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Singular Address in the Deuteronomic Law and the Politics of Legal Administration

School of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, GL50 2QF

This article asks why the deuteronomic law, like the Book of the Covenant, differs from ancient Near Eastern law codes in adopting the second person singular form of address. It also considers the relationship between the deuteronomic code and ancient Near Eastern treaties, especially the Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon (VTE), where the singular address is used. Accepting a formal similarity between the deuteronomic code and VTE, it is argued that Deuteronomy adapts the use of the singular address in laws to support its theology of the responsibility of the people as such for the keeping of the Torah. This is in contrast to the idea of the king as sovereign, especially in relation to administration of law, which, it is argued, Deuteronomy opposes.

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