18
And to whomוְאֶל מִיwill you likenתְּדַמְּיוּןEl,אֵלand whatוּמַהlikenessדְּמוּתwill you setתַּעַרְכוּbeside him?לוֹ
Isaiah 40:18
Study it in the app“And to whom will you liken El, and what likeness will you set beside him?”
With the Hebrew beneath
Isaiah 40:18, word by word
- will you likenתְּדַמְּיוּtedamyu
liken
To be like another, or to set one thing beside another as equal.
Where else “tedamyu” appears- Elאֵלel
El, God, god
"El", an ancient Hebrew word for "God". Alone or with another title it is a name of the God of Israel: El Elyon (God Most High), El Shaddai (God Almighty). Neighboring peoples used the same word for their gods; then this translation writes "god" in lower case. It also means "mighty".
Where else “el” appears- likenessדְּמוּתdemut
likeness
Likeness, resemblance; form, model; "like". It goes with "image": the human being was made to be like God in some way and to represent him, without being equal to him.
Where else “demut” appears- will you setתַּעַרְכוּtaarchu
arrange
To set things in a row and in order, like bread on the table.
Where else “taarchu” appears
The context
17All the nations are as nothing before him; as less than nothing and emptiness they are regarded by him.
18 · This verse (above)
19The carved image? A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold, and chains of silver the goldsmith casts.