. . . unlike the tradition in other biblical
books, the king of Deuteronomy is not anointed with oil, and unlike Saul, David
and Solomon (see I Sam. 13:9, 2 Sam. 6:12-19, I Kings 8:63), he has no role or
status in religious ceremonies. Moreover, he does not even lead the army, for,
according to Deuteronomy, those that go before the camp and encourage the
people to fight are God’s representatives, the priests (Deut. 20:1-4).
Furthermore, the king plays no part in the legal system, in total contrast to
the point of view in the Psalms and the prophecies of Isaiah, which particularly
stress the king’s role in imposing “righteousness and justice.” In fact, the decision
in a complicated legal and cultic problem is given to the priests or to the
judges, and not to the king (See Deut. 17:8-11).
One might then ask: What should the
king do after all these responsibilities are taken from him? Deuteronomy’s
answer is simple: let him sit and study the Torah. “And when he sits on the
throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law,
from that which is in charge o the Levitical priests, and it will be with him,
and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the
Lord his God, by keeping all the words of this law and these statues, by doing
them; that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, and that he may not
turn aside form the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left”
(Deut. 17:18-20).
The fact that the king has no role in
ceremonies, in the army, or in the legal system seems designed to ensure that
he will have no sense of superiority, “that his heart may not be lifted above
his brethren.” A king of this kind is in total contrast to the wondrous and
lofty figure depicted in Isaiah’s prophecies. While Isaiah strives to elevate
the king as much as possible, to the point of calling him “Mighty God, Eternal
Father,” the book of Deuteronomy seeks to diminish the king’s image as much as possible,
largely by making him powerless to rule. In so doing, the book of Deuteronomy
can be read as an extension of Hosea’s view that the people must place their
trust in God alone. (Israel Knohl, The Messiah Confrontation: Pharisees Versus
Sadducees and the Death of Jesus [trans. David Maisel; Philadelphia: The
Jewish Publication Society, 2022], 29-30)
