Deuteronomy 8:4

4 Thy cloak, with which thou were covered, failed not for eldness, and thy foot was not bruised underneath, lo! the fortieth year is (lo! this is the fortieth year);

Deuteronomy 8:4 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 8:4

Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee,
&c] They wanted not clothes all the forty years they were in the wilderness; which some account for by the rising generation being supplied with the clothes of those that died in the wilderness, and with the spoils they took from Amalek, ( Exodus 17:1 ) and others, as Aben Ezra observes, remark that they brought much clothes with them out of Egypt, which no doubt they did; see ( Exodus 12:35 ) and he adds, as worthy of notice, that the manna they lived upon did not produce sweat, which is prejudicial to clothes; but be it so, that they were sufficiently provided with clothes, it must be miraculous that these clothes they wore should not wax old. This, in a spiritual sense, may denote the righteousness of Christ, which is often compared to raiment, the property of which is, that it never waxes old, wears out, or decays; it is an everlasting righteousness, and will never be abolished, but will answer for the saints in a time to come; see ( Isaiah 51:6 Isaiah 51:8 ) ( Daniel 9:24 ) neither did thy foot swell these forty years; or puff up like paste, as Jarchi explains it, which is often the case in long journeys; the Septuagint version is, "did not become callous"; a callousness or hardness is frequently produced by travelling; in ( Deuteronomy 29:5 ) it is explained of the shoes on their feet not waxing old; so Ben Melech, and the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, and the Syriac and Arabic versions here, "thy feet were not naked", were not without shoes; these were no more wore out by travel than their clothes upon their backs, and this was equally as miraculous: the Gibeonites, pretending to come from a far country, and to have travelled much and long, put on old garments and old shoes, to make it probable and plausible, ( Joshua 9:5 Joshua 9:13 ) . This may be an emblem of the perseverance of the saints in faith and holiness: shoes upon the feet denote a Gospel conversation, which is very beautiful, ( Song of Solomon 7:1 ) the feet of saints being shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; which, as shoes to the feet, guides and directs the Christian walk, strengthens and makes fit for walking, keeps tight and preserves from slipping and falling, and protects from what is harmful, accompanied by the power and grace of God.

Deuteronomy 8:4 In-Context

2 And thou shalt have mind of all the way, by which thy Lord God led thee by forty years, in (the) desert, that he should torment thee, and should assay thee; and that those things that were treated in thy soul should be known, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, either nay. (And thou shalt remember all the way, by which the Lord thy God led thee for forty years, in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to try, or to test, thee; so that those things that were treated in thy soul could be known, whether thou wouldest obey his commandments, or not.)

3 And he tormented thee with neediness, and he gave to thee meat, manna to eat, which thou knewest not, and thy fathers knew not, that he should show to thee, that a man liveth not in bread alone, but in each word that cometh out of the Lord's mouth. (And so he humbled thee with neediness, or with want, and he gave thee food, manna to eat, which thou knewest not, nor thy fathers knew, to show thee, that a man liveth not by bread alone, but by each word that cometh out of the mouth of the Lord.)

4 Thy cloak, with which thou were covered, failed not for eldness, and thy foot was not bruised underneath, lo! the fortieth year is (lo! this is the fortieth year);

5 that thou think in thine heart, for as a man teacheth his son, so thy Lord God hath taught thee, (so that thou remember in thy heart, that like a man teacheth his son, so the Lord thy God hath taught thee,)

6 that thou keep the commandments of thy Lord God, and go in his ways, and dread him. (and that thou obey the commandments of the Lord thy God, and go in his ways, and fear him/and revere him.)