Deuteronomy 32:17

Deu 32:17 They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new [gods that] came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.

Ver. 17. They sacrificed unto devils.] {See Trapp on "Lev 17:7"}

To new gods that came newly up.] Such as are all Popish he-saints and she-saints; concerning whom Bellarmine himself cannot but yield, that Cum scriberentur Scripturae, nondum coeperat usus vovendi Sanctis. {a} There was no vowing, or bowing either, to saints departed, when the Scriptures were written. And a loaf of the like leaven are those new lights, and all subtleties, whereby our sectaries would distinguish themselves from Brownists. Are they not all, or most of them, borrowed out of Mr H. Jacob’s books, who was but of yesterday? The Antinomians usually call upon their hearers to mark; it may be they shall hear some new truth that they never heard before; when the thing is either false, or, if true, no more than ordinarily is taught by others.

{a} Bellarm. de cultu sanct., cap. 5.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Deu_32:17

They sacrificed unto devils.

Devil worship

I. The devil of sensuality. This includes intemperance, debauchery, and the gratification of all the lower animal appetites. Do not men everywhere sacrifice intellect, genius, time, money, health, and even life itself at its infernal shrine?

II. The devil of avarice. Greed of gain, desire for wealth, is the inspiration of millions in this mercenary age. Truth, honesty, conscience, self-respect, moral freedom, peace, and honour are all sacrificed to this grim deity.

III. The devil of vanity. Love of show, desire for popular applause. Fortunes are sacrificed to this devil.

IV. The devil of sectarianism. A greater devil than this can scarcely be found. To it men sacrifice truth, charity, moral nobleness. (Homilist.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32:17 demons: In the ancient Near East, the gods were thought to protect individuals and places from harm, but worshiping these pagan deities actually amounted to worshiping evil spirits (cp. 1 Cor 10:20-21; Rev 9:20). • New gods were false deities that Israel had never before encountered.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Scripture calleth new, whatsoever man inventeth, be the error never so old.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

They sacrificed unto devils--(See on Lev 17:7).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 17. They sacrificed unto devils] The original word שדים shedim has been variously understood. The Syriac, Chaldee, Targums of Jerusalem and Jonathan, and the Samaritan, retain the original word: the Vulgate, Septuagint, Arabic, Persic, Coptic, and Anglo-Saxon, have devils or demons. The Septuagint has εθυσαν δαιμονιοις, they sacrificed to demons: the Vulgate copies the Septuagint: the Arabic has [Arabic] sheeateen, the plural of [Arabic] Sheetan, Satan, by which the rebellious angels appear to be intended, as the word comes from the root [Arabic] shatana, he was obstinate, proud, refractory, went far away. And it is likely that these fallen spirits, having utterly lost the empire at which they aimed, got themselves worshipped under various forms and names in different places. The Anglo-Saxon has [Anglo-Saxon], devils.

New gods that came newly up] מקרב באו mikkarob bau, "which came up from their neighbours;" viz., the Moabites and Amorites, whose gods they received and worshipped on their way through the wilderness, and often afterwards.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(17) They sacrificed unto devils, not to God.—St. Paul repeats this expression in 1Co_11:20.

Gods that came newly up.—Literally, that came from close at hand. Compare the description of the idol in Isa_44:15, easily made from the firewood; and see also Wis_13:13, “A carpenter taking a crooked piece of wood, and full of knots, hath carved it diligently, when he had nothing else to do”—a comment on the passage in Isaiah 44

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

17. demons] Heb. shedîm, only here and in Psa_106:37, ‘certainly a Babylonian loan-word,’ shedu, a good demon figured in the bull-colossi that guarded the entrances to temples (Zimmern, KAT3[152], 455 f., 460–2, 649); but according to Psa_106:37 human sacrifices were offered them, which of course does not preclude the idea that they were protective spirits.

[152] Die Keilinschriften und das AIte Testament, 3rd edition (1903), by H. Zimmern and H. Winckler.

no God] Heb. ’Eloah as in Deu_32:15.

whom they had not known] Deu_11:28, Deu_13:2; Deu_13:6; Deu_13:13, Deu_28:64.

new ones lately come in] Or arrived.

dreaded] Lit. bristled or shuddered at, Heb. sacar, as in Jer_2:12, Eze_27:35; Eze_32:10. Some, however, translate knew, on the strength of the Ar. sacara.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Of the rock that begat thee thou art unmindful,.... The same with the rock of salvation, Deu 32:15; repeated and expressed in different words, that their wretched ingratitude might be taken notice of and observed: begetting is ascribed to this rock, as regeneration is to Christ, Jo1 2:29; and was true of some among the Jews: some choose to render the words, "the rock of thy kindred" (k); being a near kinsman, a brother through his incarnation, which aggravated their unmindfulness of him:

and hast forgotten God that formed thee: for the rock they were unmindful of and forgot is the true God and eternal life, the essential Word of God, as both the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem interpret it; him the Jewish nation forgot; they forgot the characters given of him in the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament; and therefore they knew him not when he came and fulfilled the voices of the prophets they were ignorant of in condemning him: hence they were unmindful of his person, his offices, his works, his benefits, and the great salvation by him; as indeed too many are that call themselves Christians: some observe that the word here used signifies bringing forth children with pain, and so way respect the bitter sorrows and sufferings of Christ, sometimes expressed by a word (l) which signifies the pains of women in childbirth, Act 2:24; and called the travail of his soul, Isa 53:11; and so a further aggravation of their ingratitude, that they should forget him that suffered so much, at least on account of some of them; for, those he endured to bring forth children unto God, or to gather together the children of God, scattered abroad both in Judea and in the whole world, Joh 11:51.

(k) "rupem cognationis tuae", i.e. "fratrum tuorum", Van Till; see Rom. ix. 4, 5. (l) "parturientis te", Montanus; "parturitorem tuum", Van Till.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Devils. Hebrew, "to the destroyers, or to those of the fields." See Leviticus xvii. 7., and Baruch iv. 7, 35. (Calmet) --- Knew not. Septuagint, "revered not." (Haydock) --- Hebrew may be, "who knew them not," who had bestowed nothing upon them, chap. xxix. 26. --- Come up. Hebrew, "of the neighbourhood;" gods whose origin they knew, (Calmet) as well as the people who had given them that title; (Haydock) gods of human invention. (Menochius) --- Novelty allureth to the worship of idols and to heresy. (Worthington)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Unto devils, i.e. unto idols, which the devils brought into the world in opposition to God, in and by which the devils ofttimes manifested themselves unto men, and gave them answers, and received their worship. Compare 1Co 10:20. The Gentiles pretended to worship God in those idols, and the devils which inspired them deluded the nations with false pretences that they were a sort of lower gods. Moses therefore takes off this mask, and shows the Israelites that these pretended gods were really devils, those great enemies of mankind, and therefore that it was the height of madness to honour or worship them.

Not to God: this he saith, either because though at first they joined God and idols together in worship, yet at last they quite forsook God, and adhered to idols only; or because God utterly rejected those sacrifices which they offered to him together with idols, and took them for no sacrifices. See 1Co 10:21.

Whom they knew not, or, who never knew them, i.e. never showed any kindness to them, or did them any good; for so words of knowledge are oft used, as Psa 1:6; Hos 13:5.

That came newly up; not simply or absolutely, for some of these gods had been worshipped for many generations, and had a fair pretence of long antiquity, but comparatively to the true God, who is the Ancient of days, Dan 7:9, and who was worshipped from the beginning of the world. To this original and first antiquity Moses recalls them; as also our Saviour doth recall the Jews to the first institution, Mat 19:8. And therefore we may safely follow both their patterns in despising all pretences of antiquity, which are contrary to God’s first institutions contained (as all confess) in the Holy Scriptures.

Whom your fathers feared not, i.e. served not, worshipped not, but justly despised and abhorred them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

17. They sacrificed unto devils, not to God — The word rendered devils is destroyers; Sept. δαιμονια: wicked spirits, demons. The people of God will leave his service, and worship at the shrines of the gods of the heathen.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Devils; shedim, a word which occurs only here and in Psa_106:37. It stands connected with the verb dWv, to rule, and means primarily "lords." The LXX render by daimo demons. In Assyrian it is said to be a name for demigods. Not to God; rather, to a not God, a composite term in apposition to shedim; the meaning is rightly given in the margin of the Authorized Version, "which were not God." To new gods that came newly up. The word rendered by "newly" (bwOrq) properly means "near;" it is an adjective both of place and of time; here it is the latter, equal to of a near time, recently gods recently invented or discovered.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Unto devils - Unto idols, which the devils brought into the world in opposition to God, in and by which the devils often manifested themselves to men, and gave them answers, and received their worship. The Gentiles pretended to worship God in those idols, and the devils which inspired them, deluded the nations with pretenses that they were a sort of lower gods. Moses takes off this mark, and shews the Israelites that these pretended gods were really devils, and therefore that it was the height of madness to honour or worship them. Not to God - For God utterly rejected those sacrifices which they offered to him together with idols. They knew not - Or, who never knew them, that is, never shewed any kindness to them, or did them any good: New gods - Not simply or absolutely, for some of these had been worshipped for many generations, but comparatively to the true God, who is the ancient of days, chap. vii, 9, and who was worshipped from the beginning of the world. Feared not - Served not, worshipped not.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

General Information:

Moses continues to speak his song to the Israelites. (See: Forms of You)

They sacrificed

"The people of Israel sacrificed"

gods that recently appeared

This means the Israelites recently learned about these gods.

your fathers

Moses is speaking to the Israelites as many people, so the word "your" is plural. (See: Forms of You)

You have deserted ... your father ... you forgot ... gave you

Moses is speaking to the Israelites as if they were one man, so all instances of "you" and "your" are singular. (See: Forms of You)

You have deserted the Rock

Here Yahweh is called the rock because he is strong and protective. AT: "You have left the protective care of Yahweh" (See: Metaphor)

the Rock

This a proper name that Moses gives to Yahweh, who, like a rock, is strong and able to protect his people. See how you translated this in Deuteronomy 32:4. (See: Metaphor)

who became your father ... who gave you birth

This compares Yahweh to a father and a mother. This means God caused them to live and to be a nation. AT: "who fathered you ... who gave life to you" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

sacrifice

demon

God

false god

know

ancestor

fear

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

לא אלה — Understand this as the Targum does: They sacrifice unto devils in which is no utility, for if there were at least any utility in them to the world (as e.g:, the sun, moon and stars) God’s jealousy would not have been so intense (lit. — doubled) as it is now. (Sifrei Devarim 318:13).

חדשים מקרב באו [THEY SACRIFICED … TO GODS] THAT CAME UP RECENTLY — i.e. with which even the heathen nations were not familiar. Indeed, if a heathen saw them he would say, “This is a Jewish idol” (Sifrei Devarim 318:14).

לא שערום אבתיכם — This means, which your fathers feared not; more literally it means: Their hair (שער) did not stand up on end because of them — for it is the nature of a person’s hair to stand up out of fear. Thus is it (the word שערום) explained in Sifrei Devarim 318:15. But it is also possible to explain it as being connected with the noun in (Isaiah 13:21) “And שעירים shall dance there”; שעירים are demons (satyrs), and the meaning of our verse would then be: your fathers never made these satyrs.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

THEY SACRIFICED UNTO THE DEMONS, NO-GODS. I have [already] explained this.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.