A rather strange title. The early traditional views of the authorship of the five books that began our bible was that they were authored by Moses. Over time that view changed and one of the predominant views is based on something called the Deuteronomistic History collection. Let's talk about that.
The concept of the Deuteronomistic History (DH) refers to a collection of biblical books—Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings - that scholars believe were originally part of a unified literary work. This theory was first proposed by German scholar Martin Noth in 1943, who observed consistent language and ideology throughout these texts, suggesting they were compiled by a single individual or group.
Noth’s analysis indicated that these books shared a common theological perspective, particularly emphasizing themes such as covenant fidelity, centralized worship, and the consequences of idolatry. He proposed that this unified work was composed during the exilic period (6th century BCE) to explain the fall of Israel and Judah as a result of the people’s unfaithfulness to their covenant with Yahweh.
The sequence of events leading to the creation of the Deuteronomistic History likely began with the core material of Deuteronomy, which some scholars believe was written to support the religious reforms of King Josiah in the 7th century BCE. This material was later expanded to serve as an introduction to the historical narrative that follows. The subsequent books—Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings - were then compiled and edited to reflect the Deuteronomistic theology, culminating in a comprehensive history that traced Israel’s journey from entering the Promised Land to the Babylonian exile.
While Noth attributed the composition to a single author, later scholars have proposed that the Deuteronomistic History underwent multiple redactions. For instance, some theories suggest that an initial edition was written during Josiah’s reign to promote his reforms, with subsequent editions incorporating additional layers during and after the exile to address evolving theological and historical contexts.
The exact identity of the authors or redactors remains uncertain. Some scholars associate the work with the Deuteronomistic school—a group of scribes and theologians influenced by the principles found in Deuteronomy - who aimed to interpret Israel’s history through the lens of covenant theology.
In summary, the Deuteronomistic History is a scholarly construct that identifies a unified theological and literary framework underlying the books from Deuteronomy to Kings. Originating from Noth’s observations, this theory has evolved to consider complex processes of composition and redaction by individuals or groups committed to conveying the theological significance of Israel’s history.
As is typical in the complex interpretation of biblical texts, this theory is intriguing, but as you can see, the jury is still out.