Table of Contents

Chapter 1. YHWH's Violence: The Problem and Approaches
Interpretive Approaches
My Scope
My Approach
Summary of Argument and Contribution

Chapter 2. Introductory Considerations
Religion and Politics in the Modern World
Religion and Politics in Deuteronomy
Other Gods, Divine Anger, and Destruction

Chapter 3. The Basic Threat: Idolatry and Destruction
Introduction: The Alien Category of Idolatry
Deuteronomy 9-10: The Golden Calf
The Golden Calf Incident as National Myth
Idolatry and Treason

Chapter 4. Destruction and Restoration as Coercion
Deuteronomy 4: Loyalty to YHWH
Deuteronomy 32: A Song of Disloyalty
Freedom and Coercion in the Ancient and Modern Worlds

Chapter 5. Rebellion: The Individual and the Nation
Introduction
Deuteronomy 13: Incitement to Idolatry
The Anger of YHWH: National and Individual
Modern Response to Rebellion on Different Scales
Conclusion

Chapter 6. The Horrors of Destruction
Deuteronomy 28: The Covenant Curses
Historical and Canonical Considerations
Understanding the Curses
Modern Curses in Warfare

Chapter 7. The Politics of YHWH and "Other Gods"
Introduction
Kings and Gods in Israel's Surrounding Cultures
Deuteronomy 17: The Politics of YHWH
The Politics of "Other Gods"
What are YHWH's People to Do?
The Modern Nation-State and the "Other Gods"

Chapter 8. Conclusions

Bibliography

Promotional Information

This book is a heuristic reading strategy for a modern reader to engage with YHWH's threats against Israel in Deuteronomy. First, the biblical text is considered through close reading to discern the logic of YHWH's threats: what motivates the threats, what form the threats take, and what effect the threats expect to produce.

About the Author

Rob Barrett is a post-doctoral research fellow at Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany and visiting lecturer in Hebrew and Old Testament at Westminster Theological Centre, London, UK.

Reviews

"Revising his 2007 doctoral dissertation at Durham University, Barrett approaches Old Testament accounts of God killing, destroying, and threatening Israel, with engagement and provisional sympathy, and without selectively suppressing objectionable passages. He covers previous approaches, introductory considerations, the basic threat of idolatry and destruction, destruction and restoration as coercion, the rebellion by traitors, the horrors of destruction, and the politics of Yhwh and other gods. Among more detailed discussions are canon and history, religion and politics in Deuteronomy and the modern world, the golden calf incident as national myth, modern responses to rebellion, understanding the curses, and the modern state and other gods." -Eithne O'Leyne, BOOK NEWS, Inc.

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to read this thoughtful and thought-provoking work. I look forward to further reflection from its author’s pen.
*Journal of Semitic Studies*