The Hebrew word pasal denotes to hew, carve, or grave. The word used here, pesel, may therefore signify all images upon which the graving tool, or the chisel, or axe have been used, whether it is of metal, wood, or stone.
The Children of Israel had been servants in Egypt for generations. They had adopted many of the habits and customs of their bondsmen, and had allowed the Egyptian form of worship to dominate the homage and reverence they owed to the God of their fathers. In the great number of deities adored and worshiped in that land, Jacob’s descendants were gradually weaned from the memory of the Lord their God. The Egyptians were idolators in the extreme; it has been said of them that at this time a god was easier to find than it was, a man.
Or any likeness of things which are in heaven above. That means any winged fowl. Among the objects of Egyptian idolatry were the ibis (stork), crane, and hawk.
Or which are in the earth beneath. The ox was the particular object of Egyptian reverence and idolatry; the heifer, too. The ox was worshiped and even adored by some because they believed that Osiris, their supreme god, had taken up his abode in one of them, and that upon its death he entered into the body of another. The name of this famous ox-god was Apis and Mnevis. Even the most casual student of Egyptology knows that Osiris and his wife Isis were not exceeded in power or authority by any other of their many gods. Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves...lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female.“ (Deut. 4:15-16) In the second verse following those just quoted, Moses included in this command, ”The likeness of anything that creepeth on the ground." The crocodile, serpents, and beetles, (scarabeus) were objects of Egyptian adoration.
Or which are in the water under the earth. “All fish were esteemed sacred animals among the Egyptians, and were subject to their adoration.” (Dr. Adam Clarke) The ancients believed that the sea extended under the land and therefore this commandment referred also to the fish of the ocean.
In short, oxen, heifers, sheep, goats, lions, dogs, and cats; the ibis, the crane, and the hawk; the crocodile, serpents, frogs, flies, and the beetle, or scarabeus; the Nile and its fish; the sun, moon, planets, and stars; fire, light, air, darkness, and night, were all objects of Egyptian idolatry, and all included in this very circumstantial prohibition as detailed in Deuteronomy (4), and very forcibly in the general terms of the text: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in the HEAVENS above, or that is in the EARTH beneath, or that is in the WATER under the earth. And the reason for the command becomes self-evident, when the various objects of Egyptian idolatry are considered. (Dr. Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol.. I, p. 401)
To countenance its image worship, the Roman Catholic Church has left the whole of this second commandment out of the decalogue, and thus lost one whole commandment out of the ten; but to keep up the number they have divided the tenth into two...The verse is found in every MS. of the Hebrew Pentateuch that has ever yet been discovered. It is in all the ancient versions, Samaritan, Chaldee, Syriac, Septuagint, Vulgate, Coptic, and Arabic; also in the Persian, and in all modern versions. There is not one word of the whole verse wanting in the many hundreds of MSS. collected by Kennicott and De Rossi. (Ibid.)
Showing mercy unto thousands. As love for God is the incentive which causes men to obey His command, there can be no obedience thereto without love. In return, God loves the obedient child; he said of Israel, “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” (Deut. 4:39)
The Lord, Himself, comments upon these words of the Covenant: And the Lord passed by before Him [Moses], and proclaimed, The LORD, the LORD GOD, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin...visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and fourth generation. (Ex. 34:6-7)
Mercy means compassion; pity for the undeserving and the guilty. In the Revised Versions of the Bible the word is frequently rendered loving-kindness.
I the Lord thy God am a Jealous God. The love God had for the Children of Israel may be compared, but in a very imperfect way, to the love a tender husband has for the wife of his bosom. He exacts exclusive devotion, and is intolerant concerning her fidelity, because in her faithfulness he sees their happiness. Idolatry has aptly been termed spiritual adultery. “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” (Nahum 1:7)