Exodus 22:20
in Exodus 22If anyone sacrifices to any god other than the LORD alone, he must be set apart for destruction.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto Jehovah only, shall be utterly destroyed.
KJV
He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.
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This verse in Exodus 22
Commentary
7 notes on this verseSome people give no thought to the question of demons, that is to say, to the fact that these demons, in order to be able to exist in the heavy atmosphere that encircles the earth, must have the nourishment of exhalations and consequently are always on the lookout for the savor of burnt sacrifices, blood and incense. Since they attach no importance to the matter of sacrifice, we would express ourselves also on this subject.
This site's exposition
Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live
on Exodus 22:18-20
Three death sentences interrupt a long run of property law, against sorcery, against lying with a beast, and against sacrificing to any god but the LORD. Deuteronomy 18:9-12 names the practices behind the first and says the nations of Canaan did them, and Israel had watched Egypt's own sorcerers fail in chapters 7 to 9. The word behind utterly destroyed in verse 20 is cherem, which Adam Clarke takes as a thing devoted to destruction with no possibility of redemption. The chapter has been pricing oxen and here the price is a life.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
In the law of the true God it is written, "He that sacrifices to gods shall be put to death, save only to the Lord." The dreadful sanction of this command makes it clear that God wanted no sacrifices offered to such gods, good or bad.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He that sacrificeth unto any god,....
God having declared himself jealous in this matter, the civil powers must be jealous in it too, and utterly destroy those persons, families, and places of Israel, that worshipped any god, save the Lord: this law might have prevented the woeful apostasies of the Jewish nation in after times, if those that should have executed it had not been ringleaders in the breach of it.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Utterly destroyed - The word חרם cherem denotes a thing utterly and finally separated from God and devoted to destruction, without the possibility of redemption.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
This was probably an old formula, the sense of which, on its ethical side, is comprised in the first and second commandments. Shall be utterly destroyed - The Hebrew word here used is חרם châram (i. e. devoted). See Lev 27:28.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זֹבֵ֥חַ | zoveach | [one who] sacrifices | H2076 → | 134 times |
| לָאֱלֹהִ֖ים | laelohim | to the gods | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יָֽחֳרָ֑ם | yochoram | he will be dedicated to destruction | H2763 → | |
| בִּלְתִּ֥י | bilti | except | H1115 → | 112 times |
| לַיהוָ֖ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לְבַדּֽוֹ׃ | levado | to only him | H905 → | 200 times |
זֹבֵ֥חַ[one who] sacrifices
zoveachH2076 →134 times
לָאֱלֹהִ֖יםto the gods
laelohimH430 →2601 times
יָֽחֳרָ֑םhe will be dedicated to destruction
yochoramH2763 →
בִּלְתִּ֥יexcept
biltiH1115 →112 times
לַיהוָ֖הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
לְבַדּֽוֹ׃to only him
levadoH905 →200 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
Deuteronomy 18:20But if any prophet dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or to speak in the name of other gods, that prophet must be put…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 27:15
For I have not sent them, declares the LORD, and yet they are prophesying falsely in My name; therefore I will banish you, and you will perish—you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”
- Deuteronomy 13:1–5
If a prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you,
- Ezekiel 13:6
They see false visions and speak lying divinations. They claim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ when the LORD did not send them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message.
- Jeremiah 28:15–17
Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD did not send you, but you have persuaded this people to trust in a lie.
- Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
- Jeremiah 27:15
Where this verse is studied
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, City of God 19.21; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM 45.