Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 8:4
Your clothing did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab, speaking to the generation that will enter Canaan after the forty-year wilderness period has concluded. He recounts the past journey to establish the basis for covenant renewal.
The words — The Hebrew text uses בָּלְתָה (bal'tah, "it wore out") and בָּצֵקָה (b'tzeqah, "it swelled") to describe the preservation of the people's garments and feet. These terms emphasize complete physical preservation without decay or injury.
The thread — The preservation of clothing appears in Deuteronomy 29:5 and Nehemiah 9:21 as a recurring marker of divine sustenance. Deuteronomy 29:5 specifically notes that their clothes and sandals did not wear out.
Why it lands — The verse records the literal preservation of the Israelites' garments and feet during the wilderness years. It requires readers to acknowledge this historical reality before drawing conclusions about God's provision or discipline.
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
Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 29:5 For forty years I led you in the wilderness, yet your clothes and sandals did not wear out.
- Nehemiah 9:21 For forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.
- Matthew 26:25 Then Judas, who would betray Him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said it yourself.”