Deuteronomy 4:17 BSB

Deuteronomy 4:17

of any beast that is on the earth or bird that flies in the air,

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

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,

⋯

Commentary

2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

The 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).

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

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.

Voices on this verse

loading…

Original language & word study

12 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
תַּבְנִ֕ית	tav.Nit	a likeness of	H8403 →
כָּל־	kol-	any	H3605 →
בְּהֵמָ֖ה	be.he.Mah	animal	H929 →
אֲשֶׁ֣ר	'a.Sher	which	H834 →
בָּאָ֑רֶץ	ba.'A.retz	[is] on the earth	H776 →
תַּבְנִית֙	tav.Nit	a likeness of	H8403 →
כָּל־	kol-	any	H3605 →
צִפּ֣וֹר	tzi.Por	bird of	H6833 →
כָּנָ֔ף	ka.Naf	wing	H3671 →
אֲשֶׁ֥ר	'a.Sher	which	H834 →
תָּע֖וּף	ta.'Uf	it flies	H5774 →
בַּשָּׁמָֽיִם׃	ba.sha.Ma.yim	in the heavens	H8064 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk5

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Romans 1:23
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
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.

Featured studies on this passage

Walks through Deuteronomy 4

Fire

Open the study →

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the Burning Fiery Furnace — J. M. W. Turner

Walks through Deuteronomy 4

The Furnace & the Refiner's Fire

Open the study →

About Deuteronomy

Moses Comes Down from Mount Sinai — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Deuteronomy: the study guide →Read chapter 4 →The featured study →

Continue: Deuteronomy 4 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Deuteronomy

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Deuteronomy