Deuteronomy and the Reigns of Kings Hezekiah and Josiah of Judah

Abstract This chapter critically examines the modern debate concerning the sociohistorical setting of the composition of the book of Deuteronomy. It begins with discussion of the initial work of W. M. L. de Wette, who argued that Deuteronomy would have been the Book of Torah that was discovered in the Jerusalem Temple during the reign of King Josiah (640–609 bce). It then turns to the work of scholars such as Adam Welch, Albrecht Alt, Gerhard von Rad, and Ernst W. Nicholson, who argued that Deuteronomy was written in northern Israel, ostensibly by Levitical authors dissatisfied with northern practice, and brought south during the reign of King Hezekiah (715–687/6 bce). It builds upon the work of R. E. Clements, who observed that Deuteronomy’s call for a single sanctuary best fit the concerns of southern Judah, to offer additional reasons why the composition of Deuteronomy is best set during the reign of Josiah.