Deuteronomistic History:

Former Prophets

Study of: Deuteronomy

Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel
1-2 Kings.
 How histories are written!
• From “the writers” perspective
– Eg. Caribbean History of slavery and slave rebellions
were written from the colonial point of view and some
of it needs to be revised.
• There is hidden agenda in every history
• There are two history accounts in Old Testament:
1. The Priestly History of Genealogies and temple
worship: Parts of Pentateuch, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra,
Nehemiah, Daniel…
2. The Deuteronomistic History: Deuteronomy, Joshua,
Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, !&2 Kings
 The Problem of “History” in the Old Testament
• Christian systems usually categorize these books as
“Historical,” while the Jewish Tanakh refers to them as the
“Former Prophets.” Why the difference?
• History: a continuous, systematic narrative of past events,
usually written as a chronological account.
• Herodotus: c. 485-425 BC, Greek historian, called the Father
of History.
• Prophesy:  Speaking or writing by divine inspiration.
• The Former Prophets do record historical events, but their
purpose is not to write “history” as we understand it, but to
record God’s action in fulfilling His covenant promises.
Because these books record God’s actions, perceived from that
perspective, the Jews considered them “prophetic.” They are
perhaps best understood as “historic events from a prophetic
perspective.”
 Why Deuteronomic History?
• It appears that there are two different accounts of the
same History of Israel
– One running from Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges…. to the 2
Kings
– The other the 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra & Nehemiah:
Chronicler
• Presenting two different viewpoints and angles for the
same history.
• The Deuteronomy in Tanak is followed by the Former
Prophets (historical Books) and the prophets (Prophetic
writings)
 Martin Noth
& Deuteronimistic History (1943)
• Background: Documentary Theory (EJPD)
• “literary identity and unity” of the text
• Theological unity
– books are punctuated throughout by programmatic
or retrospective deuteronomistic speeches or
editorial comment and, secondly, these elements
have a lot in common and together present “a
simple and unified theological interpretation of
history”
 Martin Noth
& Deuteronimistic History (1943)
• Identification of the deuteron

omist historiographer.
• Deuteronomist became the source and framework for
chronicler
• Deuteronomer was not simply an editor but the writer
of DtH
• Deuteronomer pattern and structure:
– How Dt 1-4 fits in with the rest of the DtrH?
 The Book of Joshua
Author: Joshua (traditional)
Date: circa 1405 BC - 1390 BC
Theme: Conquest of the Promised Land;
assigning and settling of the Tribes of Israel
throughout the Land.
Purpose: To show God is faithful to keep His
covenant promises.
Outline: Campaign to Capture Canaan (1-12)
Distribution of the Land (13-21)
Final Section (22-24)
• Debt of the Tribes to God
• Return of Reuben, Gad & Manasseh
• Joshua’s Farewell Speech
 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to
Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: 2 "Moses my servant is dead. Now
then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into
the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you
every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your
territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great
river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea
in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of
your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave
you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will
lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give
them.
7
"Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law
my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the
left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of
the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you
may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be
prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong
and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord
your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:1-9
• Moses dies.
• Joshua takes over.
• The Israelites prepare to
enter the Land
 The Book of Judges
Author: Anon., perhaps Samuel.
Date: c. 1380 BC-1045 BC
Theme: God’s provision through “judges.”
Purpose: To clearly demonstrate Israel’s need for God, and the
consequences of disobedience.
Outline: Failure to Complete the Conquest (1)
The Judgment of God (2:1-3:4)
The Deliverance of Israel (3:5-16:31)
Othniel, Ehud and Shamgar (southern)
Deborah & Barak (northern)
Gideon, Abimelech, Tola, Jair (central)
Jephthah (eastern)
Ibzan, Elon, Abdon (2nd northern)
Samson (western)
Depravity of Israel (17:1-21:25)
 After that whole generation had been gathered to their
ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither
the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. 11 Then the
Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the
Baals. 12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their
ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They
followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples
around them. They aroused the Lord's anger 13 because
they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. 14
In his anger against Israel the Lord gave them into the
hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into
the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no
longer able to resist. 15 Whenever Israel went out to fight,
the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them,
just as he had sworn to them. They were in great
distress. Judges 2:10-15
 Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out
of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not
listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other
gods and worshiped them. Unlike their ancestors, they
quickly turned from following the way of their ancestors,
the way of obedience to the Lord's commands. 18
Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was
with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their
enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord
relented because of their groaning under those who
oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But when the judge
died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt
than those of their ancestors, following other gods and
serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up
their evil practices and stubborn ways. Judges 2:16-19
 The Book of 1 Samuel
Author: Samuel (trad.)
Date: c. 930 BC and later
Theme: Transition from theocracy under the
judges to monarchy under kings.

Purpose: God uses His prophet, Samuel, to give

the people the king they want, Saul; but Saul’s
failure leads to David as king.

Outline: Samuel, the Last Judge (1-8)

Saul, the First King (9-15)
David, the Second King (16-31)
 But Samuel replied: "Does the Lord delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than
the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he
has rejected you as king."
24
Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned. I violated
the Lord's command and your instructions. I was afraid of
the men and so I gave in to them. 25 Now I beg you,
forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may
worship the Lord."
26
But Samuel said to him, "I will not go back with you.
You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has
rejected you as king over Israel!“
1 Samuel 15:22-26
 The Book of 2 Samuel
Author: Samuel (trad.)
Date: c. 930 BC and later
Theme: The reign of King David and the growth of
Israel under his leadership.
Purpose: The story of David – the most popular
king and one of the most important figures in
Jewish history – is told with complete
honesty, including successes, failures,
faithfulness, sin and repentance.
Outline: The Triumphs of David (1-10)
The Transgressions of David (11)
The Troubles of David (12-24)
 "Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the Lord
Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the
flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. ….
"'The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will
establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and
you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to
succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will
establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house
for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom
forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he
does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by human
beings, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my
love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from
Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and
your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will
be established forever.'“ 2 Samuel 7:8, 11-16
 The Book of 1 Kings
Author: Unknown, but traditionally Jeremiah.
Date: c. 550 BC
Theme: The reign of David’s son, King
Solomon, the peak ofIsrael’s power & influence, the
building of the Temple and palace, and
Solomon’s decline, leading to a divided
kingdom.
Purpose: To show how obedience to God led to
greatness for Israel; while disobedience led
to disruption of the kingdom.
Outline: United Kingdom under Solomon (1-11)
Divided Kingdom (12-22)
 The Lord said to him (Solomon):
"I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before
me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built,
by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart
will always be there.
4
"As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity
of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do
all I command and observe my decrees and laws, 5 I will
establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised
David your father when I said, 'You shall never fail to have a
successor on the throne of Israel.'
6
"But if you or your descendants turn away from me and
do not observe the commands and decrees I have given
you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 7 then
I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will
reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name.
1 Kings 9:3-7
 The Book of 2 Kings
Author: Unknown, but traditionally Jeremiah.
Date: c. 550 BC
Theme: The story of the two divided kingdoms, of
the prophets Elijah and Elisha, and the fall of the
Northern Kingdom to Assyria and the Southern
Kingdom to Babylon.
Purpose: To teach that unfaithfulness to God will
lead to righteous discipline.
Outline: Divided Kingdom (1-16)
Fall of Israel in the North-722 BC (17)
Surviving Kingdom of Judah (18-24:16)
Fall of Judah-586 BC (24:17-25:30)
 The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria
and laid siege to it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king
of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He
settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the
Medes.
7
All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord
their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of
Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods 8 and followed the
practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as
the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. 9 The Israelites
secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right. From
watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their
towns. 10 They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill
and under every spreading tree. 11 At every high place they burned
incense, as the nations whom the Lord had driven out before them had
done. They did wicked things that provoked the Lord to anger. 12 They
worshiped idols, though the Lord had said, "You shall not do this." 13 The
Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: "Turn
from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance
with the entire Law that I commanded your fathers to obey and that I
delivered to you through my servants the prophets." 2 Kings 17:5-13
 On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth
year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan
commander of the imperial guard, an official of the king of
Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 He set fire to the temple of
the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem.
Every important building he burned down. 10 The whole
Babylonian army, under the commander of the imperial
guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. 11
Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile
the people who remained in the city, along with the rest of
the populace and those who had gone over to the king of
Babylon. 12 But the commander left behind some of the
poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields.
So Judah went into captivity, away from her land.
2 Kings 25:8-21
Key figures of the period of DtrH
Prophets Leaders - Kings
• Barak • Joshua
• Samuel • Deborah
• Nathan • Gideon
• Elijah • Samson
• Elisha • Samuel
• (Amos, Hosea…) • Saul
• David
• Josiah
• Hezekiah
 Please Read for the next Class:
• 1 & 2 Chronicles
• Ezra and Nehemiah
• Ruth, Esther & Judith
• 1 & 2 Maccabees

• Corresponding commentaries in
the the Course Manual