Day 65: Review of Jewish Law and History

Today’s title sounds like a rather dull hard back book that you’d find in an academic library. (I don’t write the titles, btw, I’m taking them from the Cover to Cover book - that’s why I’m being so critical!)

Anyway my point is it sounds like a retrospective when, last time I looked, Israel were still in the thick of it. Let’s see what the readings are about.

The laws about murder

Numbers 35:9-34

Cities of refuge appointed

Deuteronomy 4:41-49

Laws settled regarding murder

Deuteronomy 19:1-13

Inheritance law reviewed

Numbers 36: 1-12

Review of Jewish Law and History:

Moses’ words to Israel

Deuteronomy 1:1-5

Moses’ exhortation to obedience

Deuteronomy 4:1-24

The action is taking place in the plains to the east of the Jordan, where the Israelites have defeated and supplanted the peoples living there. So part of it is Moses putting into action laws previously given, such as setting aside cities of refuge for people accused of murder to flee to. Part of it is a long pep talk given by Moses to the people as he nears the end of his life.

It is likely that this speech has been back-loaded with information and feelings that are more appropriate to a later period in Israel’s history - hence the retrospective feel. In any case, it’s a very long speech. Perhaps the whole is a fictitious setting - putting into Moses’ mouth the sort of things later people think he ought to say - but I suspect the truth is that what he actually said has been edited and moulded to fit the concerns of later times.

What are those concerns? Concerns to be obedient, or else they won’t prosper. It fits with a time for Israel being punished by being defeated. How could God’s chosen people lose? they asked themselves. Only because we weren’t faithful, was the conclusion. That wasn’t a lesson they learned at the time. How many episodes of “murmuring” have we read about?