Jean-Pierre Sonnet

If-Plots in Deuteronomy

Abstract In its overall literary construction, Deuteronomy has turned a syntactic form—the “if/when . . .” form of casuistic laws and vassal treaties—into its main narrative dynamics. It has combined the mini-plots of the case-laws (“if a man . . .” / “when you . . .”) with the overarching plot of the people’s loyalty (“if you listen to the commandments . . .”) and with the macro-plot of the divine promise (“when Yhwh your God brings you into the land . . .”) in order to create a general suspenseful momentum that leads to the memorable denouement of Deut 34:9: “The sons of Israel listened . . . and did just as Yhwh had commanded Moses”.

La mort de Samson : Dieu bénit-il l'attentat suicide ? De la nécessité de mieux lire

Using the texts of the Bible to defend or attack ideas or practices usually takes place at the price of a unilateral or simplistic reading. A more attentive reading shows that the text has a subtlety and wealth of meaning which forbid simple ideas; the text requires from the reader forceful and discriminating reflection which respects the text and the reality it evokes. On the basis of a narrative reading of the death of Samson (Judg 15,21-31), the authors of this article show how the story, far from justifying suicide attacks, in fact provides a profound reflection on violence and on what it implies for man and for God.