Deuteronomy 4:17

Summary

Deuteronomy 4:17 continues a list of prohibited images, specifying that no likeness may be made of any land animal or of any winged bird that flies in the sky. The verse uses parallel construct phrases to cover two categories of creatures: those on the earth and those in the heavens.

Key words

• tavNit ("a likeness of", H8403) — feminine singular construct noun, repeated at the start of each half-verse to introduce the category of forbidden image; it governs the following noun as "likeness of X."
• behemAh ("animal", H0929) — feminine singular noun marking the first category, land animals, specified further by the relative clause that follows.
• 'aSher ("which", H0834A) — relative particle used twice, each time introducing a clause that locates the creature: "which is on the earth" and "which flies in the heavens."
• tzaFor ("bird of", H6833) — common gender singular construct noun linked to kaNaf ("wing", H3671), forming the compound expression "bird of wing," i.e., a winged bird.
• ta'Uf ("it flies", H5774A) — qal imperfect verb, third person feminine, describing the ongoing or habitual action of flying, agreeing grammatically with the feminine noun tzaFor.

What the text says

The verse is built on two parallel structures, each opening with tavNit ("a likeness of", H8403) in construct form, which requires a following noun to complete the phrase "likeness of ___." The first structure names behemAh ("animal", H0929) and restricts it with a relative clause using 'aSher ("which", H0834A) plus the phrase ba'Aretz ("on the earth", H0776G with article), locating this animal category spatially.

The second structure repeats tavNit and introduces tzaFor ("bird of", H6833) in construct with kaNaf ("wing", H3671), producing the idiomatic Hebrew expression for a winged flying creature — literally "bird of wing." This is followed by another 'aSher clause, this time using the verb ta'Uf ("it flies", H5774A) in the qal imperfect, indicating action that is ongoing, habitual, or characteristic of the subject, paired with bashaMayim ("in the heavens", H8064 with article). The imperfect aspect of ta'Uf conveys the bird's characteristic flying activity rather than a single completed event.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders tzaFor kaNaf ("bird of wing") with the single adjective πτερωτοῦ ("winged") modifying ὀρνέου ("bird"), collapsing the Hebrew's two-noun construct phrase into an adjective-noun pair. The Vulgate similarly uses "avium... volantium" ("flying birds"), turning the Hebrew's relative clause with the finite verb ta'Uf into a participle. Both Greek and Latin versions preserve the same two categories (land animals, flying birds) but express the Hebrew's construct-chain and verbal clause structures through different grammatical means available in their respective languages.