Deut 13: Warning against Hearing the False Prophet
Deut 13 further extends the themes of Deut 6:4-9 in
its characterization of the false prophet, who would lead Israel astray to
worship other gods.
If a prophet arises among you, or a dreamer of dreams,
and gives you a sign or a portent, and the sign or the wonder that he spoke to
you comes to pass, and he says, “Let us to after other gods whom you have not
known, and let us verse them”: You must not hear (לא תשמע) the words of that
prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for YHWH your God is testing you, to know
whether you love YHWH your God with all your hearts and with all your souls.
You shall go after YHWH your God, and him you shall fear, and his commandments
you shall keep, and his voice you shall hear (תשמעו), and him you shall serve,
and to him you shall cleave (Deut 13:1-4; translation mine)
The section is, in a sense, an anti-שמע, warning the
people not to hear the word of one who would direct them away from YHWH and
into idolatry. Only single-minded devotion to YHWH and keeping his commandments
will lead to life; turning to other gods will lead to death and destruction
(13:6-18).
Deuteronomy 13 is analogous to a section found in
suzerain-vassal treaties, which typically include instructions on seizing and
punishing those who would instigate rebellion against the king. The language of
“following after” other gods (הלך אתרי) is legal terminology which concerns a
vassal’s disobedience to his master (cf. Deut 6:14). To “follow after” another
lord was treasonous; therefore, treaty clauses demand immediate pursuit of
rebels, who are to be seized and killed. Deut 13 shows an analogous concern for
maintaining loyalty to YHWH and calls for the harshest possible punishment for
anyone who would foment rebellion against him.
Deuteronomy 13 demonstrates how the religious and
political spheres were interconnected in the ancient world. Weinfeld comments:
Political and religious aspects, particularly in the
Israelite covenant, were fused to such an extent, however, that it is sometimes
difficult to distinguish between them. Therefore, it must be said that,
although the passage in Deut 13 seems to be concerned only with religious
loyalty to the God of Israel, the laws actually served to guarantee the
political-national allegiance of the people no less than their religious
allegiance.
This is particularly true if, as R. Frankena suggests,
Josiah’s reforms were designed to replace the former treaty with Assyria. The
complex interplay between political and religious ideas gives Deuteronomy much
of its unique flavor; the notion of YHWH as Israel’s King makes a lasting mark
upon the Hebrew Scriptures and will continue to have an important influence on
rabbinic discourse and Jewish liturgical traditions. (Lori Ann Robinson Baron,
"The
Shema in John's Gospel Against its Backgrounds in Second Temple Judaism"
[PhD Thesis;, Duke University, 2015], 47-49)