Covenant Code

Parents

It is difficult to date the laws found in the Deuteronomic Code. There are many laws unique to Deuteronomy, such as the prohibition of sacrifice outside "the place which the Lord your God will choose" (Deuteronomy 12:5) and having a national Passover sacrifice in a national shrine (Deuteronomy 16:1–8). In contrast, other books in the Pentateuch refer to altars throughout Israel without condemnation. Both of these laws were observed for the first time under King Josiah, giving credence to the theory that Deuteronomy was written around that time.[4] Many of the other laws can be found elsewhere in the Torah, and it is likely the Deuteronomistic author(s) were influenced by such laws. Biblical scholar Michael Coogan notes two examples, the Covenant Code and the Ritual Decalogue found in Exodus 20:22–23:33 and Exodus 34 respectively.[1]