What Does Deuteronomy 29:26 Mean?
For they went and served other gods, and bowed down to them, gods they had not known, and which he had not given them as a portion.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them:THE KEY
The verse exposes idolatry as misplaced allegiance: bowing gives a person’s whole posture to powers neither known nor apportioned as their share.
THE MEANING
This verse speaks to the moment allegiance settles onto something the reader has not truly encountered. Serving and bowing move together: work and posture organize around what the text says was not apportioned as their share. The verse names that movement as a departure from the LORD.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the assumption that whatever receives a person’s devotion is therefore truly known or belongs as their portion.
THE ROOT
חָלַק לָהֶם
ḥālaq lāhem
GROWS FROM
חלק
ḥ-l-q
to divide out, apportion, or share
“given them as a portion” in this verse is ḥālaq lāhem. The Hebrew verb carries the sense of apportioning a share, giving the clause more texture than a simple act of giving. These gods are described as outside the portion assigned to them, so their allegiance reaches toward what is not their allotted share.
ALSO GROWS
ḥēleq: portion, share
חֵלֶק
It makes the verse’s language of allotment concrete: what is served is treated as a share, though it was not apportioned to them.
maḥălōqet: division, dispute
מַחֲלֹקֶת
This branch shows the same root’s dividing sense, echoing the separation between the portion assigned and the gods they serve.
יְדָעוּם
yəḏāʿūm
GROWS FROM
ידע
y-d-ʿ
to know, recognize, perceive through experience
“had not known” in this verse is yəḏāʿūm. Knowing here carries the sense of recognition through experience, not merely having information. The verse places service beside a lack of knowing: allegiance is directed toward gods with whom the people have no recognized relationship.
ALSO GROWS
yōḏēaʿ: one who knows or recognizes
יוֹדֵעַ
This form brings the act of knowing into view as recognition, which the verse says is absent from their allegiance.
maddaʿ: knowledge
מַדָּע
This noun shows the root’s reach into knowledge itself, sharpening the contrast between what is known and what is served.
וַיַּעַבְדוּ
vayyaʿavdū
GROWS FROM
עבד
ʿ-b-d
to work, serve
“served” in this verse is vayyaʿavdū. Service is not only a stated loyalty; it is work given over to another. Joined with bowing, it shows allegiance taking shape in both a person’s actions and posture.
ALSO GROWS
ʿeḇeḏ: servant
עֶבֶד
This branch names a person through the relationship of service, giving weight to what a life is organized around.
ʿăḇōḏāh: work, service
עֲבֹדָה
It makes the active dimension of service visible: allegiance is carried through the work a person gives.
THE PATTERN
What a person serves and bows to reveals what is shaping their allegiance.
Stand in awe of the LORD your God; him you serve, and to him you cling, and by his nature you swear.You know that when you were of the nations, you were carried away to voiceless idols, as you were led.No one can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or he will hold fast to one and look down on the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.THE THREAD
Stand in awe of the LORD your God; him you serve, and to him you cling, and by his nature you swear.Both verses use עבד (ʿ-b-d), meaning to work or serve. Here, service goes toward gods not known or apportioned to them; in Deuteronomy 10:20, it is joined to cleaving to the LORD. The shared root brings the question into focus: what receives a person’s service?
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