Deuteronomy 34 and the Case for a Persian Hexateuch‪.‬

Deuteronomy 34, the final chapter of the Pentateuch, holds a key position for the compositional and theological understanding of the Hebrew Bible. The Pentateuch concludes with the story of Moses' death, but this is not really a satisfying thematic conclusion. The promise of land is not fulfilled; this must await the book of Joshua, where Joshua, depicted as the successor of Moses in Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua, completes the conquest of Canaan that was initiated by Moses' conquest of the Transjordan. This was the main reason that critical scholarship created the Hexateuch, (1) which served as the dominant scholarly category until the publication in 1943 of Martin Noth's Uberlieferungsgeschichtliche Studien. As a result of Noth's work and the "creation" of the Deuteronomistic History (DtrH), the Hexateuch has been eclipsed, as Deuteronomy has come to be viewed as a hinge linking the Tetrateuch and the entire DtrH. In fact, the recently published Anchor Bible Dictionary (1992) has no article at all on the Hexateuch, in contrast to the short article in the Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible of 1962, and the very lengthy essay in the 1899 Dictionary of the Bible, edited by J. Hastings. (2) Thus, the Hexateuch has virtually disappeared. Recently, however, Noth's theory has come under heavy attack, and it has become fashionable to deny the existence of a DtrH covering the books from Deuteronomy to Kings, whose first or second edition offers a comprehensive interpretation of the fall of Jerusalem and the temple. (3) We do not share this current revisionism and believe that the DtrH remains a useful construct. Yet we simultaneously believe in the existence of a Hexateuch. Deuteronomy 34 and Joshua 24 play a key role in understanding this seemingly contradictory position.