What is Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image?

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image" is an abbreviated form of one of the Ten Commandments which, according to the Book of Deuteronomy, were spoken by God to the Israelites and then written on stone tablets by the Finger of God. It continues, "..any graven image, or any likeness that in heaven above, or that in the earth beneath, or that in the water under earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them."

Although no single biblical passage contains a complete definition of idolatry, the subject is addressed in numerous passages, so that idolatry may be summarized as the strange worship of idols or images; the worship of polytheistic gods by use of idols or images; the worship of created things ; and the use of idols in the worship of God , such as occurred with the golden calf, and later with the bronze snake. Covetousness is forbbiden by the 10th commandment, and as greed is defined as idolatry In the New Testament. When the commandment was given, opportunities to participate in the honor or worship of idols abounded, and the religions of Canaanite tribes neighboring the Israelites often centered on a carefully constructed and maintained cult idol. However, according to the book of Deuteronomy the Israelites were strictly warned to neither adopt nor adapt any of the religious practices of the peoples around them.

Nevertheless, the story of the people of Israel until the Babylonian Captivity includes the violation of this commandment as well as the one before it, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me". Much of biblical preaching from the time of Moses to the exile is predicated on the either–or choice between exclusive worship of God and idols. The Babylonian exile seems to have been a turning point after which the Jewish people as a whole were strongly monotheistic and willing to fight battles and face martyrdom before paying homage to any other god.

According to the psalmist and the prophet Isaiah, those who worship inanimate idols will be like them, that is, unseeing, unfeeling, unable to hear the truth that God would communicate to them. Paul the Apostle identifies the worship of created things as the cause of the disintegration of sexual and social morality in his letter to the Romans. Although the commandment implies that the worship of God is not compatible with the worship of idols, the status of an individual as an idol worshiper or a God worshiper is not portrayed as predetermined and unchangeable in the Bible. When the covenant is renewed under Joshua, the Israelites are encouraged to throw away their foreign gods and "choose this day whom you will serve". King Josiah, when he becomes aware of the terms of God's covenant, zealously works to rid his kingdom of idols. According to the book of Acts, Paul tells the Athenians that though their city is full of idols, the true God is represented by none of them and requires them to turn away from idols.