Deuteronomy

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Jun 2003 by Sanchez, Steven H

Deuteronomy. By J. G. McConville. Apollos Old Testament Commentary 5. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2002, 544 pp., $35.00.

J. G. McConville suggests that Deuteronomy "should be seen, in the context of the ancient world, as a radical blueprint for the life of a people, at the same time spiritual and political, and running counter to every other social-political-religious programme" (p. 21). His new volume in the Apollos Old Testament Commentary is a noble defense of that thesis. Arguing that Deuteronomy is not just law or history but rather a fusion of both, McConville presents the text as a call to live in a society where Yahweh is honored from the heart and members of the community are treated as brothers (pp. 75, 216).

The commentary begins with a standard introduction. It includes a section on critical interpretations, a discussion on the relationship between Deuteronomy and covenant documents of the ancient Near East, and historical setting. But disappointingly, it avoids a serious discussion of authorship. Although McConville disagrees with prevailing opinion regarding the date of composition, he does not argue for Mosaic authorship (p. 39), neither does he argue strongly for his preference, "a relatively early date" (p. 40). Instead, in keeping with his thesis, he chooses to focus on the function Deuteronomy had in the life of the nation.

The volume contains no outline to give the reader an overview of how the author divides the text in support of his argument. That omission aside, each passage is dealt with on five levels. First, McConville gives his own translation (a feature of the entire series). A list of "Notes on the text" follows as a second section and discusses the finer points of morphology, syntax, and text criticism. A third section discusses the "Form and structure" of the passage. A fourth "Comment" section records the author's exegesis. A final "Explanation" section summarizes the passage with a particular emphasis on theology and application.

The form-and-structure section dealing with the introduction of the Law Code (12:1-32) is particularly helpful. In it McConville uses the questions that arise regarding its Sitz im Leben to argue cogently for his view that Deuteronomy is a society-organizing document that rebuts the institutions of the ancient Near East at every turn. An overly powerful priestly class or king has no place in Deuteronomy's world view. And the notion that the command to centralize worship justifies locating this text during the reigns of Hezekiah or Josiah is unwarranted (p. 216). If this were the case, the reforms envisioned would have elevated the interests of a specific temple bureaucracy in ways similar to other ancient Near Eastern religious institutions (p. 216). In his mind, Deuteronomy aims to do precisely the opposite.

Regarding the fact that the "central sanctuary" is not named, McConville tries to go further than simply arguing that this can be explained by the setting of the book (premonarchical), but suggests a theological significance as well. The lack of a name supports his contention that Deuteronomy aims to keep its audience focused on the life-changing events at Sinai. A place name would give the impression that Israel's spiritual journey would end in one place and at one shrine with its "institutional trappings" (p. 232), He admits that later texts point to Jerusalem as the place, but Deuteronomy's witness is to a covenant that looks back to its founding moment and looks forward to continual renewal in the life of the nation. This is where McConville finds the center of the book. The crucial passage for him lies in 16:18-18:22, where provision is made for other individuals to take on Moses' roles. Because the prophet will not enter the land, a fact known from the very first chapter of the book, Deuteronomy must by definition look forward to the implementation of Torah in new settings and circumstances by a new generation.

As one of the first two works published in the new Apollos Old Testament Commentary, McConville's contribution bodes well for others to come. The stated purpose of the series is to follow the example of the NT teacher Apollos, who "ably applied his understanding of past events to his contemporary society" (p. 9). With that in mind, the series explicitly aims to bridge the divide between the exegesis of a text in its historical context and the application of its message to a modern audience. Note his contention that the lex talionis should be understood as call for modern courts to provide justice (p. 314). He finds here a significant distinction between the biblical law code and other ancient Near Eastern codes. The biblical code "can remain a bulwark in a modern society in which human life is, in many ways, regarded as a disposable or tradable commodity" (p. 314). This series targets the classroom and the sanctuary and should serve both constituencies well.

Steven H. Sanchez

Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, TX