Deuteronomy 4:20
in Deuteronomy 4Yet the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of His inheritance, as you are today.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But Jehovah hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as at this day.
KJV
But the Lord hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 4
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
But the Lord hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace--that is, furnace for smelting iron. A furnace of this kind is round, sometimes thirty feet deep, and requiring the highest intensity of heat.
This site's exposition
And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven
on Deuteronomy 4:19-20
The sun, moon and stars are handled differently from the images of verses 16 to 18, because verse 19 says the Lord thy God hath divided them unto all nations under the whole heaven. What the division means is argued. Some read it as God appointing the lights to all nations for their use, marking seasons and times as Genesis 1:14 has them do, and others read it beside 32:8 as an allotment of the nations themselves to other powers, which Michael Heiser is the best known recent advocate of. Verse 20 states what Israel was given instead, taken out of the iron furnace to be a people of inheritance, a phrase 1 Kings 8:51 and Jeremiah 11:4 both carry.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Some have supposed that the sun and moon and the other stars were gods with absolute powers and ascribed to them the causation of all events. But Moses held that the universe was created and is in a sense the greatest of commonwealths, having magistrates …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But the Lord hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Out of the iron furnace - From this mention of the word iron furnace there can be little doubt that the Israelites were employed in Egypt in the most laborious works of metallurgy. Digging, smelting, and forging of iron in so hot a climate must have been oppressive work indeed.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶתְכֶם֙ | veetkhem | and <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| לָקַ֣ח | lakach | he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיּוֹצִ֥א | vaiyotzi' | and he brought out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֛ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִכּ֥וּר | mikur | from [the] furnace of | H3564 → | |
| הַבַּרְזֶ֖ל | habarzel | <the> iron | H1270 → | 76 times |
| מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם | mimitzrayim | from Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| לִהְי֥וֹת | lihyot | to become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| ל֛וֹ | lo | for him | ||
| לְעַ֥ם | leam | <into> a people of | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| נַחֲלָ֖ה | nachalah | inheritance | H5159 → | 222 times |
| כַּיּ֥וֹם | kaiyom | as the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַזֶּֽה׃ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
וְאֶתְכֶם֙and <obj.> you
veetkhemH853 →10935 times
לָקַ֣חhe took
lakachH3947 →966 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיּוֹצִ֥אand he brought out
vaiyotzi'H3318 →1067 times
אֶתְכֶ֛ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
מִכּ֥וּרfrom [the] furnace of
mikurH3564 →
הַבַּרְזֶ֖ל<the> iron
habarzelH1270 →76 times
מִמִּצְרָ֑יִםfrom Egypt
mimitzrayimH4714 →641 times
לִהְי֥וֹתto become
lihyotH1961 →3559 times
ל֛וֹfor him
lo
לְעַ֥ם<into> a people of
leamH5971 →1873 times
נַחֲלָ֖הinheritance
nachalahH5159 →222 times
כַּיּ֥וֹםas the day
kaiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַזֶּֽה׃<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 32:9But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 8:51
For they are Your people and Your inheritance; You brought them out of Egypt, out of the furnace for iron.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 10:16
The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance—the LORD of Hosts is His name.
- 1 Peter 2:9–10
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- Exodus 19:5–6
Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
- 1 Kings 8:53
For You, O Lord GOD, as Your inheritance, have set them apart from all the peoples of the earth, as You spoke through Your servant Moses when You brought our fathers out of Egypt.”
- 1 Kings 8:51
Through
Deuteronomy 9:29But they are Your people, Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your great power and outstretched arm.”
it leads to
- Nehemiah 1:10
They are Your servants and Your people. You redeemed them by Your great power and mighty hand.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 1:10
Through
Jeremiah 11:4which I commanded your forefathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace, saying, ‘Obey Me, and do everything I command you, and you will be My…
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:12
I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people.
- Jeremiah 7:22–23
For when I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt, I did not merely command them about burnt offerings and sacrifices,
- Leviticus 26:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
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About Deuteronomy
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Philo of Alexandria, Special Laws, 1.3.