Deuteronomy---Where, When, and Why

The historical saga contained in the Bible---from Abraham's encounter with God and his journey to Canaan, To Moses' deliverance of the children of Israel from bondage, to the rise and fall of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah--- was not a miraculous revelation, but a brilliant product of the human imagination. It was first conceived--- as recent archaeological findings suggest---during the span of two or three generations, about twenty-six hundred years ago. Its birthplace was the kingdom of Judah.

During a few extraordinary decades of spiritual ferment and political agitation toward the end of the seventh century BCE, an unlikely coalition of Judahite court officials, scribes, priests, peasants, and prophets came together to create a new movement. At its core was a sacred scripture of unparalleled literary and spiritual genius. It was an epic saga woven together from an astonishingly rich collection of historical writings, memories, legends, folk tales, anecdotes, royal propaganda, prophecy, and ancient poetry. Partly an original composition, partly adapted from earlier versions and sources, that literary masterpiece would undergo further editing and elaboration to become a spiritual anchor not only for the descendants of the people of Judah but for communities all over the world.

The seventh-century leaders in Jerusalem, headed by King Josiah declared all traces of foreign worship to be anathema, and indeed the cause of Judah's current misfortunes. They embarked on a vigorous campaign of religious purification in the countryside, ordering the destruction of rural shrines, declaring them to be sources of evil. Henceforth, Jerusalem's Temple with it's inner sanctuary, alter, and surrounding courtyards at the summit of the city would be recognized as the only legitimate place of worship for the people of Israel. In that innovation, modern monotheism was born.

If you have a Bible handy, go to 2 Kings 22:8-23:24

The " book of the law " discovered by the high priest Hilkiah in the course of renovations to the Temple was planted by King Josiah in 622 BCE. Scholars suggest that the Deuteronomistic History was written in the days of King Josiah to serve his religious ideology and territorial ambitions, and that it was finished and edited a few decades later in exile.

The links between Josiah and David , between laws of Deuteronomy and the splendor of the united monarchy, are unmistakable. The anachronisms, narrative devices, and contemporary allusions woven through the final form of the David and Solomon story show how the narrative was shaped and whose interests it promoted as it reached it's recognizable biblical form in the late seventh century BCE. Understanding this crucial stage in the evolution of the Davidic tradition is central not only to an appreciation of the history of seventh-century Judah but also to an important innovation in the religious history of the western world.

It was in the fateful reign of King Josiah that the mystique of the Davidic dynasty was suddenly, dramatically transformed from a collection of dynastic legends into a messianic faith that would long outlive the independence of the tiny Iron Age kingdom, to become the irreducible basis for Judeo-Christian religious belief.

All the above has just been reconfirmed in Karen Armstrong's new book entitled " The Bible: A Biography". Folks that belong to an Abrahamic Tradition which has an " End Times" worldview should explore her book or view this movie. The steady drumbeat to war with Iran dictates that the time is short...