We discussed the Torah (five books of Moses) and now move on to the Neviim (Prophets).
Former Prophets: Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings
Latter Prophets: Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah ("Major Prophets") and The Twelve ("Minor Prophets")
The Former Prophets are called by modern biblical scholars "Deuteronomic History" or "Deuteronomistic History"
Composition
During the Babylonian exile (586-538 BC), Jeremiah and Deuteronomy exercised a great influence on Hebrew Literature
Toward the end of the exile, some priests and scribes, inspired by Jeremiah and Deuteronomy, put together the "Deuteronomic History", covering a long period of time, from Moses (1250 BC) until the time of exile (ca. 550 BC)
Deuteronomic History is marked by the "theology" of Deuteronomy and the "prophetic spirit" of Jeremiah
Deuteronomy's Theology
Fidelity to the Law attracts God's blessing
"See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." (Deut. 30:15-20)
Jeremiah's Prophetic Spirit
God will destroy the Temple because people sinned against Him
God will bring the people into exile, so you should not seek other alliances (e.g. Egypt) against the Babylonians, because God already decided this punishment.
People should take it seriously, live in exile in Babylon and repent from their sins, that God may have mercy on them and return them to their homeland.
The main purpose of this history is to explain the exile, which was not meaningless: exile was God's punishment for people's neglect of the Law. Same explanation can be detected in Jeremiah and Deuteronomy, but the editors of DtrH applied this explanation to the entire history of Israel in the promised land.
