The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:

DEUTERONOMY 4:18KJV
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Deuteronomy 4:18 (KJV)

What does Deuteronomy 4:18 mean?

Deuteronomy 4:18 warns the Israelites not to make images or idols shaped like any creature that crawls on the ground or any fish that lives in the water under the earth. The verse is part of a larger command against creating physical representations of living things for worship.

In this verse, Moses is speaking to the people of Israel as they prepare to enter the land God promised them. He is reminding them of the importance of worshipping God alone and not turning to images or idols, which were common in surrounding cultures. The verse specifically mentions animals that creep on the ground and fish in the waters, showing how thorough the command is—no creature, whether on land or in water, should be made into an object of worship.

The Hebrew behind Deuteronomy 4:18

  • תְּמוּנָה (temunah, “likeness”): This word refers to a form, shape, or image. The use of "likeness" stresses that even a representation, not just the real thing, is forbidden as an object of worship.
  • רֶמֶשׂ (remes, “thing that creepeth”): This term covers small animals or creatures that move along the ground, like insects or reptiles. The command includes even the smallest and most humble creatures.
  • דָּג (dag, “fish”): This word means fish, and its mention shows that the prohibition extends to creatures in the water, not just those on land.
  • מַיִם (mayim, “waters”): This word means waters, emphasizing that the command covers all areas—land and water alike.

Why Deuteronomy 4:18 matters

  • Deuteronomy 4:18 makes clear that the command against idols is not limited to images of people or heavenly beings but includes every kind of creature, even the lowliest animals and fish.
  • This verse helps explain how different Israel’s worship was meant to be from the idol practices of neighboring nations, who often made images of animals and fish as part of their religions.
  • By listing specific types of creatures, Moses is emphasizing the thoroughness of God’s command and helping the people avoid any loopholes or excuses for making idols.

Where else these words appear

“fish” Hebrew H1710 · used in 13 verses

  • Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
  • Numbers 11:5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:
  • Ezekiel 29:5 And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven.

“likeness” Hebrew H8403 · used in 17 verses

  • Exodus 25:9 According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
  • 2 Kings 16:10 And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.
  • Psalms 106:20 Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.

“creepeth” Hebrew H7430 · used in 17 verses

  • Genesis 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
  • Genesis 7:14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
  • Leviticus 11:44 For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

“beneath” Hebrew H8478 · used in 24 verses

  • Genesis 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
  • Exodus 32:19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
  • Job 34:26 He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others;