Page - 33 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 07/01

Writing, Affordances, and Governable Subjects | 33www.jrfm.eu 2021, 7/1, 33–44 Mark K. George Writing, Affordances, and Governable Subjects Abstract The book of Deuteronomy in the Hebrew Bible makes a number of references to writ- ing and to the importance of Israel carefully observing the commands, statutes, and ordinances written in the book. Readers can then conform themselves and their be- haviors according to the subjectivity of Israel the book sets forth. The process of con- forming oneself to what is written in a book makes use of particular affordances of writing, a technology that was becoming more widespread at the time Deuteronomy was being written. The materiality of the book and the social uses to which writing and books could be put are being realized in Deuteronomy in order to create people as particular subjects called “Israel.” Keywords Writing, Affordances, Subjectivity, Deuteronomy, Technology Biography Mark K. George is Professor of Bible and Ancient Systems of Thought at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, USA. He currently is writing a book on Deuteronomy, subjectivity, governmentality, and technology. In the Hebrew Bible book of Deuteronomy, writing and the creation of texts is a widely shared activity. The deity writes, Moses writes, the people write, the (future) king is to have writing done for him. The material form this writing takes varies. The deity writes on stone tablets (9:10; 10:2), while Moses writes on a scroll (31:19, 24), the king has a copy of “this Torah” written for him so he can read it all his days (17:18–19), men write bills of divorce (24:1, 3), and the people write on doorposts, gates, plastered stones, and their “hearts” (6:9; 11:20; 27:3, 8). Writing gives material form to the commands, statutes, and ordinances of the deity and Moses, and it creates a path, derek, the people are to follow. This command path, as it were, is special, and readers are warned not to deviate from it (5:32; 17:11, 20; 28:14). DOI: 10.25364/05.7:2021.1.3