The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Deuteronomy — Story, Setting & Ideas

Balancing Critical Scholarship and Religious Conviction

Harper positions himself as a scholar who admits critical views yet insists on the supernatural. In the preface, he notes that his critical positions have been "sometimes associated, and still oftener supposed to be associated, with rationalistic views generally." He postpones a full discussion of miracle, but the commentary repeatedly navigates between historical-critical analysis and theological affirmation. For instance, when discussing the ban on Canaanite worship, Harper draws on the work of Professor Robertson Smith to explain the mechanism of sacrificial communion, yet he also defends the distinctiveness of Israel's ethical monotheism. This dual commitment shapes the exposition: Harper treats Deuteronomy as a text with a historical setting—possibly the time of Manasseh—while also reading it as a source of enduring religious truth. Readers should expect careful argumentation that does not shy away from critical questions but also seeks to uphold the text's spiritual authority.

Idolatry as the Root of Moral Corruption

A central theme in the excerpts is the vehement opposition to idolatry. Harper argues that for the Deuteronomist, idolatry was not a mere ritual error but the source of Israel's worst immoralities. He writes that "their worst immoralities were, he knew well, rooted in their idol-worship," and that idolatry "binds all that is highest in man to the sphere of nature, i.e. of moral indifference." This perspective leads Harper to defend the harsh commands to destroy Canaanite religious objects—altars, obelisks, Asherim—as necessary for breaking a corrupting bond. He contrasts this with modern distinctions between worship through images and worship of images, which he dismisses as "subtle, and, in great part, sophistical distinctions" that did not apply to ancient Israel. The commentary thus presents Deuteronomy's rigor as a response to a concrete historical crisis, not as a timeless principle.

The Centrality of Sacrifice and Covenant

Harper devotes significant attention to the regulation of sacrifice, drawing on the work of Robertson Smith to explain its function. He notes that "the central point of ancient sacrifice was the communion between the god and his worshippers in the sacrificial feast," which created a kinship that could transmit spiritual and moral infection. This understanding underpins Deuteronomy's insistence on centralizing worship and purging foreign elements. Harper contrasts the situation at the time of Moses, when Israel faced contact with Canaanites "superior in culture and in all the arts of civilised life, but corrupted to the core," with the later period of Manasseh, when "actual experience" of evil had made the warnings even more urgent. The commentary thus reads Deuteronomy's laws on sacrifice as both a preservation of Mosaic tradition and a response to later apostasy, emphasizing the covenant relationship that demanded exclusive loyalty to Yahweh.

Harper's commentary rewards readers who are interested in the intersection of critical biblical scholarship and theological exposition. The work is dense with references to contemporary debates—such as the dating of Deuteronomy and the nature of Israelite religion—and does not simplify the complexities. Readers should come prepared to engage with arguments that are both historically grounded and theologically committed, and to follow the author's effort to address multiple audiences: scholars, clergy, and lay readers concerned with the book's relevance for modern faith and ethics.

I keep thinking about Deuteronomy’s insistence on remembering—how loyalty gets carried through song and story. It made me wonder about Luther’s hymns, those plain, sturdy melodies that held entire congregations together. There’s a quiet weight to that: Dr. Martin Luther's Deutsche Geistliche Lieder The Hymns of Martin Luther Set to Their Original Melodies, With an English Version — Inside the Classic feels like an echo of the same urgency, sung instead of spoken.