Now reissued with a new introduction by the author, this book provides the first monograph length reinvestigation and reinterpretation of the history and theology of centralization of worship. Since de Wette and Wellhausen in the nineteenth century, Old Testament scholarship has thus far largely relied on the consensus that the book of Deuteronomy is the product of late monarchic Judah (7th century BC). However, after examining the Pentateuchal altar laws and the role of the central sanctuary during the premonarchical period in the biblical sources, Pitkanen concludes that Shiloh was seen as...