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Thread: structure of Deuteronomy and the Sermon on the Mount
(It's exciting, I promise)
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(It's exciting, I promise)
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The bulk of Deuteronomy is structured as an exposition of the Ten Commandments. There are some differences in where exactly the boundaries are, but the overall picture is pretty clear.
(Here's Jordan's breakdown, with notes on where he differs from Kaufman)
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(Here's Jordan's breakdown, with notes on where he differs from Kaufman)
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But there are some unexpected features. For example, you'd expect divorce (24:1-4) to come in the adultery section. But it doesn't; it comes in the theft section.
Is this a reason to throw out the theory? On the contrary: it actually confirms it in a really fruitful way.
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Is this a reason to throw out the theory? On the contrary: it actually confirms it in a really fruitful way.
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This is where Matt 5 comes in. It might seem (for a long time I thought!) that Jesus starts in with two of the ten commandments (murder, adultery) and then moves on to "miscellaneous other" (divorce, oaths, eye for an eye).
But if divorce comes under theft...
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But if divorce comes under theft...
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Well, that unlocks the possibility that the whole of Matt 5 is a commentary on the second half of the Ten Commandments. There are different possible ways to break it down (is eye-for-eye a false witness or coveting issue?) but here's one option.
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5/7
A theory can be tested by how much light it gives: by that standard, this is definitely the right way to read Deuteronomy! In fact, I've rarely seen a structural analysis which provides more insight than this one.
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6/7
The implications for how to think about divorce, how to think about theft, how to think about truth and justice - in fact, how to read Deuteronomy, Matthew 5 and all Ten Commandments - are very rich. I think I'll be chewing on them for years.
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