Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 10:14
Every man is brutish in [his] knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image [is] falsehood, and [there is] no breath in them.
14. is become brutish and is without knowledge ] or, as mg. is too brutish to know. MT. is open to either rendering, that of R.V. text being preferable.
is put to shame ] by the contrast between Jehovah’s power over the forces of nature and the impotency of the idol.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
In his knowledge – Rather, without knowledge; i. e., on comparing his powerless idols with the terrific grandeur of a tropical thunderstorm the man who can still worship them instead of the Creator is destitute of knowledge.
Every founder … – Or, every goldsmith is put to shame etc. He has exhausted his skill on what remains an image.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 14. Every man is brutish] nibar, is a boor, acts as a brute, who may suppose that a stock of a tree, formed like a man, may be an intellectual being; and therefore shuns the form as though it had life. See Isa 44:10-11. Of which verses, by the way, Dr. Blayney gives the following version to correct that of Bishop Lowth: –
Isa 44:10. Who hath formed a god?
Or set up a graven image that profiteth not?
Isa 44:11. Behold, all that are connected with it shall be
ashamed,
And the artificers, they above all men!
They shall assemble all of them; they shall stand
forth;
They shall fear; they shall be ashamed at the same
time.
“That is, while they stand before the image they have set up, and worship it with a religious dread, the glaring absurdity of their conduct shall lead to their shame and disgrace.”
With due deference to this learned man, I think this interpretation too refined.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Every man is brutish in his knowledge: some limit it to the makers of these idols, that can employ their arts and wits to no better purpose than to frame such stocks into gods; this suits the next expression. Men are bewitched and besotted by these things, so as to see no more into their folly than if they were brutes; and the reason that it hath taken such root may be, because of mens so much admiring the art of carving and painting, or rather through their ignorance: q.d. It is for want of knowledge and understanding that men are thus brutish, Isa 44:18.
Every founder is confounded by the graven image; either it shall turn to his reproach; or rather, he shall see his folly, and shall be ashamed of it when he shall discover it, that ever he should make such a thing, and trust in it, and expose it to be adored by others.
His molten image is falsehood; it is not that which it pretends to be, but a deceitful thing, a lie; they turn the truth of God into a lie, Rom 1:25.
There is no breath in them; they have nothing of life in them; nay, that very vegetative life that once was in their stocks is now lost; much less are they spirits sent down from heaven.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14. in his knowledge“isrendered brutish by his skill,” namely, in idol-making(Jer 10:8; Jer 10:9).Thus the parallel, “confounded by the graven image,”corresponds (so Jer 51:17).Others not so well translate, “without knowledge,”namely, of God (see Isa 42:17;Isa 45:16; Hos 4:6).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Every man is brutish in his knowledge,…. Or science of making an idol, whether it be of wood, or of gold, or silver, or brass; he is no better than a brute, if he thinks, when he has made it, he has made a god: or, “because of knowledge” w; for want of it; being without the knowledge of God and divine things, he is like the beasts that perish, Ps 49:20:
every founder is confounded by the graven image; or put to shame on account of it; since, after all his art, and care, and trouble, in melting and refining, and casting it into a form, it is no more than a piece of gold, or silver, or brass, and has no deity, nor anything like it, in it:
for his molten image is falsehood; it is a lie, when it is said to be a god; and it deceives those who worship it, and place any confidence in it. Kimchi renders it, “his covering” x. The covering of the idol with gold and silver, with blue and purple, as in Jer 10:4, is all a piece of deceit, to impose upon the people, and lead them into idolatry:
and there is no breath in them; they are mere stocks and stones, lifeless and inanimate creatures; they have neither life themselves, nor can they give it to others.
w “propter scientiam”, Pagninus, Montanus; “a scientia”, Calvin, Grotius, Schmidt. x “tectio, [sive] obductio ejus”, Vatablus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Some too refinedly explain the beginning of this verse — that their own subtlety or wisdom, which they arrogate, infatuates men, according to what Paul says, that men become vain in their minds, when they form an idea of God according to their own imagination. (Rom 1:21.) But the Prophet speaks more plainly, for he says, that all artificers were foolish The word lrnowledge is not to be taken here for knowledge of truth, but for the knowledge of artificers, whether carpenters or blacksmiths, or those who either melted or grayed or formed gods of wood, stone, and silver, as we may learn from the second clause of the verse. There is no difficulty as to what is meant, if we duly consider the words of the Prophet; he expresses the same thing in two ways; foolish, he says, are all our artificers; then he specifies one sort, every founder or melter, etc. We hence see that the Prophet does not use the word knowledge according to its strict meaning, but extends it to skill in workmanship. (13)
But when he says that the artizans were foolish, he connects with them, no doubt, all the worshippers of false gods; but he reprobates their knowledge, who applied whatever skill and knowledge they had to so vain a purpose. Bellold, he says, the worker in gold, and every other artificer, think that they are very ingenious when they elegantly form an idol; they spend all their wits on so vain a thing; what is this but folly? But they think that they make a god by their own hands; yet they cannot change the nature of gold and silver. It is the form only that they add; but this form contains no life. Hence he subjoins, There is no spirit in them He had said before, that they who formed the graven image would be ashamed, or convicted of folly; for he had called them foolish and brutish. Now, בער , bor, in Hiphil, means to be foolish; but the noun means a brute animal. Hence he reproachfully compares these illustrious artizans, who gained repute by the elegant forms they gave to their gods, to asses, and oxen, and other brute animals. Some render נסך, nusak, “covering;” but it signifies, I doubt not, a molten image; for he repeats what he had said, that the founders would be ashamed of the graven image In short, He says, that the molten image was falsehood, for there was in, them no spirit He changes the number, but the meaning is evident.
We have seen before that idols were said to be the teaching of vanities; for they were extremely deceived, and became wholly foolish, who ascribed the glory of God to wood and stone. The heathens might say, that they had never thought such a thing; but facies proved that they were liars and made only vain pretences; for why did they place confidence in their idols? — why did they bow down before them? — why did they address to them prayers and supplications? They then believed that God was present in the visible form. Now the Prophet says, that this was the teaching of vanities; because they who made a figure or image of God thought that he was like to gold and silver, and that he had some affinity to dead elements, destitute of reason and understanding. For the same purpose he now adds, that the molten image is falsehood; why? because the truth of God is turned into falsehood, as Paul says, (Rom 1:25.)
It is, therefore, a monstrous absurdity when men imagine that wood or stone is an image of God; for there is no similarity, nor can such a thing enter into man’s mind without a grievous and an atrocious indignity being offered to God. The reason also is to be noticed, For there is no spirit in them God, so to speak, is the life of all things living; now, to call a dead thing an image of God, a thing in which there is no mind nor life, is it not to turn light into darkness? This reason, then, ought to be remembered by us; and it is a sufficient refutation of all such errors, when the Prophet says, that there is no spirit in idols, that is, in wood, stone, gold, and silver, and that they are therefore a He; for God will not have himself to be compared to dead things, without mind and life. He then adds —
(13) The first, clause of this verse is rendered by the Sept. and Vulg., “Foolish has become every man by knowledge;” by the Syr., “Foolish have all men become without knowledge;” the Arab. and the Targ. convey the same idea with the last. Gataker takes this view and gives this version, “Every man is become brutish for want of knowledge.” But as the framers of idols were called, in Jer 10:9, “wise” or cunning men, it is more probable that their boasted knowledge is what is meant here. The verse may be thus rendered —
14. Brutish has every man become by his knowledge; Disgracefully has every founder done as to the graven image, For deception is his cunning; And no spirit is in them.
To render the different parts of this verse correspondent, it is necessary to take הוביש as a Hiphil. The connection is between the first and last line, and between the two middle lines. Every man, both the carver and the founder, or melter, were brutish, in employing their knowledge and skill in making idols or images, because there was, after all their toil, no spirit, no life in them. Then the founder acted shamefully in taking the carved thing or image, to cover it with gold or silver, because what he melted was a mere deception.
This verse is no prediction, but a representation of the extreme folly and stupidity of idol-makers. This is confirmed by the following verse. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(14) Brutish in his knowledge.Literally, from knowing, i.e., too brutish to know, or, as some take it, brutish without knowledge, overwhelmed and astounded, so that the power of knowing fails.
Every founder.The smelter, or worker in molten metal.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. Every man is brutish In the presence of such exhibitions of God only the brutish and besotted can find satisfaction in idols.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 10:14. Every man is brutish in his knowledge Or, according to some, Every man is made foolish by his knowledge. “The most skilful maker of statues and idols is convinced hereby of his folly; for if he were truly wise, how could he worship any thing so weak and vain?” What follows seems to favour this interpretation. See Jer 10:8.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 10:14 Every man is brutish in [his] knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image [is] falsehood, and [there is] no breath in them.
Ver. 14. Every man is brutish in his knowledge. ] Or, Every man is become more brutish than to know. That was therefore a hyperbolical praise given by Philostratus to Apollonius, Non doctus sed natus sapiens, that he was not taught, but born a wise man. See Job 11:12 Rom 1:22 . See Trapp on “ Job 11:12 “ See Trapp on “ Rom 1:22 “ Every man is become brutish for want of knowledge (so the words may be rendered), the heathen idol makers especially; Brutescit homo prae scientia, so Vatablus. Every man is brutish, in comparison of knowledge, viz., of God’s knowledge, while he goeth about to search into the causes of rain, lightning, wind, &c., which God only understandeth.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
confounded = put to shame.
breath. Hebrew. ruach. App-9.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
man: Jer 10:8, Jer 51:17, Jer 51:18, Psa 14:2, Psa 92:6, Psa 94:8, Pro 30:2, Isa 44:18-20, Isa 46:7, Isa 46:8, Rom 1:22, Rom 1:23
brutish in his knowledge: or, more brutish than to know, founder. Jer 51:17, Psa 97:7, Isa 42:17, Isa 44:11, Isa 45:16
and: Psa 115:4-8, Psa 135:16-18, Hab 2:18, Hab 2:19
Reciprocal: Exo 20:4 – General Exo 34:17 – General 1Ki 14:9 – thou hast gone 2Ki 19:18 – for they were Psa 40:4 – as turn Psa 96:5 – For Isa 1:3 – but Israel Isa 19:11 – brutish Isa 41:24 – ye are Isa 44:9 – make Isa 45:20 – they Isa 46:6 – lavish Jer 2:5 – walked Jer 3:23 – in vain Jer 10:21 – the pastors Jer 13:25 – trusted Jer 16:19 – Surely Eze 24:12 – wearied Hos 8:6 – the workman Jon 2:8 – General Act 14:15 – from Act 19:26 – that they Rom 1:21 – but became Rom 1:25 – into a lie Rom 10:19 – foolish 1Co 8:4 – we know Rev 9:20 – and idols Rev 13:15 – life
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 10:14. In view of Gods power over the whole earth, the men who pretend to worship the images which they make out of a mere speck of this great universe are brutish (stupid). When the wooden or metal image is put to the test the maker and worshiper of it wiil he confounded or confused. He will learn to his sorrow that these breathless images can accomplish nothing for him and that, all expectations offered to him by the idolatrous prophets were falsehood.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 10:14-15. Every man is brutish in his knowledge This is spoken of the makers of idols, whose skilfulness as workmen made them foolish enough to attempt to make gods, and who afterward acted still more foolishly in worshipping them, when they knew they were but the work of their own hands. The founder is confounded by the graven image Or, ashamed, as signifies. For it can afford no help, nor do any good, to those who worship it; and therefore is a disgrace to the workman who pretends to make it a god, that could hear the prayers offered to it, and send help to its worshippers. His molten image is falsehood That is, those are no less deceived who expect help from a molten image, than they who expect it from a false, lying man. They are the work of errors The making of them is owing to mens erroneous notions of the nature of God. In the time of their visitation they shall perish The time will come when God will execute vengeance upon idolaters, and utterly destroy their idols.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
10:14 Every man is {h} senseless in [his] knowledge: every goldsmith is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image [is] falsehood, and [there is] no breath in them.
(h) The more man thinks to do anything well by his own wisdom, and not as God instructs him, the more he proves himself to be a vile beast.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Everyone who worships idols is stupid and ignorant (cf. 1Co 8:4-6). Their inability to do anything shames those who glorify them.