The Deuteronomic Code is the name given by academics to the

law code A code of law, also called a law code or legal code, is a systematic collection of statutes. It is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the co ...

set out in chapters 12 to 26 of the

Book of Deuteronomy Deuteronomy (; ) is the fifth book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called () which makes it the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to ...

in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' The code outlines a special relationship between the

Israelites Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

and

Yahweh Yahweh was an Ancient Semitic religion, ancient Semitic deity of Weather god, weather and List of war deities, war in the History of the ancient Levant, ancient Levant, the national god of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Judah, Judah and Kingdom ...

and provides instructions covering "a variety of topics including religious ceremonies and ritual purity, civil and criminal law, and the conduct of war". They are similar to other collections of laws found in the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

(the first five books of the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

Covenant Code The Covenant Code, or Book of the Covenant, is the name given by academics to a text appearing in the Torah, at Book of Exodus, Exodus –; or, more strictly, the term ''Covenant Code'' may be applied to Exodus 21:1–22:16. Biblically, the text ...

at Exodus 20–23, except for the portion discussing the Ethical Decalogue, which is usually treated separately. This separate treatment stems not from any concern over authorship, but merely because the Ethical Decalogue is treated academically as a subject in its own right. Almost the entirety of Deuteronomy is presented as the last few speeches of

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

, beginning with an historical introduction as well as a second introduction which expands on the Ethical Decalogue, and ending with hortatory speeches and final words of encouragement. Between these is found the law code, at Deuteronomy 12–26. In critical scholarship, this portion, as well as the majority of the remainder of Deuteronomy, was written by the Deuteronomist.

Dating

It is difficult to date the laws found in the Deuteronomic Code. There are many laws unique to Deuteronomy, such as the prohibition of sacrifice outside "the place which the Lord your God will choose" (Deuteronomy 12:5) and having a national Passover sacrifice in a national shrine (Deuteronomy 16:1–8). In contrast, other books in the Pentateuch refer to altars throughout Israel without condemnation. Both of these laws were observed for the first time under King

Josiah Josiah () or Yoshiyahu was the 16th king of Judah (–609 BCE). According to the Hebrew Bible, he instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh. Until the 1990s, the biblical description of Josiah’s ...

, giving credence to the theory that Deuteronomy was written around that time. Many of the other laws can be found elsewhere in the

, and it is likely the Deuteronomistic author(s) were influenced by such laws. Biblical scholar

Michael Coogan Michael D. Coogan is lecturer on Hebrew Bible/Old Testament at Harvard Divinity School, Director of Publications for the Harvard Semitic Museum, editor-in-chief of Oxford Biblical Studies Online, and professor emeritus of religious studies at Sto ...

notes two examples, the

and the

Ritual Decalogue The Ritual Decalogue is a list of laws at . These laws are similar to the Covenant Code and are followed by the phrase "Ten Commandments" ( ', in ). Although the phrase "Ten Commandments" has traditionally been interpreted as referring to a very ...

found in Exodus 20:22–23:33 and Exodus 34 respectively.

Characteristics

It is characteristic of the discourses of the Deuteronomic Code that the writer's aim is throughout parenetic, making passing allusions to history, for example at Deuteronomy 13:4–5, and 24:9, for the sake of the lessons that the writer believes deducible from it. In the treatment of the laws, they are not merely collected, or a series of legal enactments repeated, but developed with reference to the moral and religious purposes which they can subserve, and to the motives from which it is perceived that the Israelite is ought to obey them. The Deuteronomic Code reflects particular social concerns, more specifically in dealing with the poor and underprivileged. The Deuteronomic Code places special emphasis on the lower class and marginalized. For example, women and children, widows, foreigners and the poor. Deuteronomy 15:12–15 illustrates one example in which a former slave is to receive gifts. The law code seems methodically to provide legal compensation for those who are victimised by the inequities and brutalities that may otherwise inhere in the social system. Duties involving directly the application of a moral principle are especially insisted on, particularly justice, integrity, equity, philanthropy, and generosity; for example insisting on strict impartiality and judges being appointed in every city, as well as insisting that fathers are not to be condemned judicially for the sins of their children, nor vice versa, in stark contrast to some other passages. Nevertheless, despite this general philanthropic nature, breaches of the moral code are punished severely: death is the penalty not only for murder, but also for unchastity, and even for disrespectful behaviour by a son. The style of the Deuteronomic discourses is very marked, being particularly distinct when compared with the style of the rest of the Torah. Not only do particular words and expressions, embodying often the writer's characteristic thoughts, recur with remarkable frequency, giving a distinctive colouring to every part of his work, but the long and rolling clauses in which the author expresses himself are a new feature in Hebrew literature. Nowhere else in the Old Testament does there breathe such an atmosphere of generous devotion or of benevolence, neither is there such strong eloquence when duties are elsewhere set forth.

Comparison to other Torah law codes

According to textual criticism, Deuteronomy is only remotely related to the Priestly Code and there are certainly no verbal parallels. Some of the institutions and observances codified in the Priestly Code are indeed mentioned, mainly

burnt-offering A holocaust is a religious animal sacrifice that is completely consumed by fire, also known as a burnt offering. The word derives from the ancient Greek ''holokaustos'', the form of sacrifice in which the victim was reduced to ash, as distingui ...

s, peace offerings, heave-offerings, the distinction between "clean" and "unclean", and rules about

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

. However, they are destitute of the central significance with which they are placed in the Priestly Code. Conversely, the distinction between priests and other Levites, the Levite cities, the jubilee year, the offering of cereal crops, sin offerings, and

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October. For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...

, which are fundamental institutions in the Priestly code, are not mentioned at all in the Deuteronomic Code. In the laws which do touch common ground, there are frequently large discrepancies, which in some cases are regarded irreconcilable by critical scholarship. In the

documentary hypothesis The documentary hypothesis (DH) is one of the models used by biblical scholars to explain the origins and composition of the Torah (or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible: Book of Genesis, Genesis, Book of Exodus, Exodus, Leviticus, Bo ...

, this large variation is explained, by the Code being identified as the work of a group of priests, centred at Shiloh, who were rival to the

Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...

id group to whom the Priestly Code is assigned. Unlike the Priestly Code, with the laws contained in the Holiness Code, the Deuteronomic Code has some parallels, chiefly moral injunctions. Nevertheless, although in such cases the substance is often similar, the expression is nearly always different, for example the commandment concerning mourning at Deuteronomy 14:1 reflects Leviticus 19:28, and likewise the commandments of mixing kinds, at Leviticus 19:15 is reflected at Deuteronomy 16:19–20, but both occur in quite different phrasing. Thus it can not be said that the legislation of Deuteronomy is in any sense an expansion or development of the Holiness Code itself, although the underlying laws appear to have a greater affinity. As far as critical scholarship is concerned, the

, and the

which partially repeats it, can be seen to form the foundation of the Deuteronomic legislation. This is evident partly from the numerous verbal coincidences, whole clauses, and sometimes even an entire law, being repeated verbatim, and partly from the fact that frequently a law in Deuteronomy consists of an expansion, or application to particular cases, of a principle laid down more briefly in the Covenant Code or Ritual Decalogue. This can, for example, be seen in Deuteronomy 16:1–17, concerning the three annual feasts, which are described very basically in the Covenant Code, at Exodus 23:14–17. The civil and social enactments which are new to Deuteronomy make provision chiefly for cases likely to arise in a more highly organised community than is contemplated in the legislation of the Covenant Code, and therefore critical scholarship regards the Deuteronomic Code as a development of the Covenant Code reflecting the increased organisation of society in the time between the two. Repeatedly and pointedly the older laws of the Covenant Code are restated in Deuteronomy in terms which inescapably suggest the influence of Amos, Hosea and Isaiah. The difference between the two codes may be summarised as further tempering law on behalf of the offender, and providing a still more merciful view with respect to the weak, and powerless. It is a matter of dispute whether the author knew the Covenant Code and Ritual Decalogue as separate works, or after they had been united into JE, as rather than copying, the laws of the Deuteronomic Code are variously free modification or enlargement of them. Consequently, amongst critical scholarship, some think it to be simply an enlarged edition of the old code, whereas others feel it to have been intended as a replacement. In the Deuteronomic Code, it is strictly laid down that sacrifice is to be offered at a single central sanctuary. However, in the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

Book of Joshua The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, and is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Israel from the conquest of Canaan to the Babylonian captivity, Babylonian exile. It tells of the ...

to the

Books of Kings The Book of Kings (, ''Sefer (Hebrew), Sēfer Malik, Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of ancient Is ...

(I Kings 6), sacrifices are frequently described as offered in various parts of the land, without any suggestion, by either the characters present in the narrative, or the narrator themselves, that any law, such as that of Deuteronomy, is being broken. Other laws appear to more specifically point to a ''terminus post quem'', after which the code must have been composed. The law concerning the king, and the prohibitions against "multiplying horses", "multiplying wives", and "multiplying silver and gold", at Deuteronomy 17:14–20, appears to be coloured by reminiscences of

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

(c. 950 BCE), and the forms of idolatry referred to, especially worship of the "host of heaven", as described at Deuteronomy 17:3, appear to refer to behaviour during the reign of

Ahaz Ahaz (; ''Akhaz''; ) an abbreviation of Jehoahaz II (of Judah), "Yahweh has held" (; ''Ya'úḫazi'' 'ia-ú-ḫa-zi'' Hayim Tadmor and Shigeo Yamada, ''The Royal Inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 BC) and Shalmaneser V (726-722 BC), ...

(c. 730 BCE). The Deuteronomic Code is composed of several

mitzvot In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; , ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment from God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discussion of these commandments ...

or commandments, approximately one third of the mitzvot in the Torah, and is therefore a major constituent of

Jewish Law ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...

. While several of the laws are repetitions of those present elsewhere in the Torah, many have notable variations, and there are additionally many further laws which are unique to the code.

Laws similar to those elsewhere in the Torah

; Laws of religious observance * Against worshipping other gods and committing

human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease deity, gods, a human ruler, public or jurisdictional demands for justice by capital punishment, an authoritative/prie ...

, at Deuteronomy 12:29–31 * Prohibiting deliberate disfigurement as an act of

mourning Mourning is the emotional expression in response to a major life event causing grief, especially loss. It typically occurs as a result of someone's death, especially a loved one. The word is used to describe a complex of behaviors in which t ...

, at Deuteronomy 14:1–2 * Concerning clean and unclean animals, at Deuteronomy 14:3–20 * Prohibiting the consumption of animals who have not been killed by mankind, at Deuteronomy 14:21 * Against

Asherah Asherah (; ; ; ; Qatabanian language, Qatabanian: ') was a goddess in ancient Semitic religions. She also appears in Hittites, Hittite writings as ''Ašerdu(š)'' or ''Ašertu(š)'' (), and as Athirat in Ugarit. Some scholars hold that Ashera ...

groves and ritual pillars, at Deuteronomy 16:21–22 * Against blemished sacrifices, at Deuteronomy 17:1 ; Laws concerning officials * Ordering impartiality of judges, at Deuteronomy 16:19–20 ; Criminal law * Concerning witnesses, at 19:15–21 * Concerning adultery and

seduction In sexuality, seduction means enticing someone else into sexual intercourse or Human sexual activity, other sexual activity. Strategies of seduction include conversation and Sexual script theory, sexual scripts, paralanguage, paralingual featur ...

, at Deuteronomy 22:22–29 * Against

kidnap Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

, at Deuteronomy 24:7 * Ordering just weights and measures, at Deuteronomy 25:13–16 ; Civil law * Ordering the restoration of lost property once found, at Deuteronomy 22:1–4 * Prohibition of mixing kinds, at Deuteronomy 22:9–11 * Concerning

tzitzit ''Tzitzit'' ( ''ṣīṣīṯ'', ; plural ''ṣīṣiyyōṯ'', Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazi: '; and Samaritan Hebrew, Samaritan: ') are specially knotted ritual Fringe (trim), fringes, or tassels, worn in antiquity by Israelites and today by o ...

, at Deuteronomy 22:12 * Against marrying a

step-mother A stepmother, stepmum or stepmom is a female non-biological parent married to one's preexisting parent. Children from her spouse's previous unions are known as her stepchildren. A stepmother-in-law is a stepmother of one's spouse. Culture Step ...

, at Deuteronomy 22:30 * Against

usury Usury () is the practice of making loans that are seen as unfairly enriching the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is charged in e ...

, at Deuteronomy 23:19–20 * Concerning vows, at Deuteronomy 23:21–23 * Concerning pledges, at Deuteronomy 24:6, and 24:10–13 * Concerning leprosy, at Deuteronomy 24:8–9 * Concerning the wages of a hired servant, at Deuteronomy 24:14–15 * Ordering justice towards strangers, widows, and

orphan An orphan is a child whose parents have died, are unknown, or have permanently abandoned them. It can also refer to a child who has lost only one parent, as the Hebrew language, Hebrew translation, for example, is "fatherless". In some languages ...

s, at Deuteronomy 24:17–18 * Concerning the scraps of crops, at Deuteronomy 24:19–22

Laws differing from those elsewhere in the Torah

; Laws of religious observance * Prohibiting offerings and vows outside a single central sanctuary, at Deuteronomy 12:1–28 * Concerning the

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

, at Deuteronomy 14:22–29 * Concerning relief of debt in the seventh year, at Deuteronomy 15:1–11 * Ordering the offering to

of the firstborn males, at Deuteronomy 15:19–23 * Concerning the three annual feasts, at Deuteronomy 16:1–17 ; Criminal law * Concerning

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

and murder, at Deuteronomy 19:1–13 ; Civil laws * Concerning slavery, at Deuteronomy 15:12–18 * Concerning cleanliness in the camp, at Deuteronomy 23:9–14

Laws unique, within the Torah

; Laws of religious observance * Against

false prophet In religion, a false prophet or pseudoprophet is a person who falsely claims the gift of prophecy or divine inspiration, or to speak for God, or who makes such claims for evil ends. Often, someone who is considered a "true prophet" by some peop ...

s, at Deuteronomy 13 * Ordering idolaters to be stoned to death, at Deuteronomy 17:2–7 ; Laws concerning officials * Ordering judges to be appointed in every city, at Deuteronomy 16:18 * Ordering there to be a supreme central tribunal, at Deuteronomy 17:8–13 * Restrictions on the king, at Deuteronomy 17:14–20 * Concerning the rights, and revenue, of the

Levite Levites ( ; ) or Levi are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew definite article "" ''Ha-' ...

s, at Deuteronomy 18:1–8 * Concerning the future (unspecified) prophet, at Deuteronomy 18:9–22 * Restrictions on admittance to the priesthood, at Deuteronomy 23:1–8 ; Military law * Concerning behaviour during war, at Deuteronomy 20, and 21:10–14 ; Criminal law * Ordering a ritual atonement by the people for untraced murder, at Deuteronomy 21:1–9 * Concerning the corpse of a criminal, at Deuteronomy 21:22–23 ; Civil laws * Against the removal of

boundary marker A boundary marker, border marker, boundary stone, or border stone is a robust physical marker that identifies the start of a land Border, boundary or the change in a boundary, especially a change in direction of a boundary. There are several ...

s, at Deuteronomy 19:14 * Concerning

primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...

, at Deuteronomy 21:15–17 * Ordering undutiful sons to be stoned to death, at Deuteronomy 21:18–21 * Against crossdressing, at Deuteronomy 22:5 * Prohibiting taking a mother bird at the same time as its nest, at Deuteronomy 22:6–7 * Ordering roofs to be constructed with

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

s, at Deuteronomy 22:8 * Prohibiting newly married women from being slandered, at Deuteronomy 22:13–21 * Concerning escaped slaves, at Deuteronomy 23:15–16 * Against religious prostitution, at Deuteronomy 23:17–18 * Concerning the crops of a neighbour, at Deuteronomy 23:24–25 * Concerning

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

, at Deuteronomy 24:1–4 * Against punishing the family of a criminal, at Deuteronomy 24:16 * Limiting the number of lashes, at Deuteronomy 25:1–3 * Against muzzling oxen during

threshing Threshing or thrashing is the process of loosening the edible part of grain (or other crop) from the straw to which it is attached. It is the step in grain preparation after reaping. Threshing does not remove the bran from the grain. History of ...

, at Deuteronomy 25:4 * Concerning levirate marriage, at Deuteronomy 25:5–10 * Ordering women to be modest, at Deuteronomy 25:11–12 ; Ritual * The ritual of the firstfruits and of the tithe, including a prayer, at Deuteronomy 26:1–15

References

Sources

* * * {{Book of Deuteronomy, state=collapsed Book of Deuteronomy Documentary hypothesis Legal codes Sacred prostitution