Deuteronomy's Fearsome "Pedagogy"

Deuteronomy - Outside the Box - Diana V. Edelman

Kåre Berge [+-]
Faculty of Theology, University of Oslo
Kåre Berge is Professor emeritus and guest researcher at the Faculty of Theology, University of Oslo. His studies cover the Pentateuch, especially Genesis, Exodus and Deuteronomy, focusing on cultural memory, politics of identity, didacticism, and symbolization of power-relations. In particular, “Dynamics of Power and the Re-invention of ‘Israel’ in Persian Empire Judah.” Pages 293–321 in Levantine Entanglements. Edited by T. Stordalen and Ø.S. LaBianca. Sheffield: Equinox, 2021; and “Cities in Deuteronomy: Imperial Ideology, Resilience, and the Imagination of Yahwistic Religion.” Pages 77–96 in Deuteronomy in the Making. Edited by D. Edelman, B. Rossi, K. Berge, P. Guillaume. BZAW 533; Berlin: W. de Gruyter, 2021.

Description

Throughout Deuteronomy Israel is urged to learn Yhwh’s commands as it is a matter of life and death to observe them and behave accordingly instead of imitating the Canaanites once in their land. While most studies take a positive stance towards the “pedagogy” of Deuteronomy, this paper is more critical, approaching it more from the perspective of social control. Before applying modern didactical terms like “pedagogy” to the biblical text, one should investigate all the terms used for teaching/learning, and its teachers. Given the tension between the different “classrooms” and the different “teachers” in Deuteronomy, fear may indeed be the best descriptor of Deuteronomic learning. Social control may thus encapsulate Deuteronomy’s didactics as teaching, learning, and instruction that are considered more at the societal than individual level. Little interest is given to the individual mind and heart, the internalization of practical and ethical skill and knowledge, what is termed Bildung in German.

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Citation

Berge, Kåre . Deuteronomy's Fearsome "Pedagogy". Deuteronomy - Outside the Box. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 305-319 Nov 2024. ISBN 9781800506121. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=44619. Date accessed: 09 Dec 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.44619. Nov 2024

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