Treaty form of the 14th/13th Centuries B.C.

			Statements of the Covenant		

		Ex 20-31	Dt 1-32		Josh 24	
		----------	  ----------	   ----------	
1	Preamble/Title - identifying author					
		20.1		    1.1-5		24:2	
						
						
2	Historical Prologue or retrospect, giving previous					
		benefactions by suzerain				
		20.2		    1.6-3.29	       24.2-13	
						
						
3	Stipulations: basic and detailed; obligations on the vassal					
	[basic]	20:3-17; 22-26	    4,5-11	    24.14-15	
	[detail] 21-23, 25-31	    12-26	      16-25	
						
						
4a	Deposition of a copy of the covenant in the vassal's sanctuary				
	    25.16; 34:1,28,29	   31.9,24-26	   24.26	
		(cf. Dt 10:1-5 in retro)			
						
						
4b	Public reading - periodic, to the people				
				   Dt 31:10-13		
						
						
5	Witnesses - a long list of gods invoked to witness the covt.					
		(in Biblical material, no other gods --so we have stones, 				
		 a song, the law-book, people)				
		24.4		31.16-30;32:1-47	24.22	
				Dt 31.36		
						
6	Curses and Blessings					
	Lev 26.3-13; 14-20	28.1-14; 15-68		24.19-20	
						
						
(Ref: K.A. Kitchen, Ancient Orient and Old Testament, IVP, 1966)