Deuteronomy 7:25

25. The graven images … burn with fire] Deu_7:5. Curiously in the Pl., as there is an otherwise Sg. context (the text is confirmed by Sam. and LXX). Steuern marks the verse as secondary, but unnecessarily; the isolated Pl. may be due to a scribe whose eye or ear was impressed with Deu_7:5 (so, too, Bertholet). Burn, the body of the image therefore was of wood, but plated or ornamented with metal (yet cp. Exo_32:20). Hence further—

thou shalt not covet the silver or the gold that is on them] Cp. Jos_7:1; Jos_7:21, Achan’s trespass in the devoted thing. The former of these is editorial; the latter, with Achan’s confession that he had coveted 200 shekels of silver and a wedge of gold, belongs to JE.

snared] See on Deu_7:16.

an abomination] The Heb. tô‘ebah is that which is ritually unlawful, and therefore unclean and abhorrent, in respect to some religious system. Thus it is used of Israel’s own sacrifices as unlawful in Egypt, which the Egyptians would stone Israel for performing there, Exo_8:26, J (see note on that verse). Similarly it is frequently used in D) (either alone or followed by Jehovah) of the rites and religious practices of heathen nations as unlawful and unclean for Israel, Deu_12:31, Deu_13:14 (the effort to seduce to those rites), Deu_17:4, Deu_18:9, Deu_20:18; and by metonymy of the things used in those rites, Deu_7:25-26, Deu_27:15 (images, cp. Deu_32:16 parallel to strange gods); of a blemished sacrifice, Deu_17:1, and unclean food, Deu_14:3; and also of persons participating in such rites, Deu_18:12, Deu_23:18, or following other unlawful courses, Deu_22:5 (wearing the garments of the other sex), Deu_25:16 (using unjust weights); and finally, Deu_24:4, of re-marriage with one’s divorced wife after she has been married to another. All these 16 instances occur in Sg. passages with two exceptions, Deu_20:18, a Pl. clause in a Sg. context, and Deu_32:16 a line in the Song (the verb, to abhor, Deu_7:26, Deu_23:7). No such use of the noun with reference to Israel occurs in JE, but-in Leviticus 17-26, the Holiness-Code, it is used several times of the sin of unchastity. In Proverbs Jehovah’s abomination has an ethical force.

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.

Deu 7:25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold [that is] on them, nor take [it] unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it [is] an abomination to the LORD thy God.

Ver. 25. Lest thou be snared.] Lest it prove as the gold of Toulouse, {a} baneful to all that fingered it; or the sepulchre of Semiramis, which they that rifled, expecting to find treasure, met with a deadly poison.

{a} Aurum Tolosanum.

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_7:25

Thou shalt not desire the silver or gold.

Things not to be desired

Showing, as he always shows, a most penetrating mind, Moses points to a very subtle temptation which would arise in connection with the progress of Israel. The graven images of the heathen nations were to be burned with fire. Moses says in the twenty-fifth verse: Thou shalt not desire . . . lest thou be ensnared therein. How subtle is the temptation in that direction! Shall we cast in the hideous gods and the valuable gold, and consume them both in the unsparing fire? How much better first to strip the god of his golden coat and then burn the wood or clay or grind the stone to powder! Moses, foreseeing this temptation, and by the very inspiration of God, knowing the mysteries of human nature, said: Touch not; taste not; handle not. In such abstention is the only possible safety of the Church. The temptation operates today. Men will sustain a questionable mode of earning a livelihood on the pretence that they can gather from the forbidden trade gold and silver which they can melt down and mint with the image and superscription of God; they can allow the devastating traffic to proceed, reeking like the pit of hell, destroying countless thousands of lives, and yet justify the continuance of the iniquity by taking off the gold and the silver and throwing part of it into the coffers of the Church. Missions so sustained are dishonoured. The gold torn from any evil way of getting a livelihood and given to the Church is an abomination to the Lord thy God. He does not want even good gold stolen for His purposes, or gold won by unholy means thrown into His exchequer. Let us give honest money. Let us eat bread unleavened by wrong-doing; there may be little of it, but Christ will break it with His own hands, and it shall be more than our hunger needs. Marvellous, too, is the prevision of Moses when he lays down the only law or principle by which all these abstentions and all these actions can be sustained. Do not let us ascribe these regulations to the prevision of Moses unless we understand by that term the inspiration of God. What is the principle which guarantees safety and protects the soul from the unclean things of heathen nations? That principle is laid down in the twenty-sixth verse. Speaking of heathen abomination Moses says: Thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it. There is no middle feeling; there is no intermediate way of dealing with bad things. If thy right, hand offend thee, cut it off; if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Thus the Testaments are one: the moral tone is the same; the stern law never yields to time--its phrase changes, its words may come and go, its forms may take upon them the colour of the transient times, but the inner spirit of righteousness is the Spirit of God, without beginning, without measure, without end. (J. Parker, D. D.)

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

Deu 7:25. The silver or the gold — Wherewith the idols were covered or adorned, nor consequently any other of their ornaments. This God commanded, to show his utter detestation of idolatry, and to cut off all occasions of it.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7:25-26 Worship of false gods is detestable to the Lord: It denies that God is unique and rejects his demand for exclusive worship (5:7-9). The horrific and disgusting rituals typically associated with pagan worship were antithetical to God’s holy nature, but Israel was in danger of being led into similar beliefs and practices (12:31; 13:12-17). An Israelite who acknowledged false gods committed an act of treason. The only remedy was complete and total destruction of these detestable objects.

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

And be enticed to idolatry.

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

Verse 25. Thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them] Some of the ancient idols were plated over with gold, and God saw that the value of the metal and the excellence of the workmanship might be an inducement for the Israelites to preserve them; and this might lead, remotely at least, to idolatry. As the idols were accursed, all those who had them, or any thing appertaining to them, were accursed also, De 7:26.

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

(25, 26) These words are a special warning against the sin which Achan committed (Jos_7:21): “I coveted them, and took them.” They also describe the consequences which he experienced, together with his whole household, being made chêrem. devoted or accursed by the spoil which he took from Jericho. (See on Joshua 7)

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

Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thy house,.... An idol, so the Targum of Jonathan, the abominations of idols and their utensils, or what is ministered to them, with anything that appertains to them, or is used in the service of them, as well as the gold and silver upon them; this care was taken as much as possible to prevent idolatry, and all appearance of it, and to show what might lead on and be a temptation to it:

lest thou be a cursed thing like it; as an idol is, and so is everyone that worships it; for what more exposes to the curse of God than idolatry, a breach of the first table of the law? and therefore subjects a man to the curse of it; nay, the bringing of an idol into a man's house brings a curse into it, and makes him liable thereunto; for if the curse enters into the house of the thief or perjurer, much more into the house of a man guilty of idolatry in any degree of it; see Zac 5:3 but thou shalt utterly detest it; the Targum of Jonathan adds, as the pollution of an abominable thing:

and thou shalt utterly abhor it, for it is a cursed thing; devoted to destruction; and to have anything to do with it is the way to entail a curse, and bring to everlasting ruin and destruction; see Rev 21:8.

Next: Deuteronomy Chapter 8

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

The silver or gold that is on them - The silver and gold with which the statues of the gods were overlaid. Paul is probably alluding to this command in Rom 2:22; and his accusation of the Jew thus shows that the prohibition of the text was very necessary.

Lest thou be snared - As by the rich ephod made by Gideon: compare the marginal reference.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

CHAPTER VII.

Graven things. Idols, so called by contempt. (Challoner) --- Made. Hebrew, "gold (plates) on them," to cover the wood, &c. See ver. 5.

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).

That is on them, wherewith the idols are covered or adorned, nor consequently any other of their ornaments. This he commands to show his utter detestation of idolatry, and to cut off all occasions of it.

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

25. Lest thou be snared — The Israelites were to utterly destroy the idols of the conquered nations, to obliterate all trace of heathen worship. In the subsequent history we see how easily the people were snared — how readily they went after other gods. See Jdg_8:27 : “And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.”

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

Vers. 25, 26. The idols of the Canaanites they were utterly to destroy by fire, not saving even the silver or gold with which the images were overlaid, lest, if that were coveted and retained, it might bring them under the ban which fell on all things connected with idolatry; as happened in the case of Achan. (Jos 7)

Vers. 25, 26. The cursed thing.

The Israelites were not to desire the silver and gold on the graven images. They were not to take it. They were not to bring it into God"s house. They were to detest and abhor it, to count it an abomination, a cursed thing, and to beware lest, by lusting after it, they became accursed like unto it. We are taught a lesson

I OF DISINTERESTEDNESS IN GOD"S SERVICE. No motive of gain was to be allowed to mingle with their work. Their service was to be disinterested. Under the cloak of religious zeal there was to be no gratification of covetousness.

II OF AVOIDING OCCASIONS OF SIN. The gold and silver of the idols tended to ensnare. There would be a temptation to a superstitious and idolatrous use of it. (Jud_1:8:27)

III OF REFUSING GAIN DERIVED FROM IMMORAL SOURCES. The Church is not profited by an influx of the money of the worldling. Still less are the gains of sin to be coveted by her: money derived from gambling, immoral speculation, bubble companies, gin-palaces, sale of irreligious and immoral books, etc.

IV OF HEARTY DETESTATION OF EVIL. The gildings of vice have an attraction for many who dislike the thing itself. But vice is to be abhorred in its gilded forms, as in every other. "Looking begets liking. J.O.

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

The silver or gold - Wherewith the idols are covered or adorned, nor consequently any other of their ornaments. This he commands to shew his utter detestation of idolatry, and to cut off all occasions of it.

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

General Information:

Moses continues to tell the people of Israel Yahweh's words. In verse 25 he speaks to the group as a group, so the forms of "you" are plural, but in verse 26 he speaks as if the Israelites are one person, so the forms are singular. (See: Forms of You)

You will burn

This is a command.

their gods

"the gods of the other nations"

do not covet ... trapped by it

These words add to the instruction to burn the idols.

you will become trapped by it

Even taking the gold or silver on the idols could cause the people to start worshiping them. By doing this they would become like an animal caught by a trap. This can be stated in active form. AT: "it will become a trap to you" (See: Metaphor and Active or Passive)

for it is an abomination to Yahweh your God

These words tell why Yahweh wants the people to burn the idols. "do this because Yahweh your God hates it very much"

You will utterly detest and abhor

The words "detest" and "abhor" mean basically the same thing and emphasize the intensity of hatred. AT: "You will completely hate" (See: Doublet)

for it is set apart for destruction

Yahweh cursing something and promising to destroy it is spoken of as if Yahweh were setting the object apart from everything else. This can be stated in active form. AT: "for Yahweh has set it apart for destruction" (See: Metaphor and Active or Passive)

translationWords

image

false god

envy

silver

gold

Yahweh

God

worship

set apart

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

THOU SHALT NOT COVET THE SILVER OR THE GOLD ON THEM. The verse omits the word asher (which), [and the meaning is]: thou shalt not covet the silver or the gold which is on them, these being the ornaments of the idols. Thus he first commanded to burn the idol itself, this [being expressed in the statement] The graven images of their gods shall ye burn, and then he also prohibited the ornaments that are upon them. He further warned, And thou shalt not bring an abomination into thy house, lest thou be a doomed thing like it in order to prohibit benefit derived from any aspect of idol-worship — the idol itself, its appurtenances, its offerings, and its ornaments.

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.

Lest you be ensnared by it. Sometimes it will happen that you will be successful with that silver and gold which you took from the idol, and you will think that the success can be attributed to the idol from which it came.

Sforno on the Tanakh — English translation: “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.