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CHAPTER 1 The First Few Millennia

The first five books of the Bible are common to the religious heritage of three monotheistic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. For believers, these five books record history from Earth’s beginning to the death of Moses. With reliance on one god, monotheism overcame the duplicity of polytheistic faiths where strife was accepted as deceptions of man caused by differences among the various gods.

Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Bible. Scholars have different theories on the timing and purpose of Deuteronomy. It was written after the Jews escaped slavery in Egypt and before they reached the Promised Land. By the time the book was composed, settlements of anatomically modern humans existed on every continent.

Coming from slavery and having wandered the desert for a considerable time, one can imagine the level of strife and debate within the Jewish tribes over how to treat each other in the face of competition for scarce resources. Deuteronomy seems to be a kind of treaty that lists specific behaviors that followers of Moses required of each other. It let them live in peace while seeking the greater society that was yet to come.

The book is an early statement of the rule of law. Some admonitions (e.g., one requiring that a woman’s hand be cut off if she defends her husband by grabbing the genitals of an enemy) seem unique to a tribal community with a need to procreate. The book’s definition and preclusion of fraud, however, is enduring. ...