates to the book’s composition have led to mixed... more
God was faithful to preserve those who remained faithful to him. Moses emphasized the righteousness of God but also the empirically evidenced disobedience of his people, with himself included. The people were to learn that God’s law (and... more
On the one hand, the book of Deuteronomy strongly condemns the veneration of cult statues and all other embodiments of deities, including the aniconic standing stones (4:1-40; 5:8-10; 9:1-29; 16:21-22, etc). On the other hand, the book... more
Moses Wilhelm Shapira’s infamous Deuteronomy fragments – long believed to be forgeries – are authentic ancient manuscripts, and they are of far greater significance than ever imagined. The literary work that these manuscripts preserve –... more
The biblical text is explicit that God revealed Ten Words to his people at Mt. Sinai (Exod 34:28), but uncertainty still remains as to the proper enumeration of these ten. Many recent studies of the Decalogue accept without discussion the... more
This course introduces Old Testament biblical literature, hermeneutics, and literary critical methodologies with a primary focus on the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy. Students learn to observe the overall structure of these books, their... more
The meaning, cause, and remedy of the biblical צרעת have been the source of much debate. Traditional translations have rendered the word as leprosy, usually with the somewhat confusing caveat that despite the retention of leprosy, it... more
This paper provides a thematic overview of Deuteronomy's message within the framework of whole-Bible theology. It argues that Moses would have agreed with Paul that the old covenant bore a ministry of condemnation in the hope of a new... more
Die vorliegende Sammlung zahlreicher Beiträge aus ganz unterschiedlichen Gebieten des Alten Testaments verdeutlicht die enorme Quelle der Inspiration, zu welcher Hendrik Koorevaar über viele Jahre für seine Schüler und Freunde geworden... more
Legal anthropology and history of law and Ethics in antiquity; new perspectives in research
This is the first book-length study to explore the Hebrew Bible, and specifically the Pentateuch, as a coherent book of political philosophy. In Created Equal, Joshua Berman engages the text of the Hebrew Bible from a novel... more
In Rom 4:18, Paul cites the “promise” to Abraham in LXX Gen 15:5, “so shall your seed be” (οὕτως ἔσται τὸ σπέρμα σου) in relation to what it means to “become the father of many nations” from Gen 17:5. Modern scholars have... more
Most scholars read Peter's claim that it is unlawful for Jews to associate with Gentiles (Acts 10:28a) as an accurate statement on Jewish-Gentile relations according to Luke. However, Luke problematizes this view by showing Peter to be... more
ethics of the Old Testament with an accent on the legal history of the OT
impulses of Samarian and Judean theology in the Book of Deutertonomy as part of the post-exilic Pentateuch; to be publ.in: ZAR 28, 2022
A team of scholars recently announced the discovery of a lead amulet (defixio) in 2019 by wetsifting dirt excavated by Adam Zertal in archaeological seasons from 1982 to 1989. This article provides the basic story, a brief overview of the... more
In his 2021 monograph "The Valediction of Moses", Idan Dershowitz argues that the manuscripts offered for sale by Moses Wilhelm Shapira in 1883, generally considered to have been forged, were genuine and contained a pre-exilic source text... more
publ. in: Theologische Literaturzeitung (ThLZ) 147, 2022, 189-191
This commentary for the first time in the history of its interpretation is uniting diachronic and synchronic readings and mediates them. The diachronic reading shows the Book of Deuteronomy standing at the beginning of the literary... more
Moses Wilhelm Shapira’s infamous Deuteronomy fragments have long been deemed forgeries, with Shapira himself serving as the obvious suspect. I provide new evidence that Shapira did not forge the fragments and was himself convinced of... more