Deuteronomy 8:4

4 Your clothing did not wear out {on you}, and your feet did not swell [during] these forty years.

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 you shall remember all [of] the way that Yahweh your God led you [during] these forty years in the desert in order to humble you and to test you to know what [is] in your heart, whether you would [diligently] keep his commandments or not.
3 And he humbled you and let you go hungry, and [then] he fed you with that which you did not know nor did your ancestors know, in order to make you know that not by bread alone but by all [that] goes out of the mouth of Yahweh humankind shall live.
4 Your clothing did not wear out {on you}, and your feet did not swell [during] these forty years.
5 And you should know with your heart that as a man disciplines his son, [so] Yahweh your God [is] disciplining you.
6 So you must keep the commandments of Yahweh your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Literally "from on you"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.