Constitution, Class, and the Book of Deuteronomy

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Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)523-548
JournalHebraic Political Studies
Volume1
Issue number5
StatePublished - 2006

Bibliographical note

The book of Deuteronomy has a dual agenda in its blueprint for the polity.
First it rejects the exclusionary power strategies exhibited routinely in the monarchic
systems of the ancient Near East, instead proposing a collective power strategy, in which
power is not only shared, but is primarily invested in the community. Then Deuteronomy
rejects the institutions and language of tribal patriarchy in favor of collective, national
identity. Whereas earlier studies of Deuteronomy's plan for the regime focused on chapt
ters 16–18, this study maintains that one must read the entire book as an integrated
whole in order to fully perceive the intricacy of its plan for a society in the land.

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