| Is Deuteronomy a forgery? |  |  | |
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Posted by: Kevin ® 01/26/2002, 22:10:20 Author Profile Mail author |
I'm reading Carl Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted World" (FABULOUS book, by the way), and I came across a paragraph that puzzled me. I am hoping someone knows the answer and can help me out. On page 90, Sagan discussed certain bogus documents that were forged in an attempt to bolster the hypothesis that the government is covering up knowledge of space aliens coming to earth. Then on page 91, second paragraph, he writes, "There are many cases in human history of a similar character -- where a document of dubious provenance suddenly appears carrying information of great import which strongly supports the case of those who have made the discovery. After careful and in some cases courageous investigation the document is proved to be a hoax. There is no difficulty in understanding the motivation of the hoaxers. A more or less typical example is the book of Deuteronomy -- discovered hidden in the Temple in Jerusalem by King Josiah, who, miraculously, in the midst of a major reformation struggle, found in Deuteronomy confirmation of all his views." Sagan then leaves that example, and moves on to another case called the "Donation of Constantine", leaving me wanting more details of Deuteronomy. So, any of you Bible scholars out there, what's up with Deuteronomy? Is there evidence suggesting that it has suspicious origins? Thanks in advance! Modified by Kevin at Sat, Jan 26, 2002, 22:14:18 |
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Re: Is Deuteronomy a forgery? Re: Is Deuteronomy a forgery? -- Kevin Top of thread Archive
Posted by: rpcman ®
01/27/2002, 10:36:23
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Just a few links I found mentioning the connection:
http://www.robibrad.demon.co.uk/deut.htm
http://www.cumber.edu/acad/rel/hbible/HebrewBible/hbnotes/deuteronomynotes.htm
http://www.jewishsf.com/bk950804/torah.htm
http://www.hope.edu/bandstra/RTOT/CH5/CH5_3B.HTM (scan down to "The similarities between the Deuteronomic reform (told in 2 Kings 22-23) and the prescriptions of Deuteronomy are too close to be coincidental.")
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Re: Is Deuteronomy a forgery? Re: Re: Is Deuteronomy a forgery? -- rpcman Top of thread Archive
Posted by: Kevin ®
01/27/2002, 12:47:14
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Thanks for the links, rpcman! Quite informative. I guess I need to find a book that lists the authorships of the various books of the Bible. It seems that many were written by authors other than the ones tradition ascribes to the books.
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A book on biblical authorship Re: Re: Is Deuteronomy a forgery? -- Kevin Top of thread Archive
Posted by: Cal ®
01/27/2002, 13:12:11
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Kevin, The book, "Who Wrote the Bible?" by the biblical scholar Richard Elliot Friedman is, from what I can tell, the best regarded popular introduction to these issues. And it even has extensive discussion of the "discovery" of the lost book of Moses, probably an initial version Deuteronomy, under the reign of Josiah. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
One personal irony is that I took a course from him on humor in literature and film when I was a freshman in college, and, though I liked the course, I tuned out on his section on humor in the Hebrew Bible--including in the Book of Genesis!--because it didn't seem plausible to me, as if I could have judged something like that very well. I had no conception of what biblical scholarship was, really. What I'd do now to have that same course again now that I'd really be able to appreciate it . . .
Modified by Cal at Sun, Jan 27, 2002, 13:15:45
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Re: A book on biblical authorship Re: A book on biblical authorship -- Cal Top of thread Archive
Posted by: Kevin ®
01/27/2002, 15:02:10
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Thanks, Cal, for the recommendation! It sounds like just the book I need. In fact, I'm going to go to the bookstore today to look for a book Martin had suggested I read; so, while I'm there, I'm going to look for your book, too. Hopefully, if I can keep reading enough books, I'll someday feel "knowledgable" about at least a couple subjects -- it just seems that the more I learn about any particular subject, the more I realize how much I DON'T know! :o)
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