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  • From: Gabe Eisenstein <gabe AT cascadeaccess.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] Iron and Curses in Deuteronomy 28
  • Date: Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:26:50 -0800

MODERATORS: Although this post begins in response to something from the "absence of evidence" thread, I have started anew based on the belief that the subsequent textual analysis is germane to the list. Let me know if I'm wrong.


If Deuteronomy is from the 15th century the mentions of iron seem anachronistic, leading Karl to doubt the mainstream archaeological account. Some of his argument concerned the textual motivation to say "iron" (iron yoke in Deut.28) when the reality might have been something else. But what is the motivation for telling people NOT to use iron tools (Deut.27:5)? Here there can be no metaphor; rather it is assumed that iron tools will be available in Shechem or will be brought there. Just a guess: if the text is really quite old, it might reflect a situation in which Israelites were in contact with iron-using people, but had no history of iron use -- a situation also suggested by Joshua 17. Then the use of iron to build a holy altar might be regarded as something foreign. (Perhaps there is a whole theological explanation for the no-iron thing here, of which I am ignorant.)

But what I really want to talk about is the structure of Deut.28. It is well-known that a number of the curses here are also found in Esarhaddon's loyalty oath from the 7th century (VTE for Vassal Treaty of Esarhaddon below). There can be no doubt that one of the two authors read either the other one, or a third text similar to both. It's of course possible that late Assyrian scribes had a copy of Deuteronomy. But if you compare the two texts, Deuteronomy sounds derivative. Take the mention of iron in verse 23...

Deut.28:23 And your skies that are over you will be bronze, and the land that is under you iron.
VTE 526-530: May the gods of this treaty make your ground like iron, so nothing can sprout from it. Just as rain does not fall from a brazen heaven so may rain and dew not come upon your fields and meadows.

But that's just the beginning. Verses 22,23,26,27,29,30 and31 all directly parallel VTE (526, 425, 419, 420, 428, 429).
Furthermore, the sequence in Deuteronomy seems random, but part of it matches the VTE sequence, which is determined by the traditional ordering of the gods associated with each of the curses (e.g. Sin=leprosy precedes Shamash=blindness [the sun will hide his light]).

But wait, there's more: Deut.28 already shows itself to be composite based on internal evidence. Verses 2-10 are blessings with parallel curses in 15-20. Verse 25 corresponds to verse 7, it is out of order. Verse 10 corresponds to verse 37, which seems like the original end of the unit.
Therefore it looks like the section written by someone familiar with VTE was inserted in the middle of the text from another source. Is there any other explanation for the sequence of blessings and curses from verses 2-32?


Gabe Eisenstein




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