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Deuteronomy 13 uses covenant language that requires the death penalty for anyone who attempts insurrection, based on ancient Near Eastern tradition found in the Esarahaddon treaty, where anyone who attempts insurrection is also given the death penalty.
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The Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon
Ancient Near East
You swear that should anyone-as concerning Ashurbanipal, the crown-prince son of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, your lord, who has made the treaty with you concerning him- speak to you of rebellion and insurrection or killing, to their detriment and their destruction, then you will not listen to it from the mouth of anyone. You will seize the perpetrators of insurrection, you will bring them before Ashurbanipal, the crown-prince. If you are able to seize and put them to death then you will seize and put them to death, and you will destroy their name and their seed from the land. If, however, you are unable to seize and to put them to death, you will reveal this fact to Ashurbanipal, the crown-prince. You will, furthermore, stand with him, you will seize and put to death the perpetrators of rebellion.
Date: 672 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Deuteronomy 13:9
Hebrew Bible
6 Suppose your own full brother, your son, your daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend should seduce you secretly and encourage you to go and serve other gods that neither you nor your ancestors have previously known, 7 the gods of the surrounding people (whether near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other). 8 You must not give in to him or even listen to him; do not feel sympathy for him or spare him or cover up for him. 9 Instead, you must kill him without fail! Your own hand must be the first to strike him, and then the hands of the whole community. 10 You must stone him to death because he tried to entice you away from the Lord your God, who delivered you from the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.
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Notes and References
"... In VTE the possible perpetrators of disloyalty are extensive, with permutations enumerated over dozens of lines. As with the discussions of Deut 28 and VTE, however, there are a few sections that have gained particular attention, with VTE §10 foremost among them. VTE §10— noted already for its resemblance to VTE §6—includes among its possible sources of disloyalty to Assurbanipal persuasions that come ... This is followed by a general warning in VTE §11 against “[anything] that is evil or improper” and concerning the maintenance of exclusive loyalty to Assurbanipal, and in VTE §12, instructions of what to do if the addressee should discover anyone plotting against Assurbanipal. Deuteronomy 13, in its turn, imagines threats from “prophets or those who divine by dreams” (Deuteronomy 13:2), “your brother, your mother’s son, or your son or your daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your most intimate friend” (Deuteronomy 13:7). Later in the chapter there is a threat from “scoundrels from among you [who] have gone out and led the inhabitants of the town astray” (Deuteronomy 13:14) ..."
Crouch, Carly L.
Israel and the Assyrians: Deuteronomy, the Succession Treaty of Esarhaddon, and the Nature of Subversion
(p. 82) Society of Biblical Literature, 2014
* 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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