Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 4:19
And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, [even] all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
19. lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven ] Change to Sg., confirmed by Sam. and LXX.
and when thou seest the sun, etc.] Deu 17:3: sun, moon or any of the host of heaven. Unlike the warnings against idolatry this one is not found in JE or P. The host of heaven was the dominant influence in Babylonian religion, and though there are traces of astral worship from the earliest times in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem (cp. Bit-Ninib in the Tell-el-Amarna Letters, Beth-shemesh, etc.), it first became an active danger to Israel, when under Ahaz Assyrian example began to tempt the people of Jehovah, and in the last days of N. Israel, 2Ki 17:16, and in Judah under Manasseh, 2Ki 21:3; 2Ki 21:5; 2Ki 23:4-5; 2Ki 23:11, Assyria imposed on her tributaries the forms of Babyl. culture. Cp. the pre-exilic prophets Zep 1:5; Jer 7:18; Jer 8:2; Jer 19:13; Jer 44:17; Eze 8:16. These show that the worship was both national, in the temple, and domestic. On the temptations in Jerusalem to the worship of the heavenly host see Jerusalem, ii. 186 f. The natural seductiveness of the worship is well indicated by the successive verbs used here.
thou be drawn away ] Rather reflexive, let thyself be drawn, Deu 30:4; Deu 30:17; cp. the active form, Deu 13:5; Deu 13:10; Deu 13:13 [Heb. 6, 11, 14 ].
worship them, and serve them,] Rather, bow down to them and worship them. Cp. Deu 5:9, Deu 8:19, Deu 11:16, Deu 17:3, Deu 29:26 (25), Deu 30:17, and the addition to E, Exo 20:5.
which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all the peoples ] Distributed, or allotted. An interesting attempt by the writer to reconcile his great truth that Jehovah is God alone with the fact that the other nations worship other gods (cp. Deu 29:26). This is part of His supreme Providence. Some find also in the words the feeling that such cults preserved the Gentiles from utter ignorance of God, and cite Clem. Alex. ( Strom. vi. 14, 110 f.): the stars have been assigned to them, , and as a guide to God Himself, .
The coincidence of the change of address to the Sg. with the change of subject leads some to take the verse as an intrusion by a later hand. But it may be a later addition by the author of the context himself on consideration of Deu 17:3, and as this is in the Sg. form it would account for his change to the Sg. here. But note the parallel under the whole heaven with Deu 2:25. In any case there is no need to take the passage as post-exilic; the danger it would avert was, as the passages cited show, especially strong before the exile.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Divided – i. e., whose light God has distributed to the nations for their use and benefit, and which therefore being creatures ministering to mans convenience must not be worshipped as mans lords.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 19. When thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars] The worship of the heavenly bodies was the oldest species of idolatry. Those who had not the knowledge of the true God were led to consider the sun, moon, planets, and stars, as not only self-existing, but the authors of all the blessings possessed by mankind. The knowledge of a rational system of astronomy served to destroy this superstition; and very little of it remains now in the world, except among a few Christian and Mohammedan astrologers; those miserable sinners who endeavour, as much as possible, to revive the old idolatry, while vainly professing to believe in the true God! Nor is it to be doubted that God will proceed with them as he has done of old with the worshippers of the host of heaven. Sound philosophy is next in importance to sound divinity; and next to the study of the work of grace is that of the operations of God in nature; for these visible things make known his eternal power and Godhead.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Driven to worship them, i.e. strongly inclined, and in a manner constrained, partly by the glory of these heavenly bodies, which may seem to be made for higher purposes than to enlighten this lump of earth; partly from that natural propension which is in men to idolatry. Or, shouldest be driven or thrust, to wit, out of the way of the Lord, (as it is more fully expressed, Deu 13:5) or be seduced, or led aside, as silly sheep easily are, and worship them. Or, shouldest be cast down, or throw down thyself and worship them, i.e. worship them by falling down before them.
Unto all nations, which are not gods, but creatures, made not for the worship, but for the use of men, yea, of the meanest and most barbarous people under heaven, and therefore cannot without great absurdity be worshipped, especially by you who are so much advanced above other nations in wisdom and knowledge, and in this, that you are my peculiar people.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven,…. The starry heaven, which to do in itself is not sinful; and may be lawfully and commendably done, to raise admiration at the wonderful works of God in them, and lead to adore the author of them: but if not guarded against may be ensnaring:
and when thou seest the sun and the moon, and the stars, [even] all the host of heaven; those bright luminaries, so glorious to behold, and so useful and beneficial to the earth, and the inhabitants of it:
shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them; should have an impulse on their minds and their hearts, be inclined and drawn to the worship of them, partly by considering their splendour, glory, and usefulness, and partly by the example of others; for the worshipping of these seems to be and is the first kind of idolatry men gave into, at least it was very ancient; see Job 31:26,
which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven; the sun and the moon by their constant revolutions visit all the parts of the world, and stars are fixed in both hemispheres, so that all nations of the earth receive the benefit and advantage of all these heavenly bodies; but were never designed to be the objects of their worship, as might be learnt from their being divided to them, sometimes one part of the earth enjoying them, and then another, and not present with them all at one and the same time, which, if deities, would have been necessary; see Ps 19:6.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
They were not to allow themselves to be torn away ( ) to worship the stars of heaven, namely, by the seductive influence exerted upon the senses by the sight of the heavenly bodies as they shone in their glorious splendour. The reason for this prohibition is given in the relative clause, “ which Jehovah thy God hath allotted to all nations under the whole heaven.” The thought is not, “God has given the heathen the sun, moon, and stars for service, i.e., to serve them with their light,” as Onkelos, the Rabbins, Jerome, and others, suppose, but He has allotted them to them for worship, i.e., permitted them to choose them as the objects of their worship, which is the view adopted by Justin Martyr, Clemens Alex., and others. According to the scriptural view, even the idolatry of the heathen existed by divine permission and arrangement. God gave up the heathen to idolatry and shameful lusts, because, although they knew Him from His works, they did not praise Him as God (Rom 1:21, Rom 1:24, Rom 1:26).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
19. And lest thou lift up thine eyes. Moses proceeds further, lest the Jews should imagine any divinity in the sun, and moon, and stars; nor does he only recall them from the error with which many were imbued, (96) thinking that these were so many gods; but also anticipates another superstition, lest, being ravished by the brightness of the stars, they should conceive them to be images of God. And to this the expression, to “be driven,” refers. For since God represents His glory in the heavenly host, so also Satan, under this pretext, confuses and stupefies men’s minds by a wily artifice, in order that they may worship God in these luminaries, and thus stumble at the very threshold. Therefore, that the Israelites may the better acknowledge how absurd it is to seek for God in earthly things, or in the elements of the world, or in corruptible matter, he expressly declares that they must not even lean (97) on heavenly creatures; since God’s majesty is superior to the sun, and moon, and all the stars. Besides, he reproves the absurdity of transferring the worship of God to the stars, which, by God’s appointment, are to minister to us; for when he says that “God hath divided them unto all nations,” it implies subjection; as if he had said that the sun was our minister, and the moon, together with all the stars, our handmaid. Still, by the word “divided,” God’s admirable providence is fitly commended in respect to their varied position, and course, and different offices; for the sun does not enlighten and warm all lands at the same moment; and, again, it now retires from us, and now approaches us more closely; the moon has her circuits; the stars rise and set as the heaven revolves. I pass over the slower movement of the planets; but, according to the aspect of the stars, one climate is moister, another drier; one feels more heat, another more cold. This variety is aptly called by Moses “dividing ” Yet it aggravates the sin of superstition, if the Jews give themselves to the service of the stars, which minister also to heathen nations; for what can be more unworthy than for the children of God to worship the sun, which is the servant of all the world? whence again it follows, that in proportion to the dignity and excellence of the creatures themselves, so is the ingratitude of men towards God all the more base, if they adorn with His worship as with spoils, those creatures which He has appointed to minister to their advantage. The silly notion in which some of the Rabbins delight themselves, (98) is unworthy of mention, viz., that God has divided the stars to the Gentiles, since they are subject to their influences, from which by special privilege the Jews are free; as if the condition of the human race had not been the same from the beginning. But the reason which I have adduced plainly shews, that they depart most widely from the meaning of Moses, and therefore pervert his intention; viz., that the creatures which are destined for our use, are by no means to be worshipped as God.
(96) See Job 31:26. Any discussion on the history of Sabaism would be superfluous here. Dr. Layard, (Nineveh and its Remains, vol. 2, p. 446,) points out, that “representations of the heavenly bodies, as sacred symbols, are of constant occurrence in the most ancient sculptures;” whilst the “one symbol” of the supreme Deity is “a winged figure in a circle,” sometimes assuming the form of “a winged globe, wheel, or disc,” resembling the Egyptian representation of the sun, and the Persian Ormuzd.
(97) Lat. “ subsistendum .” Fr. “ s’amuser .”
(98) S.M. says, “Rabbi Aben-Ezra, and the author of the ‘Bundle of Myrrh,’ foolishly think that the Gentiles were under the dominion of decrees emanating from the stars; but that the Jews were free, because the Lord turneth aside their noxious influences. But this text teaches us, that the functions of the stars are distributed among the nations, inasmuch as they afford light and heat, and temper the cold to all men.” — W.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(19) The sun, and the moon, and the stars.The purest worship of antiquitythat which we find among the Persianshardly escaped this snare.
Which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations.The heavenly bodies could never be regarded as special protectors of any one nation. But Jehovah was pledged to be the God of Israel. This appears to be the argument of Deu. 4:19-20.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
19. The Lord hath divided The view held by many of this passage is that God permitted the nations to choose the heavenly bodies as objects of worship as Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, and some modern critics, as Keil and Knobel. The meaning is, rather, that God has given the nations the heavenly bodies for service, and to lead them to the knowledge of himself. Comp. Rom 1:20.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ver. 19. Which the Lord thy God hath divided, &c. i.e. Distributed, or imparted. The force of the argument is this: as Jehovah, the true God, whom you adore, has dispensed to all nations under heaven the benefit of the sun, moon, and stars, which he has created; you ought therefore to worship him alone, who is the Lord of them all, and has made them ministers to the sons of men. Nothing can be more reasonable than this inference, that we are not made for the sun, but the sun for us; it is not the luminary itself that we ought to worship, but God, who created it for our use. But the nations, struck with the visible splendour of the heavenly bodies, and with the sensible benefit which they derived from them, stopped short in the blind admiration of their beautiful appearance, instead of turning their attentive minds to the adoration of that invisible Intelligence by whom they were created. See book of Wisd. chap. 13: The worship of the sun and planets was, in all probability, the first and leading instance of idolatry, and in use, no doubt, long before the time of Moses, See chap. Deu 17:3. But on this subject, we refer to Young on the Rise and Progress of Idolatry, Maimonides, de Idol. lib. 1: sect. 3 and Prideaux’s Connection, vol. 1 b. 3: p. 177.
See commentary on Deu 4:17
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
It is remarkable, in nations unacquainted with the gospel, how prone the natives have been found to worship the heavenly bodies. Reader! think how precious the gospel is, which hath taught us to consider all these lights of the firmament, but as the servants of our JESUS. Psa 19:1-6 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Deu 4:19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, [even] all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
Ver. 19. All the host of heaven. ] Called the queen of heaven. Jer 7:18
Should be driven.
Which the Lord thy God hath divided.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
host of heaven: sun, moon, and stars. This sin foreknown. 2Ki 17:18; 2Ki 23:4. Compare Amo 5:26 with Act 7:42, Act 7:43.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
when thou: Deu 17:3, 2Ki 23:4, 2Ki 23:5, 2Ki 23:11, Job 31:26, Job 31:27, Jer 8:2, Eze 8:16, Amo 5:25, Amo 5:26
the host: Gen 2:1, 2Ki 17:16, 2Ki 21:3, Jer 19:13, Zep 1:5, Act 7:42, Rom 1:25
which the Lord: Gen 1:16-18, Jos 10:12, Jos 10:13, Neh 9:6, Psa 74:16, Psa 74:17, Psa 136:7-9, Psa 148:3-5, Jer 31:35, Jer 33:25, Mat 5:45
divided: or, imparted
Reciprocal: Gen 1:14 – Let there Deu 12:1 – all the days Deu 13:13 – are gone 1Ki 18:15 – of hosts liveth 2Ki 17:12 – whereof 2Ch 33:3 – the host Job 36:24 – which Job 38:19 – the way Psa 8:3 – moon Psa 19:3 – There Psa 24:4 – lifted Psa 33:6 – the host Psa 65:8 – outgoings Psa 104:19 – General Psa 119:91 – all are Isa 40:26 – Lift Isa 51:6 – Lift up Jer 7:18 – queen of heaven Eze 18:6 – neither hath lifted Eze 20:24 – their eyes Eze 33:25 – lift up Rom 1:20 – from the 1Co 15:41 – General Col 1:23 – under Heb 1:10 – the works Jam 1:17 – from the Rev 22:9 – See
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Deu 4:19. Lest thou shouldest be driven Strongly inclined; to worship them. Which the Lord hath divided unto all nations Which are not gods, but creatures, made not for worship, but for the use of men; yea, of the meanest and most barbarous people under heaven, and therefore cannot, without great absurdity, be worshipped, especially by you, who are so much advanced above other nations in wisdom and in knowledge, and in this, that you are my peculiar people.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
4:19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, [even] all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath {m} divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
(m) He has appointed them to serve man.