Exodus 34:14
in Exodus 34For you must not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
(for thou shalt worship no other god: for Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God);
KJV
For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
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This verse in Exodus 34
Commentary
6 notes on this verseTHE PASSION OF JEALOUSY IN MAN is usually exercised in an evil manner, but it is not in itself necessarily sinful. A man may be zealously cautious of his honor, and suspiciously vigilant over another, without deserving blame. All thoughtful persons will agree that there is such a thing as virtuous jealousy.
This site's exposition
For thou shalt worship no other god
Exodus 20:5 had God calling himself jealous, and here the word is given as a name, whose name is Jealous. The picture behind it is marriage rather than envy, which is why the next two verses speak of going a whoring and of taking their daughters for sons. Hosea and Jeremiah build long stretches of prophecy on the same figure.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Jealousy is called the rage of a man ( Prov. vi. 34 ), but it is God's holy and just displeasure. Those cannot worship God aright who do not worship him alone.
For thou shall worship no other god,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Moses bowed . . . and worshipped--In the East, people bow the head to royalty, and are silent when it passes by, while in the West, they take off their hats and shout.
THE PASSION OF JEALOUSY IN MAN is usually exercised in an evil manner, but it is not in itself necessarily sinful. A man may be zealously cautious of his honor, and suspiciously vigilant over another, without deserving blame. All thoughtful persons will agree that there is such a thing as virtuous jealousy. Self-love is, no doubt, the usual foundation of human jealousy, and it may be that Shenstone is right in his definition of it as “the apprehension of superiority,” the fear lest another should by any means supplant us; yet the word “jealous” is so near akin to that noble word “zealous,” that I am persuaded it must have something good in it. Certainly we learn from Scripture that there is such a thing as a godly jealousy. We find the Apostle Paul declaring to the Corinthian Church, “I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy, for I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” He had an earnest, cautious, anxious concern for their holiness, that the Lord Jesus might be honored in their lives. Let it be remembered then, that jealousy, like anger, is not evil in itself, or it could never be ascribed to God; his jealousy is ever a pure and holy flame. The passion of jealousy possesses an intense force, it fires the whole nature, its coals are juniper, which have a most vehement flame; it resides in the lowest depths of the heart, and takes so firm a hold that it remains most deeply rooted until the exciting cause is removed; it wells up from the inmost recesses of the nature, and like a torrent irresistibly sweeps all before it; it stops at nothing, for it is cruel as the grave (Cant.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
[A JEALOUS GOD.] Scripture mentions a jealous God here as it does in the Decalogue.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֛י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֖ה | tishtachaveh | you must bow down | H7812 → | 172 times |
| לְאֵ֣ל | leel | to a god | H410 → | 241 times |
| אַחֵ֑ר | ʾacher | another | H312 → | 166 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| קַנָּ֣א | kana' | [is] jealous | H7067 → | 6 times |
| שְׁמ֔וֹ | shemo | name his | H8034 → | 864 times |
| אֵ֥ל | ʾel | [is] a God | H410 → | 241 times |
| קַנָּ֖א | kana' | jealous | H7067 → | 6 times |
| הֽוּא׃ | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
כִּ֛יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֖הyou must bow down
tishtachavehH7812 →172 times
לְאֵ֣לto a god
leelH410 →241 times
אַחֵ֑רanother
ʾacherH312 →166 times
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
קַנָּ֣א[is] jealous
kana'H7067 →6 times
שְׁמ֔וֹname his
shemoH8034 →864 times
אֵ֥ל[is] a God
ʾelH410 →241 times
קַנָּ֖אjealous
kana'H7067 →6 times
הֽוּא׃he
hu'H1931 →1879 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
Matthew 4:10“Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 6:13–14
Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name.
- Deuteronomy 10:20
You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.
- Joshua 24:14
Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; cast aside the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
- Luke 4:8
But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
- 1 Samuel 7:3
Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and Ashtoreths among you, prepare your hearts…
- Deuteronomy 6:13–14
Through
Deuteronomy 32:21They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will…
it leads to
- Romans 10:19
I ask instead, did Israel not understand? First, Moses says: “I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation without understanding.”
- Romans 9:25
As He says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘My People’ who are not My people, and I will call her ‘My Beloved’ who is not My beloved,”
- Romans 11:11–14
I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.
- Romans 10:19
Where this verse is studied
About Exodus
This page draws on Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 502: “A Jealous God” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.