Deu 4:16-18 | KD | STEP | As the Israelites had seen no shape of God at Horeb, they were to beware for their souls’ sake (for their lives) of acting corruptly, and making to themselves any kind of image of Jehovah their God, namely, as the context shows, to worship God in it. (On pesel , see at Exo 20:4.) The words which follow, viz., “ a form of any kind of sculpture ,” and “ a representation of male or female ” (for tabnith , see at ), are in apposition to “graven image,” and serve to explain and emphasize the prohibition.

‏ Deuteronomy 4:16-18

As the Israelites had seen no shape of God at Horeb, they were to beware for their souls’ sake (for their lives) of acting corruptly, and making to themselves any kind of image of Jehovah their God, namely, as the context shows, to worship God in it. (On pesel, see at Exo 20:4.) The words which follow, viz., “a form of any kind of sculpture,” and “a representation of male or female” (for tabnith, see at Exo 25:9), are in apposition to “graven image,” and serve to explain and emphasize the prohibition. Deu 4:17-18

They were also not to make an image of any kind of beast; a caution against imitating the animal worship of Egypt.