The Social Location of the Deuteronomists: a Sociological Study of Factional Politics in Late Pre-Exilic Judah

Abstract

In this paper, the problem of the provenance and location of the Deuteronomistic History is examined from the perspective of the social location of the carriers of the Deuteronomistic tradition. After reviewing a sociological model of power politics in ancient aristocratic states, the paper studies six chapters from 2 Kings and Jeremiah to highlight relevant social data. These data indicate that the social location of the Deuteronomistic circle lay in the heart of the power structure with its struggles in Judah's closing years. Further, they locate the Deuteronomists as a coalition of elite professional groups, groups joined in a political alliance so necessary for power in the factionalized politics of the court and temple.