Texts in Conversation
The command in Deuteronomy to love God with all one’s heart, soul, and strength is based on Neo-Assyrian vassal treaties, such as the Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon, which required subjects to show complete loyalty and love to the Assyrian prince.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Deuteronomy 6:5
Hebrew Bible
3 Pay attention, Israel, and be careful to do this so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in number—as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, said to you, you will have a land flowing with milk and honey. 4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 You must love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength. 6 These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, 7 and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up.
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
The Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon §24
Esarhaddon's Succession Treaty (SAA 2 6)
Ancient Near East, Assyrian
259 You shall not give Assurbanipal, the great crown prince designate, son of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, your lord, a deadly drug to eat or to drink, nor anoint him with it, nor practice witchcraft against him, nor make gods and goddesses angry with him. 266 You shall love Assurbanipal, the great crown prince designate, son of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, your lord, like yourselves. 269 You shall not slander his brothers, his mother's sons, before Assurbanipal, the great crown prince designate, nor speak anything evil about them, nor lift your hands against their houses or commit a crime against them, nor take anything away from the gift which their father has given them, or the acquisitions which they themselves have made.
Date: 672 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Notes and References
"... The well-known “Shema Yisrael” in Deuteronomy 6:4-5 ... A present-day reader may wonder why the text does not state: “The LORD our God is the only God.” This would align with other monotheistic statements in the Hebrew Bible. It seems self-evident that Yahweh, “the LORD,” is one God and not multiple gods. Knowing the Hebrew inscriptions of the eighth-century Kuntillet Ajrud, which mention “Yahweh of Teman,” “Yahweh of Samaria,” and “Yahweh and his Asherah,” provides insight into Deuteronomy 6:4’s emphasis on the unity of Yahweh, who is to be worshipped in only one sanctuary. The call to “love” Yahweh wholeheartedly and exclusively gains new significance when viewed in the context of Neo-Assyrian vassal treaties, which demanded undivided “love” for the Assyrian overlord from his subjects and vassals. This demonstrates how understanding the historical realities in which and for which a biblical text was written can enhance comprehension of its theological statements ..."
Thomas Krüger, “Recent Developments in the History of Ancient Israel and Their Consequences for a Theology of the Hebrew Bible,” BN 144 (2010): 5–13.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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