Albert Barnes Commentary


Albert Barnes Commentary
"Ye shall make you no idols, neither shall ye rear you up a graven image, or a pillar, neither shall ye place any figured stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am Jehovah your God." — Leviticus 26:1 (ASV)
Idols - literally, “things of nothing.” Hebrew אלילים 'ĕlı̂ylı̂m. There appears to have been a play on the similarity in sound of this word to אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym (God). Compare (1 Corinthians 8:4).
Standing image - Either an upright statue, or a pillar, such as an obelisk or a Celtic menhir, set up for an idolatrous purpose (compare Exodus 34:13 note).
The public worship of Yahweh required, first, the exclusion of all visible symbols of deity as well as of all idolatrous objects, and next (Leviticus 26:2), the keeping holy the times and the place appointed by the Law for His formal service.
The word “sabbaths” must here include the whole of the set times. See (Leviticus 23:3) note.