The Deuteronomistic history is told in the following books of the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, and Jeremiah. Biblical scholar Martin Noth came up with the name Deuteronomistic history to tie together these books as written by a single, Levite author. They are called Deuteronomistic because their theology is seen as similar to that of the book of Deuteronomy. Some scholars believe that Jeremiah was written by a Deuteronomist of a different and rival school from the author of the other books. Most recently, some Biblical scholars have questioned the accuracy of Noth's theory of a Deuteronomistic history.
Deuteronomistic theology puts an emphasis on God's covenant with Israel and places the highest importance on Mosaic law, giving it primacy over other parts of the Bible. Not only is the law important in this theology, the Deuteronomist challenges the existence of scattered "cultic" worship sites, saying that that worship must be centralized in one location, Jerusalem. These texts also show a concern for caring for the stranger, and blame Israel's problems on disobeying the Mosaic laws.
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