Deuteronomists

A whole school of Judean theologians who put particular emphasis on monotheism is summarized under Deuteronomists .

On the one hand, this includes the author of Deuteronomy , the 5th book of Moses, who lived in early Babylonian exile, and may have already been involved in the temple reform under Josiah . If names such as YHWH of Hebron, as well as the results of archeology, show that YHWH also had temples in other places than Jerusalem during the time of the king, Deuteronomist theology exclusively prescribed Jerusalem as the temple site. Secondary gods, who still had their place in the elephantine of the Persian era, next to and under YHWH, were completely forbidden. This marks the transition from henotheism to monotheism . Other gods and places of worship, such as those in Bethel or Shechem, were already under Josiah in the 7th century BC. Forbidden and razed.

The other is the Deuteronomist editor who edited the Pentateuch and the books of Joshua , Judges , Samuel and Kings in line with this theology (cf. Deuteronomistic History ). The books of the prophets, especially Jeremiah , were also revised by Deuteronomists.

The Deuteronomists wrote in the late and especially early post-exilic period and formed the leading group among those returning from exile . No longer the sacred king , as in the royal times of Israel and Judas, and also not the priests were bearers of the religion, but the people of God themselves. At the time of the first edition of the books, at the time of Josiah, there was still the unification of the tribes including the Canaanite Groups in the foreground go back to the Deuteronomist theology demands for the exclusion of the Canaanites up to their annihilation. But the main theme of the Deuteronomists is the history of kingship as a history of apostasy from God. The function of the elders is valued higher than the Zadocid hereditary priesthood, just like the Torah as a law compared to the cult.

The coexistence of the Deuteronomist party and the priestly party marks the transition from the ancient Israelite to the early Jewish religion. Later on, the Pharisees and Sadducees parties developed from this .

literature

• Rainer Albertz : Religious history of Israel in the Old Testament period. Vol. 2. Floor plans for the Old Testament. Vol. 8.2. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1992. ISBN 3-525-51675-4
• Otto Kaiser: Introduction to the Old Testament. Gerd Mohn, Gütersloh 1978. ISBN 3579044583
• Reinhard G. Kratz: The composition of the narrative books of the Old Testament. UTB. Vol. 2157. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2000. ISBN 3-8252-2157-1
• Martin Noth: History of Israel. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1976. ISBN 3525521200

• Winfried Thiel: The deuteronomistic editing of Jeremiah 1-25. Scientific monographs on the Old and New Testament (WMANT). Volume 41. Neukirchener Verl., Neukirchen-Vluyn 1973. ISBN 3-7887-0341-5
• Winfried Thiel: The deuteronomistic editing of Jeremiah 26-45 . Scientific monographs on the Old and New Testament (WMANT). Vol. 52. Neukirchener Verl., Neukirchen-Vluyn 1981. ISBN 3-7887-0647-3
• Israel Finkelstein , Neil A. Silbermann: David and Solomon. CH Beck, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-406-54676-5 (archaeological background).