Deuteronomy 14:1
Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
Original Language Analysis
בָּנִ֣ים
Ye are the children
H1121
בָּנִ֣ים
Ye are the children
Strong's:
H1121
Word #:
1 of 12
a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or
לַֽיהוָ֖ה
of the LORD
H3068
לַֽיהוָ֖ה
of the LORD
Strong's:
H3068
Word #:
3 of 12
(the) self-existent or eternal; jeho-vah, jewish national name of god
אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֑ם
your God
H430
אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֑ם
your God
Strong's:
H430
Word #:
4 of 12
gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme god; occasionally applied by way of
לֹ֣א
H3808
לֹ֣א
Strong's:
H3808
Word #:
5 of 12
not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles
תִתְגֹּֽדְד֗וּ
ye shall not cut
H1413
תִתְגֹּֽדְד֗וּ
ye shall not cut
Strong's:
H1413
Word #:
6 of 12
to crowd; also to gash (as if by pressing into)
וְלֹֽא
H3808
וְלֹֽא
Strong's:
H3808
Word #:
7 of 12
not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles
תָשִׂ֧ימוּ
yourselves nor make
H7760
תָשִׂ֧ימוּ
yourselves nor make
Strong's:
H7760
Word #:
8 of 12
to put (used in a great variety of applications, literal, figurative, inferentially, and elliptically)
בֵּ֥ין
H996
בֵּ֥ין
Strong's:
H996
Word #:
10 of 12
between (repeated before each noun, often with other particles); also as a conjunction, either...or
Cross References
Leviticus 21:5They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.Jeremiah 41:5That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.Jeremiah 16:6Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them:Romans 9:8That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.Galatians 3:26For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.Romans 9:26And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.Hebrews 2:10For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.Romans 8:16The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:John 1:12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:Hosea 1:10Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
Historical Context
Pagan mourning practices in the ancient Near East included ritual self-laceration, shaving the head or beard, and other physical expressions of grief. These often connected to ancestor worship or attempts to appease death deities.
God's prohibition set Israel apart visually and culturally from surrounding nations, marking them as a people who worshiped the living God rather than fearing death and the dead.
Questions for Reflection
- How does identity as children of God shape proper behavior and worship?
- Why did God forbid mourning practices that were culturally common among Israel's neighbors?
- What does this prohibition teach about the relationship between gospel identity and ethics?
- How should Christian confidence in resurrection affect our mourning practices?
- What pagan practices do believers today need to reject based on their identity in Christ?
Related Resources
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Analysis & Commentary
Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. Israel's identity as children of the LORD establishes the foundation for distinctive holiness. Covenant relationship demands covenant behavior - God's children must reflect their Father's character.
The prohibitions against cutting flesh and shaving in mourning practices distinguished Israel from pagan neighbors who engaged in these rituals. Canaanite and other ancient Near Eastern peoples mutilated their bodies as expressions of grief or attempts to appease death deities.
God forbids these practices not arbitrarily but because they contradict Israel's identity. Children of the living God need not engage in extreme mourning rituals that suggest hopelessness or fear of death. Their confidence rests in God's sovereignty over life and death.
Reformed theology sees here the principle that gospel identity shapes gospel behavior. What we are determines how we act. Because believers are children of God through adoption in Christ, we conduct ourselves in ways that reflect our Father's character.