Deuteronomy and Scribes

Abstract

Abstract This chapter explores the history of research on the functions of scribes in the production of the book of Deuteronomy and provides new observations and suggestions pertaining to a number of aspects of that field of research. In so doing, it discusses new perspectives on the correlation between epigraphic research and biblical exegesis; the theological, social, and political “message” of the scribes; the scribes as an “informational elite”; “deep correspondences” and their expression; and the ideologization of writing (i.e., the conceptualization of God as scribe—and the social reality that is reflected in this conceptualization). The scribes of Deuteronomy are seen as members of the crucial informational elite of the Judahite state, its scribal class, adjusting the traditional authoritative texts and their interpretation to the massive societal changes in the times of Josiah, the Babylonian Exile, and the early Persian period. They thus provided cultural continuity in times of political, social, and economic turmoil.