The Economy of Deuteronomy's Core contributes to the current debate over the date and purpose of the biblical book of Deuteronomy to advance the discussion beyond the Josianic hypothesis of Wilhelm M. L. de Wette that has dominated the field for the last two centuries. It is the first comprehensive analysis and synthesis of the economic issues that the laws of Deuteronomy 12-26. It provides the basis for the identification of the functions of the three institutions upon which a new Israelite identity builds: the local autonomous settlement (your gates), the yearly gathering of all Israel to eat and drink joyfully in front of YHWH (the Place), and a guild-like brotherhood involving Israelite, Edomite and third generation Egyptian associates (qehal-YHWH). Grounded in the text itself, The Economy of Deuteronomy's Core reads Deuteronomy 12-26 in light of what we know about Ancient Near Eastern economies. The results open new horizons regarding the origins of the Deuteronomic laws.

Philippe Guillaume is Lecturer at the University of Berne. His latest monograph is co-authored with Ernst Axel Knauf, A History of Biblical Israel (Equinox, 2016).