The Book
of

DEUTERONOMY

Peter C. Craigie

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

Grand Rapids, Michigan

© 1976 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

255 Jefferson Ave. S.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503
All rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bible. O.T. Deuteronomy. English. Craigie. 1976.
The Book of Deuteronomy.

(The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) Bibliography: p. 69.
Includes indexes. 1. Bible. O.T. Deuteronomy—Commentaries.
I. Craigie, Peter C. II. Title. III. Series.
BS1273.C7 222´.15´07 74–45372
ISBN 0-8028-2524-9

TO MY FATHER, IN GRATITUDE

AUTHOR’S PREFACE

Deuteronomy is a book about a community being prepared for a new life. Hardship and the wilderness lie behind; the promised land lies ahead. But in the present moment, there is a call for a new commitment to God and a fresh understanding of the nature of the community of God’s people. Though the scene is set more than three thousand years in the past, Deuteronomy is still a book of considerable contemporary relevance. Then, as now, the surrounding world was experiencing a time of change, of political tension and military engagement. But in the midst of world events, a relatively small community was being urged by Moses, the “man of God,” to commit itself wholeheartedly to the Lord, before engaging in the struggle for the promised land. The kingdom of God’s chosen people was coming of age, unnoticed by the great powers of the time, and struggling against what were, by human standards, impossible circumstances. The book provides a paradigm for the kingdom of God in the modern world; it is a time for renewing commitment within the New Covenant and turning to the future with a view to possessing the promise of God.

The book of Deuteronomy, however, is not only a book of contemporary relevance. It has been, and continues to be, one of the most important and debated works in modern biblical scholarship. The varieties of opinion over Deuteronomy are enormous and they are likely to increase in the coming years. The traditional methods of Old Testament scholarship are being refined and modified, though as yet they are leading to no consensus regarding Deuteronomy. And new methods are being employed which will contribute increasingly to the diversity of opinion. The “New Criticism” (Werkinterpretation) is gradually being introduced to the Old Testament scholarly world, with its refreshing stress on the study of literature as a finished product, rather than emphasizing the antecedents to the extant form. It is too early to estimate the results of this approach. “Structural Analysis,” too, though different in nature, places emphasis on the text as a finished product. And the “New Stylistics” (Neuen Stilistik) is also beginning to make its emphasis felt in Old Testament studies. Along with this relatively new diversity in method, there is a growing body of secondary literature relating to every aspect of Old Testament studies; in biblical research, as in other ...