Week #44 - Deuteronomy 21-34, Proverbs 1-9

Week # 44 Study Page

Deuteronomy 21-34
Proverbs 1-9

About the Book(s)

Deuteronomy

Date of Authorship: Deuteronomy is a record of the events and words spoken just before the Israelites cross over the Jordan River into the promised land. If you’re a proponent of an early-exodus date then a good guess for this date would be around 1410 BC.

Author: Moses is traditionally considered to be the author of the first five books of the Bible. This is a collection called The Pentateuch and Deuteronomy is the fifth of those five books. The book of Deuteronomy itself does not make this claim (Mosaic authorship), indeed, Deuteronomy reads like the work of a stenographer present for these departing words of Moses. We know that some stenographer or editor’s pen crafted at least some of this book, because (spoiler alert) it records the death of Moses, its traditional author, in the final chapter.

Setting: The book of Deuteronomy takes place just before Israel crosses into the promised land, as the forty-years of Israel’s wandering has been completed. Moses has been leading these people for more than 40 years and he knows that he will soon depart them. Deuteronomy is the dramatic farewell of Israels leader and the person who has served as a mediator between they and God for decades. The promise that God gave to Abraham so many centuries ago is finally about to be fulfilled. What does their departing leader want them to know on the doorstep of the Promised Land?

Purpose: Deuteronomy is a restatement of the Laws that had been given to the Israelites through Moses, and, most importantly, a restatement of and teaching about the covenant between God and the nation of Israel. God, speaking through Moses, is able to see the future of Israel with clarity giving instructions, even now before they enter the promised land, about how to remain faithful in exile, and how an Israelite king should act. Central to Deuteronomy is this double promise: blessings for covenant faithfulness through obedience, and punishment for covenant unfaithfulness through disobedience .

Proverbs

Date of Authorship: Proverbs is a compilation of various collections of proverbs demarcated by the various sub-titles that you’ll read in the text. C. Hassell Bullock divides the book into three distinct compilations and dates them as follows

Proverbs 1:1 - 24:34, the first edition of Solomonic proverbs which were written and collected during the last part of the tenth century BC. Solomon died in 931 BC.
Proverbs 25:1-29:27, the second edition of Solomonic proverbs, prepared by “Hezekiah’s men” (see Proverbs 25:1) in the late eight or early seventh century BC.
Proverbs 30:1-33 & 31:1-31, the final edition of the book of proverbs edited at an indeterminable date after Hezekiah. These proverbs are likely not Solomonic, and were added to the book as a sort of appendix.

Author: Solomon is the author of all but chapters 30 &31 of proverbs. we know nothing of the authors of those two chapters. While the words of proverbs are Solomon’s they have been arranged and compiled by editors.

Purpose: The purpose of Proverbs is to initiate the reader into wisdom and instruction. The book claims to be a primer of right conduct and essential attitudes toward life, aimed at producing lives in conformity to the divine will. The immediate object was to train and educate for the preservation of the family unit, and social stability of the society as a whole. Therefore, prominent in wisdom was the recognition that fulfillment of God’s will is actualized in the personal and social conduct and institutions of His people. Proverbs in an instructional manual, much like the ancient instructions found in Egypt and Mesopotamia.

As You Read Notes:

Deuteronomy 22:5

in a section of chapter 22 containing a number of short and unconnected commands: the Israelites are commanded not to cross-dress. Did you know that was prohibited in the Old Testament law? Here is the IVP Bible Background Commentary’s note on why:

Just as clothing served as a status marker in the ancient world, it also distinguished gender. in classical contexts, cross-dressing… was an aspect of homosexual practice. Most instances in which cross-dressing or transvestism are mentioned in ancient Near Eastern texts are cultic (related to religious practices) or legal in nature. It may be this association with other religions that made transvestitism an”abomination” in Deuteronomy, but the issue may also be the blurring of gender distinctions.

Its important to remember that if you’d like to make a modern, New Testament age, case against cross-dressing, you’re going to have to do better than simply citing this passage in Deuteronomy unless you also wish to ban synthetic and blended-fabric clothing and require tassels on the corners of all the garments that people wear (see verses 11 & 12). Far from saying that this verse could not be used in pursuit of such an argument, I only mean to say that you’ll need to establish a much more comprehensive rationale using God’s word.

Deuteronomy 23:15-16: A Refuge for Slaves

What would you expect Moses to instruct the Israelites regarding how to handle an escaped slave? Slavery is an institution that is not directly confronted in Scripture (though I make the case that the Gospel spelled the inevitable demise of slavery and it is a tragedy that it took the Church so long to realize it - we discussed this in the week #29 study notes). Although the regulations concerning slavery in Israel were more gracious to the slave than in any other ancient culture, I still did not expect to find the instruction found here in 23:15-16

If a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand them over to their master. Let them live among you wherever they like and in whatever town they choose. Do not oppress them.

harboring a run away slave is a capital crime in the Babylonian code of Hammurabi, and the international treaty between Pharaoh Rameses II and the Hittite king Hattusilis III in 1280 BC includes and extradition clause requiring the return of fugitive slaves (IVP BBC OT, 197). This law is incredibly unusual in the context of ancient Near Eastern law, and shows a sense in which the institution was hated or looked down upon in the nation of Israel.

Deuteronomy 25:9: Removing the Sandal

However, if a man does not want to marry his brother’s wife…his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, “This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line.” That man’s line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled. (Deuteronomy 25:7-10)

In Israel, a man was obligated to take his brother’s widow as his wife primarily to preserve the right of inheritance for his deceased brother’s family, and it also ensured that this widow would not go neglected. This passage (among others) makes clear that rejecting this responsibility was a grave offense - but what is the deal with the sandal?

Sandals were the ordinary footwear in the Ancient Near East, but they were also a symbolic item of clothing especially in the relationship between the widow and her legal guardian. This is due to the fact that land was purchased based on whatever size triangle of land one could walk off in an hour, a day, a week or a month (1st Kings 21: 16-17). Land was surveyed in triangles, and a benchmark was constructed of fieldstones to serve as a boundary marker. Since they walked on the land in sandals, the sandals became the movable title to that land. By removing the sandals of her guardian (here in this passage) a widow removed his authorization to administer the land of her household. (IVP Bible Backgrounds Commentary)

Deuteronomy 32:49 & 34:1: The Death of Moses

Moses is not allowed to enter the promised land, but God instructs Moses go to a special place.

“Go up into the Abarim Range to Mount Nebo in Moab, across from Jericho, and view Canaan, the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession. There on the mountain that you have climbed you will die and be gathered to your people,” (Deuteronomy 32:49-50)

Before Moses dies, God will let him ascend a mountain on the east side of the Jordan valley from where he can see across the river to the Judean hills. However, Moses gets more than a good view up there:

Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. (Deuteronomy 34:1-3)

The region described in that verse is certainly more than could be seen with the human eye, the implcation being that Moses received a sort of virtual tour up there. Notice that Pisgah is the spot where Moses could look to the west* and see the Promised Land (i’ve included a picture of that place below). Now consider carefully the implications of the fact that there is a town in Iowa named Pisgah; I used to drive there to do a Bible study with some kids that i met at church camp. Pisgah is located high up in the bluffs above the Missouri River Valley, from certain spots in and Near pisgah, Iowa you can look west across the river into… Nebraska :-).

This is the View from the Biblical Mt. Pisgah looking West towards the Promised Land

This is the view from Pisgah, IA looking south-west towards the… Promised Land

Proverbs: a primer in Biblical Wisdom

Proverbs is classified as Wisdom literature in the Bible. The basic nature of wisdom as viewed by the author of Proverbs is summed up in his statement “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Knowledge” (1:7, 9:10) That is, the fundamental nature of wisdom was theological. Thus in Proverbs the underlying basis of life is one’s relationship to God. Out of that relationship grow moral understanding and the ability to judge what is right, a proper attitude toward material possessions, industrious labor, the necessary equilibrium and sense of security for living in the world, and the right relationship toward one’s neighbor, to mention only a few of the more practical benefits of that relationship.

Wisdom in this book capitalizes on the horizontal dimension of life (one’s relations with other human beings and the natural world) and offers instruction in affirmative and declarative tones compared to the exhortative word of the Prophets. The person-to-person details of life are not dealt with in a theological vacuum, however, but are viewed within the context of the Mosaic covenant and law. It deals with the question “How ought we then to live.” (much taken from C. Hassell Bullock, An Introduction to the Old Testament: Poetic Books)

While there is a universality to wisdom in the book of Proverbs, many of these sayings represent the collective common sense of the ancient Near East and its cultures during that time period (Somomon’s). However it should also be understood that statements like “keep my commands and you will live” (Proverbs 7:2) and “the Lord does not let the righteous go hungry” (10:3) are not explicit promises or universal truths, and we know that those statements are not true in each and every circumstance. so what is recognized as true of modern proverbs should also be understood as characteristic of ancient proverbs (as we have here in this book). They do not represent absolute truth but true perspectives on life’s circumstances. “April showers bring May flowers” is not a promise or a guarantee. Crime sometimes does pay. This quality of proverbs is demonstrated for biblical proverbs in the fact that opposite solutions can be offered to the same problem. Proverbs 26:4 advises not to answer a fool according to his folly, while the very next verse urges answering a fool according to his folly. The fact is that there are situations in which verse 4 would be appropriate as wall as situations in which verse 5 would be appropriate. The advice to be followed is often dependent on the situation, and a wise person will know which course to choose. Proverbs in ancient times functioned as a coloquial means of getting a point across. Then as now they were considered ancient wisdom that must be considered seriously, but not as inviolable commands or instructions. (much taken from the IVP Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Old Testament, pages 561 & 564).

Joel NielsenOctober 27, 2018Madison Church of Christ