Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 4:17
of any beast that is on the earth or bird that flies in the air,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites while enumerating prohibited forms for carved idols, following the ban on images of male or female figures. He concludes this specific list by forbidding representations of terrestrial beasts and aerial birds.
The words — The Hebrew term תַּבְנִית (tav.Nit) appears twice and literally means "a likeness" or "form." It modifies כָּל־ בְּהֵמָה (kol-behemah, "any animal") and כָּל־ צִפּוֹר (kol-tzipor, "any bird") to specify that the prohibition covers created creatures.
The thread — This prohibition against crafting idols from animals appears in the immediate context of Deuteronomy 4:16 and Deuteronomy 4:18. The New Testament echoes this pattern in Romans 1:23, noting how people exchanged divine glory for images of birds and animals.
Why it lands — The text establishes a clear boundary that worship must not be modeled after visible creation. It requires the reader to reject any attempt to reduce the divine to a manufactured representation of the natural world.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,
Cross-references
- Romans 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.