Deuteronomy 27:15

Hebrew Bible

13 And these other tribes must stand for the curse on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 “The Levites will call out to every Israelite with a loud voice: 15Cursed is the one who makes a carved or metal image—something abhorrent to the Lord, the work of the craftsman—and sets it up in a secret place.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 16 ‘Cursed is the one who disrespects his father and mother.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 17 ‘Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor’s boundary marker.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

Judges 17:3

Hebrew Bible

1 There was a man named Micah from the Ephraimite hill country. 2 He said to his mother, “You know the 1,100 pieces of silver which were stolen from you, about which I heard you pronounce a curse? Look here, I have the silver. I stole it, but now I am giving it back to you.” His mother said, “May the Lord reward you, my son!” 3 When he gave back to his mother the 1,100 pieces of silver, his mother said, “I solemnly dedicate this silver to the Lord. It will be for my son’s benefit. We will use it to make a carved image and a metal image. 4 When he gave the silver back to his mother, she took 200 pieces of silver to a silversmith, who made them into a carved image and a metal image. She then put them in Micah’s house. 5 Now this man Micah owned a shrine. He made an ephod and some personal idols and hired one of his sons to serve as a priest.

 Notes and References

"... Given the general reading of Deuteronomy 5:8 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image [that is] any form” (Deuteronomy 4:16, 23, 25) (taken originally from Exodus 20:4, “You shall not make an image and any form”), Weinfeld argues that the image ban is in fact far more comprehensive in its attack on all forms of iconoltary than the first commandment as it originally stood (Weinfeld 1991, 290). This Image Ban prohibits the production of a pesel “carved image” kal tmuna “of any likeness/form” and is also against massekah “molten image” (Deuteronomy 27:15, Judges 17:3, 4; 18:14; compare Exodus 34:17, Leviticus 19:4 ’elohei massekah; Weinfeld 1991, 290). It shows at its core a desire to eradicate the practice of fashioning other deities for worship (Mettinger 1997, 176; Levine 2007, 358-359) ..."

Manning-Rozenblum, Bronwen The Historical Probability of Hezekiah’s Reform (2 Kgs 18:4) and the Character of Yahwism in the Late Eighth Century BCE (p. 62) The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2010

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