Deuteronomy 4:18

The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
likeness	תַּבְנִ֕ית tav.Nit	H8403	structure · noun, common feminine singular construct
creepeth	רֹמֵ֖שׂ ro.Mes	H7430	properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
ground	בָּאֲדָמָ֑ה ba.'a.da.Mah	H127	soil (from its general redness) · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
likeness	תַּבְנִ֛ית tav.Nit	H8403	structure · noun, common feminine singular construct
fish	דָּגָ֥ה da.Gah	H1710	a fish (often used collectively) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
waters	בַּמַּ֖יִם ba.Ma.yim	H4325	water · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
beneath	מִתַּ֥חַת mi.Ta.chat	H8478	the bottom (as depressed) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
earth	לָאָֽרֶץ la.'A.retz	H776	the earth (at large · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute

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).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 4:1-40

This most lively and excellent discourse is so entire, and the particulars of it are so often repeated, that we must take it altogether in the exposition of it, and endeavour to digest it into proper heads, for we cannot divide it into paragraphs. I. In general, it is the use and application of the foregoing history; it comes in by way of inference from it: Now therefore harken, O Israel, Deu 4:1. This use we should make of the review of God's providences concerning us, we should by them be quickened and engaged to duty and obedience. The histories of the years of ancient times should in like manner be improved by us. II. The scope and drift of his discourse is to persuade them to keep close…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 4:16

Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image--The things are here specified of which God prohibited any image or representation to be made for the purposes of worship; and, from the variety of details entered into, an idea may be formed of the extensive prevalence of idolatry in that age. In whatever way idolatry originated, whether from an intention to worship the true God through those things which seemed to afford the strongest evidences of His power, or whether a divine principle was supposed to reside in the things themselves, there was scarcely an element or object of nature but was deified. This was particularly the case with the Canaanites and Egyptians, against whose supe…

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John Gill on Deuteronomy 4:18

The likeness of anything that creepeth on the ground,.... As serpents by many; and indeed that creature is introduced into almost all the idolatries of the Heathens, which seems to take its rise from the serpent Satan made use of to deceive our first parents: the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth; as the crocodile and hippopotamus, or river horse, by the Egyptians; and Dagon and Derceto, supposed to be figures in the form of a fish, among the Phoenicians.

The Church Fathers

What does it mean what is said next: likeness of some of the fish in the waters below the earth? Was it perhaps intended that water also be understood under the name of earth, because of its tangible matter, and that, according to those words of the Scripture: God made heaven and earth, (Gn 1,1) we should think that they are also comprehended the waters? When the Scripture remembers many times these two parts, it wants the whole universe to be understood, according to those other words: My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth, (Ps. 120,2) and many similar ones. Or was it perhaps said beneath the earth, because the earth, if it were not above the waters, could not be inhabited by men or by the animals of the earth?
— Augustine of Hippo, QUESTIONS ON DEUTERONOMY, Q. 5 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Bezer — Ore of gold or silver. (1.) A city of the Reubenites; one of the three cities of refuge on the east of Jordan (Deut. 4: 43; Josh. 20:8). It has been identified with the modern ruined village of…
Idol — (1.) Heb. aven, “nothingness;” “vanity” (Isa. 66:3; 41:29; Deut. 32:21; 1 Kings 16:13; Ps. 31:6; Jer. 8:19, etc.). (2.) ‘Elil, “a thing of naught” (Ps. 97:7; Isa. 19:3); a word of contempt, used of…
Phylacteries — (Gr. phulakteria; i.e., “defences” or “protections”), called by modern Jews tephillin (i.e., “prayers”) are mentioned only in Matt. 23:5. They consisted of strips of parchment on which were inscribed…
Fishes · No likeness of, to be made for worship — No likeness of, to be made for worship
Idolatry · Warnings against — Warnings against
Obedience · ENJOINED — ENJOINED
Reptiles · No image of similitude of, to be made for worshipping — No image of similitude of, to be made for worshipping

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 4:18

Word by word — the Hebrew

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 4:1-40

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 4:16

John Gill on Deuteronomy 4:18

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Deuteronomy 4:18

Word by word — the Hebrew

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 4:1-40

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 4:16

John Gill on Deuteronomy 4:18

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Deuteronomy 4:12-20

Keil & Delitzsch on Deuteronomy 4:17-18

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Deuteronomy 4:16

Rashi on Deuteronomy 4:16