Deuteronomy 34 and the Case for a Persian Hexateuch

Abstract

for the compositional and theological understanding of the Hebrew Bible. The Pentateuch concludes with the story of Moses’ death, but this is not really a satisfying thematic conclusion. The promise of land is not fulfilled; this must await the book of Joshua, where Joshua, depicted as the successor of Moses in Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua, completes the conquest of Canaan that was initiated by Moses’ conquest of the Transjordan. This was the main reason that critical scholarship created the Hexateuch,1 which served as the dominant JBL 119/3 (2000) 401–419