The Decalogue forbids patently reprehensible acts; but the prohibition against coveting is a potentially victimless offense and is the only one that exclusively addresses men. Moreover, this tenth commandment has no clear parallels in ancient Near Eastern law. An anecdote in a fourteenth-century Hittite text, however, suggests that its roots are in treaty tradition.
Unlike human kings, YHWH does not need witnesses and enforcers. However, Moses in Deuteronomy draws on formulations found in ancient Near Eastern treaties.
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Deuteronomy’s requirement to destroy a city whose inhabitants worship another god and to leave it as an eternally desolate mound, can be understood in the context of ancient Near Eastern vassal treaties. Specifically, Hittite texts describe how kings dealt with rebellious vassal cities, by destroying them utterly and dedicating their land to the gods.
Will the gentiles really say that because Israel “forsook the covenant that YHWH, God of their fathers, made with them when He freed them from the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 29:24) that YHWH is punishing them?
Israel had a vassal treaty with Assyria which commanded them to love King Ashurbanipal, a “love" that brought with it legal requirements and penalty clause. Deuteronomy's command that Israel “love God” is best understood in this context, but what about God's love for Israel?
Reading Deuteronomy in light of ancient Near Eastern treaties, we learn that the commandment to love God entails both action and affection. We further learn about the nature of God’s love for Israel, described also in the prophets and in the rabbinic reading of Song of Songs.
An Explication of Deuteronomy 29:28
