제 13권 1호 2019 봄 Marvin A. Sweeney / Seventh Century Judean Historiography: The Pentateuch...pp. 7-36
Discussion of seventh century historiography normally focuses on the so-called Deuteronomistic History, better known as the Former Prophets of the Hebrew Bible, including the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. The Former Prophets or DtrH presents an account of Israel’s history from the conquest under Joshua through the sixth century B.C.E. destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and the Babylonian Exile. American biblical scholarship, led by Frank Moore Cross, Jr., generally argues that an earlier seventh century “Josianic” edition of the Deuteronomistic History that concluded with Josiah’s reign underlies the current form of the Former Prophets. The proposed Josianic edition of the DtrH was designed to support the reform program of King Josiah of Judah (r. 640-609 B.C.E.) to purify the Jerusalem Temple and to reestablish independent Davidic rule over both Judah and the former northern kingdom of Israel.
Although debate continues on the DtrH, I do not plan to focus on this issue in this paper. Instead, I wish to address a related issue, the role of the Pentateuch in seventh century Judean historiography. Deuteronomy has long been viewed correctly as the foundation for all models of the DtrH, but changes in Pentateuchal criticism, particularly the dating of the J stratum of the Pentateuch to the late-monarchic or even to the early exilic period, raises fundamental questions concerning the relationship between the Pentateuch and the DtrH.
I will focus on the development of the Pentateuch. My discussion will first treat narratives that appear to derive from the northern kingdom of Israel, i.e., the Jacob narratives in Genesis 25—35, the Joseph narratives in Genesis 37—50, and the Exodus narratives in Exodus 1-15. I will then turn to narratives that appear to be shaped by the J stratum of the Pentateuch and that in turn bracket and contextualize the earlier northern narratives, including the Abraham-Sarah narratives in Genesis 11—25 and elements of the Wilderness narratives in Exodus 17—40 and Numbers 11—25. Overall, I will argue for a seventh century edition of the Pentateuch in Genesis, Exodus, and Numbers, that was designed to serve as the prelude to the so-called Josianic edition of the Deuteronomistic History in Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings.