Dr. David Glatt-Gilad from the Department of Bible,
Archaeology, and the Ancient Near East at Ben-Gurion University,
writes on https://www.thetorah.com/article/deuteronomy-the-first-torah
a claim based on the Deuteronomic theory of Bible
criticism. His claim, is a bit
contorted, but he states that modern scholars believe that Deuteronomy is the
actual “Torah” mentioned in Scripture,
as opposed to the first 4 books of the Pentateuch.
He claims, both in response to a theory of Rabbi Malbim, and
as a general theory that:
“Malbim, like Ramban before him, insists that the laws in
Deuteronomy were all made known by God to Moses at Sinai, but were only made
public by Moses shortly before his death— in other words these laws were
part of the larger Torah, even if the term torah in Deuteronomy refers only to
a portion of the Torah. For modern critical scholars, this is an unacceptable
proposition, amongst other reasons, since Deuteronomy diverges from laws
found elsewhere in the Pentateuch. (Compare, for example, Deut 12:20–24 and Lev
17:1–4 on the permissibility of consuming meat outside of a sacrificial
context.) It is untenable that the Deuteronomic laws were given in conjunction
with the very laws that they contradict.”
He presents 2 sets of laws, and claims that the Laws in
Deuteronomy contradict those in Leviticus.
Upon studying these two renditions of laws related to sacrifice and
slaughter of animals, it becomes apparent that firstly, Glatt-Gilad has misread or misunderstood the
verses he quotes, and secondly, that his
limited citation of 4 verses in Lev and 4 in Deut do not give the whole picture
of the Biblical legislation. Hence, the basis upon which he derives his
conclusion is not sufficient to derive any conclusion.
If we look at what the texts actually say, and the expanded
chapters, they tell a different story,
and do not present any contradiction whatsoever.
Lev 17:
3 What man soever
there be of the house of Israel,
that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it without
the camp,
4 and hath not
brought it unto the door of the tent of meeting, to present it as an offering
unto the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD, blood shall be imputed unto
that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his
people.
5 To the end that
the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they sacrifice in the
open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of the
tent of meeting, unto the priest, and sacrifice them for sacrifices of
peace-offerings unto the LORD.
The above is in regards to sacrifices in the
Camp in the Wilderness. However, Glatt-Gilad
is saying “Compare, for example, Deut 12:20–24 and Lev 17:1–4 on the
permissibility of consuming meat outside of a sacrificial context”. Suggesting that Lev 17 forbids all meat outside of a sacrificial context. But, look at
the following:
13 And whatsoever
man there be of the children of Israel,
or of the strangers that sojourn among them, that taketh in hunting any beast
or fowl that may be eaten, he shall pour out the blood thereof, and cover it
with dust.
There is
already an explicit permission to hunt animals, whether beast or fowl, given in Lev 17.
In Deut 12, we need to see the expanse of the chapter before
drawing any conclusions about possible contradictions.
Whilst Glatt-Gilad
only picks four verses, he ignores the setting of the chapter itself,
which makes the opening statement:
1 These are the
statutes and the ordinances, which ye shall observe to do in the land which the
LORD, the God of thy fathers, hath given thee to possess it, all the days that
ye live upon the earth.
The laws are now pertaining to the Land of Israel,
and no longer the desert encampment in the Wilderness of Sinai. This is
explicitly stated, and differentiated in Deuteronomy – so there is no
contradiction:
8 Ye shall not do
after all that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own
eyes;
9 for ye are not as
yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth
thee.
10 But when ye go
over the Jordan,
and dwell in the land which the LORD your God causeth you to inherit, and He
giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety;
15 Notwithstanding
thou mayest kill and eat flesh within all thy gates, after all the desire of
thy soul, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which He hath given
thee; the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the gazelle, and as of
the hart.
The verse he does refer to, again brings a new condition,
and it is not contradicting Leviticus.
21 If the place
which the LORD thy God shall choose to put His name there be too far from thee,
then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the LORD hath given
thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat within thy gates, after all
the desire of thy soul.
In the desert camp,
the Altar and the Tent were accessible to all, because they were all in
the camp together. In the Land of Israel, the tribes split up across the land, and
hence may not all have easy access to the Altar. Hence Devarim is speaking of a new situation
in Israel.
Hence there is no contradiction whatsoever.
It is possible that the Rabbinical interpretation may add
some different distinctions, but that is not pertinent to my argument.
Glatt-Gilad, despite his suggestive name, has given a rather
unkosher, and dishonest rendering of what is written in the Torah.