Negotiating Power among the Living and the Dead: A Reassessment of Deuteronomy's "Politics of Postmortem Existence"

Abstract: When reconstructing Deuteronomy's "politics of postmortem existence," the politics of the ancient Near Eastern oath ( adê ) agreement should not be neglected. Deuteronomy 13 and 28, drawing upon traditions attested in Assyrian adê agreements, endeavor to inspire loyalty to the centralized Yhwh cult through fear of a bad death. In this way, Deuteronomy functionally equates loyalty to Yhwh with care for kin under normal circumstances. This creates a striking paradox in the case of apostasy by kin, a scenario that requires prioritization of loyalty over kinship ties. Deuteronomy's stipulations, moreover, include several legal innovations that enable ritualization and enforcement of the ideology identified in Deuteronomy 13 and 28. The logic of adê traditions provides a plausible inspiration for each of these innovations, suggesting that Deuteronomy's adaptation of the adê concept directly inspires its politics of postmortem existence.