Deuteronomy 4:17
in Deuteronomy 4of any beast that is on the earth or bird that flies in the air,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flieth in the heavens,
KJV
The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,
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This verse in Deuteronomy 4
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe likeness of any beast, etc. - Such as the Egyptian god Apis, who was worshipped under the form of a white bull; the ibis and hawk, among the fowls, had also Divine honors paid to them; serpents and the crocodile among reptiles; besides monkeys, dogs, cats, the scarabaeus, leeks, and onions! See this explained at large, Exo 20:4 (note).
This site's exposition
So since you saw no form of any kind
on Deuteronomy 4:15-18
The list runs down from "male or female" through beast, bird and crawling creature to fish, retracing the order of Genesis 1. Paul traces the same descent at Romans 1:23, "images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles."
This site's exposition
bird that flies in the air
The list moves from the human form to the animals of land and air, so no living creature is a lawful likeness of God. Adam Clarke names Apis, worshipped in Egypt as a white bull, and the ibis and hawk among birds.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The likeness of any beast that is on the earth,.... As there are scarce any but the likeness of them has been made and worshipped, or the creatures themselves, as the ox by the Egyptians, the sheep by the Thebans, the goat by the Mendesians, and others by different people: the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air; as the hawk, and the bird called Ibis, and another by the name of Cneph by the Egyptians, and the eagle by others.
"Take heed lest you corrupt yourselves, " that is, "lest you debauch yourselves;" for those that think to make images of God form in their minds such notions of him as must needs be an inlet to all impieties; and it is intimated that it is a spiritual adultery.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
This was particularly the case with the Canaanites and Egyptians, against whose superstitious practices the caution, no doubt, was chiefly directed. The former worshipped Baal and Astarte, the latter Osiris and Isis, under the figure of a male and a female.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| תַּבְנִ֕ית | tavnit | a likeness of | H8403 → | 20 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | any | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּהֵמָ֖ה | behemah | animal | H929 → | 190 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בָּאָ֑רֶץ | baaretz | [is] on the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| תַּבְנִית֙ | tavnit | a likeness of | H8403 → | 20 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | any | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| צִפּ֣וֹר | tzipor | bird of | H6833 → | 40 times |
| כָּנָ֔ף | kanaf | wing | H3671 → | 109 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תָּע֖וּף | tauf | it flies | H5774 → | |
| בַּשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ | bashamayim | in the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
תַּבְנִ֕יתa likeness of
tavnitH8403 →20 times
כָּל־any
kol-H3605 →5413 times
בְּהֵמָ֖הanimal
behemahH929 →190 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בָּאָ֑רֶץ[is] on the earth
baaretzH776 →2504 times
תַּבְנִית֙a likeness of
tavnitH8403 →20 times
כָּל־any
kol-H3605 →5413 times
צִפּ֣וֹרbird of
tziporH6833 →40 times
כָּנָ֔ףwing
kanafH3671 →109 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תָּע֖וּףit flies
taufH5774 →
בַּשָּׁמָֽיִם׃in the heavens
bashamayimH8064 →421 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Romans 1:23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
it leads to
- Psalms 106:20
They exchanged their Glory for the image of a grass-eating ox.
- Jeremiah 2:11
Has a nation ever changed its gods, though they are no gods at all? Yet My people have exchanged their Glory for useless idols.
- Acts 17:29
Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.
- 1 Peter 4:3
For you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry.
- Romans 1:25
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.
- Psalms 106:20
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; 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 Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.