Deuteronomistic Ideology and the Theology of the Old Testament

Abstract

The article proceeds from a discussion of the nature of ideology to a definition of the content and ideological functions of the deuteronomistic history in its pre-exilic and exilic editions. The significance of the exilic edition, produced in a content of ‘culture shock’, is elaborated by reference to the nature of the moral and intellectual development of society. The article concludes by arguing that no essential distinction can be made between ideology and theology, and that the deuteronomistic contribution to Old Testament theology is to be described by reference to how the deuteronomistic perception(s) of the nature of Israel in its relationship to Yahweh are taken up and revised in the Pentateuch.