The Meaning of Deuteronomy 32:14 Explained

Deuteronomy 32:14

KJV: Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.

YLT: Butter of the herd, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs, and rams, sons of Bashan, And he-goats, with fat of kidneys of wheat; And of the blood of the grape thou dost drink wine!

Darby: Cream of kine, and milk of sheep, With the fat of lambs, And rams of the breed of Bashan, and he-goats, With the fat of kidneys of wheat; And thou didst drink pure wine, the blood of the grape.

ASV: Butter of the herd, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs, And rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, With the finest of the wheat; And of the blood of the grape thou drankest wine.

What is the context of Deuteronomy 32:14?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Butter  of kine,  and milk  of sheep,  with fat  of lambs,  and rams  of the breed  of Bashan,  and goats,  with the fat  of kidneys  of wheat;  and thou didst drink  the pure  blood  of the grape. 

What does Deuteronomy 32:14 Mean?

Context Summary

Deuteronomy 32:1-14 - Moses' Song: The Lord's Favor Upon Israel
The song of Moses, like the fabled song of the swan, was his last and sweetest. It is probably the noblest ode in the whole compass of the Bible, and is the source from which subsequent singers derived suggestions for their noblest outbursts. The marginal references prove how deeply it dyed the national sentiment.
It excels in the names and designations of the Almighty. He is the Rock: Deuteronomy 31:4; Deuteronomy 31:15; Deuteronomy 31:18; Deuteronomy 31:30; Jehovah: Deuteronomy 31:6; Father: Deuteronomy 31:6; the Most High: Deuteronomy 31:8; God: El, the strong, Deuteronomy 31:15, etc. What a study are the names of God, scattered through the Bible! Each was coined to meet some need of the human soul. What the rocks of the desert are to its shifting sands God is amid the changes of this mortal existence.
This earlier part of the song is very tender. We are God's portion; the apple of His eye; as young eaglets, whom the mother-bird is carefully teaching to fly, the favored recipients of God's richest gifts, Deuteronomy 31:13, etc. [source]

Chapter Summary: Deuteronomy 32

1  Moses' song, which sets forth God's mercy and vengeance
46  He exhorts them to set their hearts upon it
48  God sends him up to mount Nebo to see the land, and to die

What do the individual words in Deuteronomy 32:14 mean?

Curds from the cattle and milk of the flock with fat of lambs and rams of the breed of Bashan and goats the choicest wheat and the blood of the grapes you drank wine
חֶמְאַ֨ת בָּקָ֜ר וַחֲלֵ֣ב צֹ֗אן עִם־ חֵ֨לֶב כָּרִ֜ים וְאֵילִ֤ים בְּנֵֽי־ בָשָׁן֙ וְעַתּוּדִ֔ים חֵ֖לֶב כִּלְי֣וֹת חִטָּ֑ה וְדַם־ עֵנָ֖ב תִּשְׁתֶּה־ חָֽמֶר

חֶמְאַ֨ת  Curds  from 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: חֶמְאָה  
Sense: curd, butter.
בָּקָ֜ר  the  cattle 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בָּקָר  
Sense: cattle, herd, oxen, ox.
וַחֲלֵ֣ב  and  milk 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: חָלָב  
Sense: milk, sour milk, cheese.
צֹ֗אן  of  the  flock 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: צֹאן  
Sense: small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks.
חֵ֨לֶב  fat 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: חֵלֶב  
Sense: fat.
כָּרִ֜ים  of  lambs 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: כַּר 
Sense: howdah, palanquin, basket saddle.
וְאֵילִ֤ים  and  rams 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural
Root: אַיִל 
Sense: ram.
בְּנֵֽי־  of  the  breed 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
בָשָׁן֙  of  Bashan 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בָּשָׁן 
Sense: a district east of the Jordan known for its fertility which was given to the half-tribe of Manasseh.
וְעַתּוּדִ֔ים  and  goats 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural
Root: עַתּוּד  
Sense: ram, he-goat, chief one.
כִּלְי֣וֹת  choicest 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: כִּלְיָה  
Sense: kidneys.
חִטָּ֑ה  wheat 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: חִטָּה  
Sense: wheat.
וְדַם־  and  the  blood 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: דָּם  
Sense: blood.
עֵנָ֖ב  of  the  grapes 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֵנָב  
Sense: grape(s).
תִּשְׁתֶּה־  you  drank 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: שָׁתָה  
Sense: to drink.
חָֽמֶר  wine 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֶמֶר  
Sense: wine.