Deuteronomy 16:21

Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
plant	תִטַּ֥ע ti.Ta'	H5193	properly · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
grove	אֲשֵׁרָ֖ה 'a.she.Rah	H842	Asherah (or Astarte) a Phoenician goddess · noun, feminine singular absolute
trees	עֵ֑ץ 'Etz	H6086	a tree (from its firmness) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
unto	אֵ֗צֶל 'E.tzel	H681	a side · noun, common both genders singular construct
altar	מִזְבַּ֛ח miz.Bach	H4196	an altar · noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD	יְהוָ֥ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
God	אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ 'e.lo.Hei.kha	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
make	תַּעֲשֶׂה ta.'a.seh-	H6213	to do or make · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

2 Chronicles 33:3 For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worsh…
2 Kings 17:16 And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all…
Exodus 34:13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:
2 Kings 21:3 For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ah…
Judges 3:7 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.
1 Kings 14:15 For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their…
1 Kings 16:33 And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.
Deuteronomy 7:5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their grav…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 16:18–end

Here is, I. Care taken for the due administration of justice among them, that controversies might be determined, matters in variance adjusted, the injured redressed, and the injurious punished. While they were encamped in the wilderness, they had judges and officers according to their numbers, rulers of thousands and hundreds, Exo 18:25. When they came to Canaan, they must have them according to their towns and cities, in all their gates; for the courts of judgment sat in the gates. Now, 1. Here is a commission given to these inferior magistrates: "Judges to try and pass sentence, and officers to execute their sentences, shalt thou make thee." However the persons were pitched upon, whether b…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 16:21

Thou shalt not plant thee a grove--A grove has in Scripture a variety of significations--a group of overshadowing trees, or a grove adorned with altars dedicated to a particular deity, or a wooden image in a grove (Jdg 6:25; Kg2 23:4-6). They might be placed near the earthen and temporary altars erected in the wilderness, but they could not exist either at the tabernacle or temples. They were places, which, with their usual accompaniments, presented strong allurements to idolatry; and therefore the Israelites were prohibited from planting them.

John Gill on Deuteronomy 16:21

Thou shall not plant thee a grove of any trees,.... Of any sort of trees, as oaks or any other; not but that it was lawful to plant trees and groves of them, but not for a religious or idolatrous use: particularly near unto the altar of the Lord thy God, which thou shalt make thee; as the Heathens did near their altars, lest it should be thought to be done for a like superstitious and idolatrous use; which evil the Jews sometimes fell into in the times of wicked reigns, and which their good and pious kings removed and destroyed; see 2 Kings 18:4 and Hecataeus (b), an Heathen historian, relates of the city of Jerusalem, that there were there no image, nor plantation, nor grove, nor any such…

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Dictionary and topics

High place — An eminence, natural or artificial, where worship by sacrifice or offerings was made (1 Kings 13:32; 2 Kings 17:29). The first altar after the Flood was built on a mountain (Gen. 8:20). Abraham also…
Altars · The Jews not to plant groves near — The Jews not to plant groves near
Groves · Forbid — Forbid
Trees · The Jews: Prohibited from planting in consecrated places — The Jews: Prohibited from planting in consecrated places

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Deuteronomy 16:21

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 16:18–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 16:21

John Gill on Deuteronomy 16:21

Dictionary and topics

Deuteronomy 16:21

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 16:18–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 16:21

John Gill on Deuteronomy 16:21

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Deuteronomy 16:21

Keil & Delitzsch on Deuteronomy 16:21

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Deuteronomy 16:21-22

Rashi on Deuteronomy 16:21