Firth and Johnston are to be commended, first of all, for assembling these excellent essays on Deuteronomy, a book that is so important for OT theology. Written by scholars who have already made contributions to Deuteronomy studies, including the editors themselves, the work centers on the themes of (1) approaching Deuteronomy, (2) issues in Deuteronomy, and (3) reading Deuteronomy. In part 1, James Robson and Paul A. Barker address respectively the literary composition of the book and its contemporary theological interpretation. The issues (part 2) incorporate studies of the Decalogue structure of Deuteronomy (John H. Walton), centralization of the cultus (Peter T. Vogt), civil leadership (Philip S. Johnston), passing on the faith (David G. Firth), and life and death (Heath A. Thomas). Part 3 offers varieties of ways the text can be read, including Deuteronomy’s influence on the intermarriage crises in Ezra-Nehemiah (Csilla Saysell), the paratext of the book (Greg Goswell), the alien in Deuteronomy and today (Jenny Corcoran), and a Christian interpretation of genocide (Christian Hofreiter).

Restrictions of length preclude detailed assessments of the essays under review, but each must receive at least brief attention. James Robson’s chapter presents his own understanding of matters such as authorship, dating, setting, and the like. He proposes that Deuteronomy, while being “Mosaic,” was not in fact from Moses’s pen. Its later composition, he argues, can be seen in stylistic variations, temporal perspectives, rhetorical perspectives, and literary structuring. He offers nothing new here or in his handling of Deuteronomy’s place in Torah, its role in Josiah’s reform, the “Deuteronomistic History,” and the relation of the book’s form and structure to ancient Near Eastern treaty patterns. While offering a great many helpful insights into matters of vantage-point and application, his argument that the “rhetorical situation” in the book is Mosaic but that of the book is in the context of the exile might lead some readers to conclude that Moses had little if any direct hand in its composition.

Paul Barker helpfully summarizes current views of some of the thorny theological and ethical issues embodied in Deuteronomy. These include “mission,” as treated especially by Christopher Wright; the problem of divine election; the troublesome notion of warfare, particularly as it involves חֵרֶם; monotheism and the Shema; and covenant. He rightly considers Deuteronomy to be a central text in developing a holistic biblical theology.

John Walton (following his mentor Stephen Kaufman) contributes a helpful and persuasive case for the idea that the great body of mainly casuistic law (Deut 6–26) follows seriatim the order of the commandments of the Decalogue and elaborates and particularizes its principles. At the same time, he recognizes the difficulty at times of finding a comfortable “fit,” a struggle all of us have faced who have wrestled with the same concept (see especially pp. 115–17).

Peter Vogt’s essay on centralization of worship is generally on target and clearly presented. He could have strengthened his case by more clearly distinguishing between the community as a whole at worship and worship in local shrines by individuals or families. The central sanctuary theme in Deuteronomy clearly relates to the festal periods when attendance at the tabernacle or temple was mandatory no matter the distance to be covered.

In the next essay, Philip Johnston’s otherwise commendable treatment of civil law is, in my opinion, marred by its insistence on a late composition of Deuteronomy even though he admits that many of its legal and judicial components reflect early settings. The extent to which Moses was the primary author of the book is left unclear.

David Firth competently outlines the role of faith (and the faith) in ancient Israel’s life and thought, especially the need for its proclamation and the careful bequeathal of its importance to generations to come.

Heath Thomas’s essay on life and death in Deuteronomy is almost sermonic in its presentation of the truth that life comes only through faith in the mercy and grace of God, a truth known already by Moses and his generation. His unfortunate (and unsubstantiated) distinction between Moses and the “narrator” notwithstanding, Thomas offers here a powerful demonstration and defense of an OT gospel whose foundation is anticipatory of the good news of the NT.

Csilla Saysell cites from Ezra-Nehemiah numerous examples of dependence on Deuteronomy, though, as she notes, both Nehemiah and Ezra as leaders applied methods of legal interpretation and application at variance with Torah instruction (pp. 202–7).

Greg Goswell’s discussion of “paratext” is instructive while at the same time the term is not clearly defined. His principal concern—and a most worthy one—is to determine how the canonical placement of any biblical book (Deuteronomy in this case) affects its interpretation. That is, why is the canon ordered the way it is? Indeed, why are various books ordered as they are internally? He does not always answer these questions well but the very raising of them makes its own contribution.

The pieces by Jenny Corcoran and Christian Hofreiter are valuable in their attempts to bridge the gap between ancient life and mores and modern times, especially within the Christian community. Corcoran addresses the plight of the stranger in OT Israel and how his situation calls to mind the issues of immigration and population absorption in the twenty-first century. More perplexing and in some respects more immediately threatening is the question of how biblical “genocide” should be understood and applied in light of contemporary terrorism justified in the name of religion. Though Hofreiter nicely frames the issue, he offers no opinion as to its resolution.

On balance, this anthology is a worthy read and is commended especially to students of arguably the most theologically important book of the OT, the last of the five books of Torah.

---