Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Gabe Eisenstein <gabe AT cascadeaccess.com>]

Tory Thorpe wrote:
>How did the Deuteronomist historian obtain Esarhaddon's vassal 
treaties, and what is the direct evidence that cuneiform records were 
used and understood by compilers of the biblical corpus.

There is no evidence I know of, beyond the two texts themselves.
For a comparison see Moshe Weinfeld, Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic 
School.

Previously Karl suggested that formulaic treaty-language was encountered 
by Moses either orally or in documents he happened to see.
A conjecture from the mainstream view is that there was contact between 
Judean and Assyrian court scribes on various occasions, such as the 
signing of treaties, or the reported captivity of King Manasseh. It 
could even be that some of the Assyrian-Judean treaties contained the 
same or similar language. This of course fits with the theory that 
Deuteronomy was organized in the 7th century BC.


Gabe Eisenstein