Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 68:4 (Dec 2025)
Article: Is It Time To Abandon The Hittite Treaty Structure Of Deuteronomy?
Author: Mark Steven Francois

JETS 68:4 (December 2025) p. 705

Is It Time To Abandon The Hittite Treaty Structure Of Deuteronomy?

Mark Steven Francois

Mark Steven Francois is Assistant Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages at Colorado Christian University. He may be contacted at [email protected].

Abstract: This article argues that the Hittite treaty structure of Deuteronomy needs to be abandoned in favor of exegesis that takes the rhetorical function of the individual sections of Deuteronomy more seriously. Using criteria developed to analyze the parallels between Esarhaddon’s Succession Treaty (EST) and Deuteronomy 28:20–44, it shows that despite the presence of shared motifs, the Hittite treaty structure of Deuteronomy can only be maintained through imprecise summarization and unwarranted exclusion of contrary evidence. An appreciation for the rhetorical function of the individual sections of Deuteronomy, particularly Deuteronomy 1–3, 5, and 6–11, produces a far more productive and plausible understanding of Deuteronomy than readings based on the Hittite treaty structure.

Key words: Hittite, vassal treaty, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomic Code, Esarhaddon’s Succession Treaty.

A central question for any introduction to Deuteronomy concerns whether the book, in its earliest or a later edition, is structured according to the pattern of Hittite vassal treaties from the Late Bronze Age.1 The use of Hittite treaties to explain the structure of biblical texts was first proposed in 1954 when George E. Mendenhall suggested that the Decalogue (Exod 20:2–17) and the covenant renewal ceremony at Shechem (Josh 24) follow the structure of Hittite vassal treaties.2 In the early 1960s, several scholars suggested that Deuteronomy—or at least a substantial portion of it—was also structured according to this pattern.3 This pattern

JETS 68:4 (December 2025) p. 706

consisted of six elements: (1) a preamble that introduced the treaty as speech from the King of Hatti, (2) a historical prologue that outlined the history of the relationship between the Hittite king and the client king, (3) a series of stipulations to which the client king was expected to adhere, (4) instructions about placing a copy of the treaty in the temple of the client king’s chief deity and the requireme...