Exodus 20:4

20:4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image ¹  or any likeness ²  of anything ³  that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water below. ⁴ 

Exodus 34:7

34:7 keeping loyal love for thousands, ⁵  forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression ⁶  of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”

Exodus 34:15

34:15 Be careful ⁷  not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when ⁸  they prostitute themselves ⁹  to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invites you, ¹⁰  you will eat from his sacrifice;

Exodus 35:22

35:22 They came, men and women alike, ¹¹  all who had willing hearts. They brought brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments, all kinds of gold jewelry, ¹²  and everyone came who waved ¹³  a wave offering of gold to the Lord.

¹ tn A פֶּסֶל (pesel) is an image that was carved out of wood or stone. The Law was concerned with a statue that would be made for the purpose of worship, an idol to be venerated, and not any ordinary statue.

² tn The word תְּמוּנָה (tÿmunah) refers to the mental pattern from which the פֶּסֶל (pesel) is constructed; it is a real or imagined resemblance. If this is to stand as a second object to the verb, then the verb itself takes a slightly different nuance here. It would convey “you shall not make an image, neither shall you conceive a form” for worship (B. Jacob, Exodus, 547). Some simply make the second word qualify the first: “you shall not make an idol in the form of…” (NIV).

³ tn Here the phrase “of anything” has been supplied.

⁴ tn Heb “under the earth” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

⁵ tn That is, “for thousands of generations.”

⁶ sn As in the ten commandments (20:5-6), this expression shows that the iniquity and its punishment will continue in the family if left unchecked. This does not go on as long as the outcomes for good (thousands versus third or fourth generations), and it is limited to those who hate God.

⁹ tn The sentence begins simply “lest you make a covenant”; it is undoubtedly a continuation of the imperative introduced earlier, and so that is supplied here.

¹⁰ tn The verb is a perfect with a vav consecutive. In the literal form of the sentence, this clause tells what might happen if the people made a covenant with the inhabitants of the land: “Take heed…lest you make a covenant…and then they prostitute themselves…and sacrifice…and invite…and you eat.” The sequence lays out an entire scenario.

¹¹ tn The verb זָנָה (zanah) means “to play the prostitute; to commit whoredom; to be a harlot” or something similar. It is used here and elsewhere in the Bible for departing from pure religion and engaging in pagan religion. The use of the word in this figurative sense is fitting, because the relationship between God and his people is pictured as a marriage, and to be unfaithful to it was a sin. This is also why God is described as a “jealous” or “impassioned” God. The figure may not be merely a metaphorical use, but perhaps a metonymy, since there actually was sexual immorality at the Canaanite altars and poles.

¹² tn There is no subject for the verb. It could be rendered “and one invites you,” or it could be made a passive.

¹³ tn The expression in Hebrew is “men on/after the women,” meaning men with women, to ensure that it was clear that the preceding verse did not mean only men. B. Jacob takes it further, saying that the men came after the women because the latter had taken the initiative (Exodus, 1017).

¹⁴ tn Heb “all gold utensils.”

¹⁵ tn The verb could be translated “offered,” but it is cognate with the following noun that is the wave offering. This sentence underscores the freewill nature of the offerings people made. The word “came” is supplied from v. 21 and v. 22.