The Place of Worship
Deuteronomy 12:1-32
Deu.12.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אלה: DEM,pl,abs
- החקים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- והמשפטים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- תשמרון: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- לעשות: VERB,qal,inf
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- נתן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- אבתיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:2,m
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- לרשתה: INF,qal,3,f,sg
- כל: DET
- הימים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- חיים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- על: PREP
- האדמה: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 4:1 (verbal): Begins with an exhortation to 'hear' and then to observe the statutes and judgments—same formula calling for obedience to God's laws as the basis for life in the land.
- Deuteronomy 6:1 (verbal): Explicitly frames the 'statutes and judgments' that God commands to be taught and kept in the land, echoing Deut 12:1's emphasis on preserving these laws while living in the land.
- Deuteronomy 11:1 (thematic): Calls for love of the LORD and keeping his charge, statutes, and rules as the proper response that secures life and possession of the land—same covenantal requirement behind Deut 12:1.
- Leviticus 18:4 (verbal): Commands Israel to 'observe my statutes and my judgments,' using near-identical language to Deut 12:1 and linking obedience to God's revealed laws with covenant identity and life.
- Joshua 23:6 (thematic): Joshua urges Israel to 'be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses' in order to hold the land—parallels Deut 12:1's connection between obedience to statutes/judgments and possession of the land.
Alternative generated candidates
- These are the statutes and judgments which you shall observe and do in the land that the LORD your God gives you to possess it all the days that you live upon the earth.
- These are the statutes and the judgments that you shall observe to do in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess all the days that you live upon the earth.
Deu.12.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אבד: VERB,qal,infabs
- תאבדון: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- המקמות: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עבדו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- שם: ADV
- הגוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- ירשים: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- אלהיהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
- על: PREP
- ההרים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- הרמים: ADJ,m,pl,def
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- הגבעות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- ותחת: CONJ+PREP
- כל: DET
- עץ: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רענן: ADJ,m,sg
Parallels
- Deut.7.5 (verbal): Commands to destroy altars, break pillars, and cut down Asherim—same Deuteronomic injunction against cultic sites and objects of foreign worship.
- Exod.34.13 (verbal): Uses nearly identical language (destroy altars, break pillars, cut down groves) directing Israel to obliterate Canaanite cult sites.
- Joshua 24.14 (thematic): Call to put away the foreign gods and serve YHWH alone—same overarching purpose behind removing high places and cultic objects.
- Judg.6.25-27 (verbal): Gideon instructed to tear down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah beside it—an episodic enactment of the injunction to destroy local high-place worship.
- 2 Kings 18.4 (structural): Hezekiah’s reform: removal of high places, breaking pillars, cutting down Asherim—later historical fulfillment of the mandate to eradicate foreign cult sites.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you are dispossessing served their gods—on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every leafy tree.
- You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations you are dispossessing served their gods—on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every leafy tree.
Deu.12.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונתצתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- מזבחתם: NOUN,m,sg,suff
- ושברתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- מצבתם: NOUN,f,sg,suff
- ואשריהם: NOUN,f,pl,suff
- תשרפון: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- באש: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ופסילי: NOUN,m,pl,cstr
- אלהיהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
- תגדעון: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- ואבדתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- שמם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3mp
- מן: PREP
- המקום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
Parallels
- Exodus 34:13 (verbal): Directly parallels the command to break down altars, smash sacred stones and cut down Asherim—very close verbal and legal wording to Deut 12:3.
- Deuteronomy 7:5 (verbal): A near-parallel instruction in the same law corpus: Israelites must demolish the altars, break pillars and burn Asherim of the Canaanite nations.
- Deuteronomy 7:25 (verbal): Commands burning of carved images and not coveting metal from idols; complements Deut 12:3’s prohibition against preserving or honoring pagan cultic objects.
- Judges 6:25-26 (thematic): Gideon’s immediate tearing down of his father’s altar to Baal and cutting down the Asherah echoes the concrete action Deut 12:3 prescribes against local cult sites.
- 2 Kings 18:4 (thematic): Hezekiah’s reforms—cutting down Asherim and breaking sacred pillars—reflect the royal enactment of the Deuteronomic program to eradicate foreign cultic monuments.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall tear down their altars, break their pillars, burn their Asherim with fire, cut down their carved images, and obliterate their name from that place.
- You shall break down their altars, dash in pieces their pillars, burn their Asherah poles with fire, cut down their sacred poles, and blot out their name from that place.
Deu.12.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- תעשון: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- כן: ADV
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- אלהיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Deut.12.31 (verbal): Directly parallels the prohibitional formula—warns Israel not to worship YHWH in the detestable ways of the nations (uses similar wording: 'do not do so to the LORD your God').
- Lev.18.3 (verbal): Commands Israel not to 'walk in their statutes' or 'do as they do' in the land—an explicit prohibition against adopting the surrounding nations' practices, closely matching Deut 12:4's intent and wording.
- Lev.20.23 (thematic): Forbids following the customs of the nations God is driving out and links those customs with abominable practices—the same theological rationale behind 'You shall not do so to the LORD your God.'
- Deut.18.9-12 (thematic): Prohibits learning and imitating the occult and cultic practices of the nations (divination, necromancy, etc.), reflecting the same ban on adopting foreign religious behaviors addressed in Deut 12:4.
- Jer.10.2 (thematic): Prophetic admonition: 'Do not learn the way of the nations'—a post-Mosaic reiteration of the principle that Israel must not imitate pagan rites or customs in worship of YHWH.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall not do so to the LORD your God.
- Do not do so to the LORD your God.
Deu.12.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- אם: CONJ
- אל: NEG
- המקום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יבחר: VERB,qal,impf,3,ms
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- מכל: PREP
- שבטיכם: NOUN,m,pl,suff
- לשום: VERB,qal,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- שמו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- שם: ADV
- לשכנו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,poss:3ms
- תדרשו: VERB,qal,impf,2,pl
- ובאת: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- שמה: ADV
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 12:11 (verbal): Repeats the same command to bring offerings to 'the place the LORD will choose'—a near-verbatim continuation of the centralization theme.
- Deuteronomy 16:5–7 (quotation): Uses the identical formula that certain festivals and sacrifices must be kept at 'the place that the LORD will choose,' applying the centralization rule to Passover and pilgrim worship.
- 2 Chronicles 6:6 (allusion): Solomon’s prayer cites God’s choice of Jerusalem as the place where his name would dwell—echoing Deuteronomy’s promise that God will select a single dwelling-place.
- Psalm 132:13–14 (thematic): Affirms that the LORD has chosen Zion as his dwelling place—a theological reflection on God’s selection of a specific sanctified site for his name.
- Leviticus 17:8–9 (thematic): Commands that offerings/peace offerings be brought to the tent of meeting (centralized worship), reflecting the same concern to restrict sacrificial cultic activity to a designated sacred place.
Alternative generated candidates
- But to the place that the LORD your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his Name, to make his dwelling there—you shall seek and there you shall go.
- But to the place that the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to set his name and make his dwelling there—you shall seek and there you shall go.
Deu.12.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והבאתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- שמה: ADV
- עלתיכם: NOUN,f,pl,suff
- וזבחיכם: NOUN,m,pl,suff
- ואת: CONJ
- מעשרתיכם: NOUN,f,pl,suff
- ואת: CONJ
- תרומת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- ידכם: NOUN,f,sg,abs,2mp
- ונדריכם: NOUN,m,pl,suff
- ונדבתיכם: NOUN,f,pl,suff
- ובכרת: CONJ
- בקרכם: NOUN,m,pl,suff
- וצאנכם: NOUN,m,pl,suff
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 12:11 (verbal): Immediate parallel within the same chapter — repeats the injunction to bring burnt offerings, sacrifices, tithes and other votive/heave gifts to the place the LORD will choose.
- Deuteronomy 14:23–26 (thematic): Commands to bring and consume tithes at the chosen sanctuary and to use tithes and offerings there (ties tithing practice to central sanctuary worship).
- Deuteronomy 26:1–11 (structural): Ritual of bringing firstfruits and presenting them before the priest at the chosen place, with accompanying declaration — parallels the obligation to bring offerings, firstlings and vows to the sanctuary.
- Numbers 18:21–24 (thematic): Discussion of tithes and their purpose for supporting the Levites and the service of the sanctuary — connects the obligation to bring tithes/offerings to institutional cultic support.
- Exodus 13:2 (allusion): The command to consecrate the firstborn to the LORD echoes the element in Deut.12:6 about the firstborn of cattle and flocks being brought/assigned to God.
Alternative generated candidates
- And you shall bring there your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the heave offerings of your hand, your vows, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock.
- And there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the heave offering of your hand, your vows, your freewill offerings, and the choicest of your herds and of your flocks.
Deu.12.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואכלתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- שם: ADV
- לפני: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- ושמחתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משלח: VERB,piel,part,3,m,sg
- ידכם: NOUN,f,sg,abs,2mp
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- ובתיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:2mp
- אשר: PRON,rel
- ברכך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg,obj2ms
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 12:12 (verbal): Repeats the command to eat and rejoice at the place the LORD chooses, using the same language of rejoicing before the LORD your God.
- Deuteronomy 12:18 (verbal): Closely echoes 12:7 — permits eating at the central sanctuary and commands rejoicing there with household and possessions given by God.
- Deuteronomy 14:26 (verbal): Directly parallels the instruction to consume and enjoy offerings at the place of worship: 'eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.'
- Deuteronomy 26:11 (thematic): Commands the worshiper to 'rejoice in all the good' that the LORD has given to you and your house, connecting communal eating/offerings with thankful rejoicing.
- Leviticus 23:40 (thematic): Festival command to take branches and 'rejoice before the LORD your God' — links cultic celebration, ritual meals, and communal rejoicing before God.
Alternative generated candidates
- And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in all that you undertake—you, and your households, with which the LORD your God has blessed you.
- And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in all that you put your hand to—you and your sons and your daughters, and the servants and maidservants whom the LORD your God has blessed you with.
Deu.12.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- תעשון: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- ככל: PREP
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אנחנו: PRON,1,pl
- עשים: VERB,qal,inf
- פה: ADV
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כל: DET
- הישר: ADJ,m,sg,def
- בעיניו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+3ms
Parallels
- Judges 17:6 (verbal): Contains the identical formula 'every man did what was right in his own eyes' (איש ככל־רע בעיניו), echoing Deut 12:8's critique of individualistic practice of religion.
- Judges 21:25 (verbal): Repeats the same phrase and context—lack of centralized authority leads to 'everyone doing what was right in his own eyes,' a social-theological parallel to Deut 12:8.
- Proverbs 21:2 (verbal): Proverbial statement 'Every way of a man is right in his own eyes' parallels Deut 12:8's observation about human self-justification and subjective judgment.
- Leviticus 18:3 (thematic): Prohibits following the practices of Egypt and Canaan; thematically parallels Deut 12:8's injunction against adopting local or personal religious customs instead of God's prescribed worship.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall not act as we are acting here today—each one doing what is right in his own eyes.
- You shall not do as we are doing here today, each one doing what is right in his own eyes.
Deu.12.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- באתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- עד: PREP
- עתה: ADV
- אל: NEG
- המנוחה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- הנחלה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- נתן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Deut.1:8 (verbal): Both verses speak of coming into the land God set before the people and taking possession — the theme of entering the promised inheritance echoes Deuteronomy 1:8's command to go in and take the land.
- Deut.11:31 (thematic): Deuteronomy 11:31 frames possession of the land as the fulfillment of God's promise to the fathers, paralleling 12:9's emphasis on the inheritance and the arrival at God's granted rest.
- Joshua 21:43-45 (verbal): Joshua explicitly records that the LORD gave Israel rest and gave them possession of the land, directly corresponding to Deut 12:9's language of ‘rest’ and the ‘inheritance’ God gives.
- Hebrews 4:3 (cf. Heb. 3:11, 4:8-10) (allusion): The New Testament reworks the 'rest' motif: Hebrews uses Israel's failure to enter God's rest and the promise of entering his rest (compare Heb. 3:11, 4:8–10) as theological commentary on the same concept of divine 'rest' and inheritance found in Deut 12:9.
Alternative generated candidates
- For you have not yet come to the rest and the inheritance which the LORD your God gives you.
- For you have not yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the LORD your God gives you.
Deu.12.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ועברתם: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- הירדן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- וישבתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- מנחיל: VERB,hiph,ptc,3,m,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- והניח: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,sg
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- מכל: PREP
- איביכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,pl,m
- מסביב: ADV,loc
- וישבתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- בטח: ADV
Parallels
- Deut.11.31 (verbal): Both verses speak of crossing the Jordan to enter and possess the land that the LORD gives you — shared language and command framing the conquest/possession motif.
- Deut.12.9 (thematic): Immediate literary parallel within Deuteronomy: 12:9 states they had not yet come to the rest/possession, while 12:10 announces the rest and safe dwelling that will follow crossing — contrasting stages of Israel’s settlement.
- Joshua 21:43-45 (verbal): Joshua reports that the LORD gave Israel rest on every side and gave them the land, echoing Deut 12:10’s promise of rest from enemies and secure settlement in the allotted inheritance.
- 2 Samuel 7:11-12 (thematic): God’s promise to David to give rest from his enemies and to establish an enduring inheritance parallels the Deuteronomic theme of divine grant of land, rest, and security for Israel.
- 1 Kings 4:25 (thematic): Description of the people living 'in safety' and under peaceful conditions mirrors Deut 12:10’s image of dwelling securely after God removes surrounding enemies.
Alternative generated candidates
- When you cross the Jordan and dwell in the land that the LORD your God gives you to inherit, and he gives you rest from all your enemies around so that you dwell secure,
- But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land that the LORD your God gives you to inherit, when he gives you rest from all your enemies around and you live in safety,
Deu.12.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- המקום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יבחר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- לשכן: VERB,qal,inf
- שמו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- שם: ADV
- שמה: ADV
- תביאו: VERB,qal,impf,2,mp
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- מצוה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- עולתיכם: NOUN,f,sg,poss,2,pl
- וזבחיכם: NOUN,m,pl,poss,2,pl
- מעשרתיכם: NOUN,f,pl,poss,2,pl
- ותרמת: NOUN,f,sg,poss,2,pl
- ידכם: NOUN,f,sg,abs,2mp
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- מבחר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נדריכם: NOUN,m,pl,poss,2,pl
- אשר: PRON,rel
- תדרו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Deut 12:5 (structural): Immediate parallel within the same chapter stating that God will choose a single place for his name; Deut 12:11 applies that principle to the bringing of offerings and vows.
- Lev 17:8-9 (verbal): Commands that sacrifices be brought to the tent of meeting (centralized worship) rather than being offered wherever one pleases—same concern for centralizing offerings as Deut 12:11.
- Deut 16:11 (thematic): Instructs Israelites to rejoice before the LORD at the place he chooses, bringing the produce of their tithes and offerings—connects pilgrimage/feast-site practice with bringing tithes and offerings to the chosen place.
- 1 Kings 8:29-30 (allusion): Solomon’s dedicatory prayer for the temple asks that offerings and petitions be heard when brought to the house that God chose—reflects Deuternomic idea of a divinely chosen dwelling-place for offerings.
- Num 18:21 (thematic): Assigns the tithe to the Levites as their inheritance in return for service at the sanctuary, presupposing a central place where tithes/offerings are to be presented (resonant with Deut 12:11's list of items to bring).
Alternative generated candidates
- then the place that the LORD your God will choose to put his Name, his dwelling place—there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the heave offerings of your hand, and all the choice things of your vows which you vow to the LORD.
- then the place that the LORD your God will choose to set his name will be where you bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the heave offering of your hand, and all your vowed and freewill offerings.
Deu.12.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ושמחתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- לפני: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- ובניכם: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs+SUFF,2mp
- ובנתיכם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+2mp
- ועבדיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+2mp
- ואמהתיכם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+2mp
- והלוי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- בשעריכם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+2mp
- כי: CONJ
- אין: PART,neg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- חלק: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ונחלה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Deut.12.7 (verbal): Repeats the command to 'rejoice before the LORD your God' in the context of eating at the appointed place and includes the same categories (you, your sons/daughters, servants, Levite) — close verbal parallel.
- Deut.12.18 (verbal): Similarly commands that when the Lord blesses you you may eat and 'rejoice before the LORD your God' at the chosen place — same ritual link between eating at the sanctuary and communal rejoicing.
- Deut.16.11 (structural): Feast of Weeks legislation: 'you shall rejoice before the LORD your God — you and your son and your daughter and your male servant and your female servant and the Levite...' — parallel statute prescribing communal rejoicing with Levites present, here in a festival framework and with an expanded list.
- Deut.14.26 (verbal): When converting a tithe to money to spend at the place of worship you are to 'eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice' with your household and servants — links eating at the sanctuary, expenditure of offerings, and communal rejoicing similar to Deut 12:12.
Alternative generated candidates
- And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God—you, your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates; for he has no portion or inheritance with you.
- And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God—you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is in your towns, for he has no portion or inheritance with you.
Deu.12.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- השמר: VERB,hitpael,imperat,2,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- פן: CONJ
- תעלה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- עלתיך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+POSS,2,m,sg
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מקום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- תראה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Deut.12.5 (thematic): Commands Israel to seek the one place the LORD will choose for his name — background justification for not offering sacrifices 'in every place'.
- Deut.12.14 (verbal): Directly continues and clarifies 12:13: permits eating of animals anywhere but reiterates that burnt offerings must be brought only to the chosen place.
- Leviticus 17:3–4 (quotation): Explicit prohibition against slaughtering animals and presenting blood/to offerings anywhere except at the entrance of the tent of meeting — stresses centralized cult like Deut.12:13.
- Leviticus 17:8–9 (verbal): Commands bringing sacrifices to the tent of meeting so that the LORD may dwell among Israel, opposing slaughter/offerings done 'in every place'.
- Hosea 8:13 (thematic): Prophetic denunciation of sacrifices offered at multiple local shrines (Gilgal, Beersheba), echoing Deut.'s critique of decentralized worship.
Alternative generated candidates
- Be careful for yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see.
- Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see.
Deu.12.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- אם: CONJ
- במקום: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יבחר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- באחד: PREP
- שבטיך: NOUN,m,pl,suff
- שם: ADV
- תעלה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- עלתיך: NOUN,f,pl,suff
- ושם: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תעשה: VERB,qal,imf,2,m,sg
- כל: DET
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- מצוך: VERB,piel,part,1,sg,obj:2,m,sg
Parallels
- Deut.12.11 (verbal): Almost identical instruction: bring your burnt offerings 'to the place that the LORD will choose' and perform what God commands there — a direct repetition/parallel within the same centralization law.
- Lev.17.3-4 (verbal): Law requiring that sacrificial slaughter and offerings be done 'at the entrance of the tent of meeting' (i.e., the central cultic location); echoes the requirement to offer only at God’s chosen place.
- Josh.22:29-34 (thematic): Narrative conflict over an unauthorized altar east of the Jordan; the resolution and the language reflect the principle that sacrifices belong only at the central sanctuary chosen by Yahweh.
- 2 Kings 23:8 (thematic): King Josiah's reform dismantles local high places and centralizes worship at the Temple in Jerusalem, applying the Deuteronomic principle that offerings are to be made at the chosen place.
- Ps.132:13-14 (thematic): The psalm affirms that the LORD has chosen Zion as his dwelling place and will bless it — theological reflection on the idea of a divinely chosen sanctuary where God is to be served.
Alternative generated candidates
- But only in the place which the LORD will choose in one of your tribes shall you offer your burnt offerings; there you shall do all that I command you.
- Only at the place that the LORD your God will choose in one of your tribes shall you offer your burnt offerings; there you shall do all that I command you.
Deu.12.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- רק: PRT
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אות: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נפשך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,2,m
- תזבח: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- ואכלת: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- בשר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כברכת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- אשר: PRON,rel
- נתן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שעריך: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- הטמא: ADJ,m,sg,def
- והטהור: ADJ,m,sg,def
- יאכלנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- כצבי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וכאיל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deut.12.16 (structural): Immediate context—continues the same instruction by forbidding the consumption of blood and ordering it to be poured out.
- Deut.12.20-21 (structural): Closely related provision about slaughtering and eating meat 'in your towns' when the LORD enlarges your territory, elaborating the same permission to eat locally.
- Leviticus 17:10-14 (verbal): Directly related laws about not eating blood and the requirement that blood be offered/handled at the sanctuary; includes the theological formula 'for the life of the flesh is in the blood.'
- Deut.14:3-21 (thematic): The Deuteronomic dietary code distinguishing clean and unclean animals—relevant to the statement that both ritually 'unclean and clean' may eat slaughtered meat in this verse.
- Genesis 9:4 (verbal): Early covenant prohibition against eating flesh with its life (blood), echoing the broader Israelite prohibition against consuming blood found in Deuteronomy.
Alternative generated candidates
- Yet you may slaughter and eat meat in all your towns, as your soul desires, according to the blessing of the LORD your God that he has given you; both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat of it, like the gazelle and the deer.
- Nevertheless, any place where your soul desires to slaughter and to eat flesh, you may eat meat, as the blessing of the LORD your God has given you—in all your towns the ceremonially unclean and the ceremonially clean may eat of it, like the gazelle and the deer.
Deu.12.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- רק: PRT
- הדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
- לא: PART_NEG
- תאכלו: VERB,qal,impf,2,mp
- על: PREP
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- תשפכנו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- כמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Genesis 9:4 (verbal): Noahic prohibition: "But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood" — an early articulation of the ban on consuming blood.
- Leviticus 17:13-14 (quotation): Direct priestly law commanding that when an animal is slaughtered its blood be poured out on the earth and that the blood not be eaten — very close in wording and practice to Deut 12:16.
- Leviticus 3:17 (verbal): Statement of a perpetual statute forbidding the eating of blood (and fat) — echoes the same dietary prohibition.
- Leviticus 17:11 (thematic): Provides the theological rationale: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood," explaining why blood must not be eaten and must be drained/poured out.
- Acts 15:20,29 (thematic): The Jerusalem Council's instruction to Gentile converts to "abstain from blood" reflects the continuation/application of the OT ban on consuming blood in the early church.
Alternative generated candidates
- Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it out upon the earth like water.
- Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.
Deu.12.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- תוכל: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- לאכל: INF,qal
- בשעריך: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs-2ms
- מעשר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דגנך: NOUN,m,sg,sfx
- ותירשך: NOUN,m,sg,sfx
- ויצהרך: NOUN,m,sg,sfx
- ובכרת: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בקרך: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וצאנך: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs+POSS,2,m,sg
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- נדריך: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- תדר: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- ונדבתיך: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ותרומת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ידך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss:2,f,sg
Parallels
- Deut.12:11-12 (verbal): Immediate context/continuation: commands bringing and eating the tithe and firstborn at the place the LORD will choose, directly connected to the prohibition against eating them 'in your gates.'
- Deut.14:22-26 (thematic): Repeats and expands the tithe-eating rule: tithe of produce must be eaten before the LORD in the chosen place (or converted to money if too distant), addressing practicalities of central worship.
- Leviticus 27:30 (verbal): Defines the tithe as holy to the LORD (a tenth of the produce), sharing the same subject terminology and cultic valuation of agricultural giving.
- Numbers 18:21-24 (structural): Allocates the tithe to the Levites as their inheritance for service at the sanctuary—shows how tithes function within the centralized cultic system behind Deut 12:17.
- 2 Chronicles 31:5-12 (thematic): Narrates a post-exilic/Deuteronomistic reform implementing tithe collection and provisioning for temple service—practical fulfilment of laws requiring designated offerings to be brought to the central sanctuary.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall not eat within your towns the tithe of your grain, wine, oil, the firstborn of your herd or of your flock, or any of your vows, your freewill offerings, or the heave offering of your hand.
- You shall not be permitted to eat within your towns the tithe of your grain, new wine, and oil, or the firstborn of your herds and of your flocks, or any of your vows, or your freewill offerings, or the heave offering of your hand.
Deu.12.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- אם: CONJ
- לפני: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- תאכלנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg,suff:1,pl
- במקום: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יבחר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- ובנך: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs-2ms
- ובתך: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs-2ms
- ועבדך: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs-2ms
- ואמתך: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs-2ms
- והלוי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- בשעריך: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs-2ms
- ושמחת: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- לפני: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משלח: VERB,piel,part,3,m,sg
- ידך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss:2,f,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 12:7 (verbal): Uses nearly identical language: eating 'there before the LORD your God' and rejoicing in all that one does — same command restricting sacred meals to the place chosen by YHWH.
- Deuteronomy 16:11 (structural): Festival instruction listing the same participants (you, son, daughter, male and female servants, the Levite) who are to 'rejoice before the LORD' — parallels the communal/household-rejoicing motif.
- Leviticus 7:11-15 (thematic): Laws for the peace (shelamim) offering: the offerer and family eat the sacrifice in a holy context. Connects the idea of sacrificial/mealtime eating tied to cultic place and communal participation.
- Nehemiah 8:10-12 (thematic): After public reading of the law the people 'went to eat' and 'rejoiced' together, sharing portions — echoes the connection between public/communal eating and rejoicing before the LORD.
Alternative generated candidates
- But you shall eat them before the LORD your God, in the place which the LORD your God will choose—you, your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates—and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all that you undertake.
- But you shall eat them before the LORD your God, in the place which the LORD your God will choose, you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is in your towns; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all that you put your hand to.
Deu.12.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- השמר: VERB,hitpael,imperat,2,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- פן: CONJ
- תעזב: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הלוי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- כל: DET
- ימיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs+2ms
- על: PREP
- אדמתך: NOUN,f,sg,sfx
Parallels
- Numbers 18:21 (verbal): God assigns the tithe to the Levites as their inheritance and support — a concrete provision that parallels Deut 12:19's concern that Israelites not abandon the Levite's maintenance.
- Deuteronomy 14:27-29 (thematic): Commands to set aside portions and tithes so that Levites (and the resident alien, fatherless, and widow) may eat and be satisfied, echoing the obligation not to forsake the Levite.
- Deuteronomy 18:1-2 (structural): States that the priests and Levites have no land inheritance and therefore are to receive the LORD's portions — explaining why Israelites must provide for Levites and so reinforcing Deut 12:19's warning.
- Joshua 13:14 (allusion): Affirms that Moses gave the Levites no territorial inheritance and that the LORD is their inheritance, alluding to the same institutional dependence on Israel's support referred to in Deut 12:19.
- 2 Chronicles 31:20-21 (thematic): Describes Hezekiah's provision for priests and Levites so they could serve, illustrating the enduring obligation of the community to supply Levites that Deut 12:19 enjoins.
Alternative generated candidates
- Be careful for yourself that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live upon your land.
- Take care that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live on your land.
Deu.12.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- ירחיב: VERB,hiphil,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- את: PRT,acc
- גבולך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- כאשר: CONJ
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- ואמרת: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- אכלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- בשר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- תאוה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- נפשך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,2,m
- לאכל: INF,qal
- בשר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אות: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נפשך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,2,m
- תאכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- בשר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 12:15 (verbal): Close repetition of the permission to eat meat in the land “because you crave” (same legal allowance and wording).
- Deuteronomy 12:21 (structural): Immediate continuation/clarification permitting slaughter of cattle and sheep for food in the land once you live there—regulates where and how meat may be eaten.
- Leviticus 17:3-4 (structural): Law concerning where animals are to be killed and offerings brought (centralized sacrificial regulations); provides legal background and contrast to Deut.12’s provisions about eating/ slaughter in the land.
- Numbers 11:4-6 (thematic): Israelites complain and crave meat (expressing desire for flesh), which echoes Deut.’s explicit justification “because you crave meat.”
- Numbers 11:31-32 (allusion): Narrative account of God sending quail to satisfy the people’s craving for meat—illustrates the theme of Israel’s desire for meat and divine response/consequences.
Alternative generated candidates
- When the LORD your God enlarges your border, as he has promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat, for my soul craves meat,’ you may eat meat as your soul desires.
- When the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as he has promised you, and you say, 'I will eat meat, because my soul desires to eat meat,' you may eat meat whenever your soul desires.
Deu.12.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- ירחק: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ממך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- המקום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יבחר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- לשום: VERB,qal,inf
- שמו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- שם: ADV
- וזבחת: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- מבקרך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg+PRON,2,m,sg
- ומצאנך: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl+PRON,2,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- נתן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- כאשר: CONJ
- צויתך: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg+PRON,2,m,sg
- ואכלת: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- בשעריך: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs-2ms
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אות: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נפשך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,2,m
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 12:15 (verbal): Explicit permission to slaughter and eat meat in your towns (“you may slaughter and eat flesh”)—directly parallels 12:21’s allowance when the central place is too far.
- Deuteronomy 12:20 (thematic): Provides a related exception permitting slaughter and local consumption when the LORD enlarges your territory—12:21 supplies a similar practical exemption for distance to the chosen place.
- Deuteronomy 12:6 (structural): Commands that offerings be brought to the place the LORD chooses; echoes the centralization principle that 12:21 qualifies by permitting local eating when the sanctuary is distant.
- Leviticus 17:3-4 (thematic): Prohibits slaughtering animals for sacrifice except at the tent entrance (centralized worship). Serves as a legal background contrast to Deut 12’s allowance to slaughter for food outside the central sanctuary.
- Deuteronomy 12:11 (verbal): Refers to “the place which the LORD will choose to put his name there,” the same technical phrase used in 12:21 linking both verses to the theme of a divinely chosen central sanctuary.
Alternative generated candidates
- If the place that the LORD your God chooses is too far from you, then you may slaughter of your herd and of your flock, which the LORD has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat in your towns all that your soul desires.
- If the place which the LORD your God will choose to set his name is too far from you, and the LORD your God gives you livestock and flock, as I have commanded you, and you slaughter from them, then you may eat within your towns whatever your soul desires.
Deu.12.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אך: PART
- כאשר: CONJ
- יאכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הצבי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואת: CONJ
- האיל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- כן: ADV
- תאכלנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg,suff:1,pl
- הטמא: ADJ,m,sg,def
- והטהור: CONJ+ADJ,m,sg,def
- יחדו: ADV
- יאכלנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Deut.12.15 (verbal): Same teaching and close wording in the same section: permission to eat meat within your towns “as you eat the gazelle and the deer,” allowing consumption without bringing it to the central sanctuary.
- Deut.14.4-6 (verbal): Lists permitted wild animals (including deer and similar species); connects the example animals (צבי, איל) used in 12:22 to the kosher categories elsewhere in Deuteronomy.
- Deut.12.20-21 (structural): Continues the same Deuteronomic regulation about slaughtering and eating meat locally when the central sanctuary is distant — same legal context and practical rulings as 12:22.
- Leviticus 22:4-7 (thematic): Contrasts sacrificial/holy‑meal rules where the unclean may not eat holy things with Deut 12:22’s allowance that ‘unclean and clean’ may eat ordinary slaughtered meat alike, highlighting different rules for sacred versus common food.
Alternative generated candidates
- Only be sure to do as one does with the gazelle and the deer: to eat them—both the unclean and the clean shall eat together.
- As one eats the gazelle or the deer, so you may eat it; both the ceremonially unclean and the ceremonially clean may eat together.
Deu.12.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- רק: PRT
- חזק: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- לבלתי: PART,neg
- אכל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- הדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
- כי: CONJ
- הדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- הנפש: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ולא: CONJ
- תאכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- הנפש: NOUN,f,sg,def
- עם: PREP
- הבשר: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 12:16 (structural): Immediate parallel in the same chapter repeating the prohibition to not eat blood and instructing to pour it out on the earth.
- Genesis 9:4 (verbal): Post‑Flood prohibition: 'But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood,' echoing the language 'the blood is the life; do not eat the life with the flesh.'
- Leviticus 17:11 (verbal): Provides the theological reason: 'For the life of the flesh is in the blood,' linking blood with life and grounding the ban on consuming it.
- Leviticus 7:26 (thematic): A general cultic/legal prohibition: 'You shall not eat any blood whatever,' paralleling Deuteronomy's dietary command.
- Acts 15:29 (allusion): New Testament application: the Jerusalem Council instructs Gentile believers to 'abstain from blood,' reflecting the Deuteronomic/Levitical prohibition in an early Christian context.
Alternative generated candidates
- But be firm not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life; you shall not eat the life with the flesh.
- Only be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh.
Deu.12.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- תאכלנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg,suff:1,pl
- על: PREP
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- תשפכנו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- כמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 12:23 (structural): Immediate context: verse 23 explains why blood must not be eaten ('the blood is the life'); verse 24 gives the practical injunction to pour it out like water.
- Leviticus 17:13-14 (verbal): Direct parallel command: anyone who kills an animal must pour out its blood and not eat it; language and ritual practice closely mirror Deut 12:24.
- Leviticus 7:26-27 (thematic): Prohibits eating any blood (of bird or beast) and prescribes exclusion for those who do; echoes the same concern with consuming blood.
- Genesis 9:4 (verbal): Early prohibition after the Flood: 'You shall not eat flesh with its lifeblood,' providing a canonical precedent for the ban on consuming blood.
- Acts 15:20,29 (allusion): Apostolic decree for Gentile believers to 'abstain from blood' (among other things), reflecting and applying the Torah's prohibition on consuming blood in the post‑Pentecost church.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out upon the earth like water.
- You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.
Deu.12.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- תאכלנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg,suff:1,pl
- למען: PREP
- ייטב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- ולבניך: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,con,poss:2,m,sg
- אחריך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,m
- כי: CONJ
- תעשה: VERB,qal,imf,2,m,sg
- הישר: ADJ,m,sg,def
- בעיני: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deut.6:18 (verbal): Uses the same language and command to ‘do what is right (and good) in the sight of the LORD’ — connects obedience to God’s standards with blessing.
- Deut.11:13-21 (thematic): Promises land-fertility and wellbeing for Israel and their children as the direct consequence of obedience to the LORD — echoes the cause–effect of doing right and ‘it will be well with you and your children.’
- Josh.1:8 (thematic): Commands meditating on and obeying the law so that one may prosper and have success — a parallel link between faithful practice of God’s commands and blessing/prosperity.
- Prov.3:1-2 (thematic): Promises long life and peace for those who keep parental/Divine instruction, paralleling the promise that obedience will result in wellbeing for oneself and one’s children.
- Ps.128:1-4 (thematic): Describes the blessing on the household of one who fears the LORD (peace, fruitfulness, blessing of children) — thematically parallels the promised welfare of one’s family tied to right conduct before God.
Alternative generated candidates
- It shall be for you a perpetual ordinance, for the good of you and your children after you, because you will do what is right in the sight of the LORD.
- You shall not eat it, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, because you will do what is right in the sight of the LORD.
Deu.12.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- רק: PRT
- קדשיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs,2ms
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יהיו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- ונדריך: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs,2ms
- תשא: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- ובאת: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- המקום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יבחר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deut.12.5 (verbal): Uses the same phrase 'the place that the LORD will choose' and immediately grounds the instruction to bring holy things and vows to that one designated site (direct repetition within the chapter).
- Deut.16.16 (thematic): Requires Israelites to appear at the place the LORD chooses for the three pilgrimage festivals — emphasizes centralized worship and coming to the chosen place with offerings.
- Leviticus 17:8-9 (thematic): Commands that sacrifices be offered at the tent of meeting/altar and forbids slaughtering and offering blood elsewhere — parallels Deut.12's insistence on bringing sacred/vowed offerings to the proper, divinely chosen location.
- 1 Kings 8:29 (allusion): In Solomon's dedication prayer the king appeals to 'the place that you have chosen' (the temple) and asks God to regard offerings and prayers there — a later royal realization of the Deuteronomic concept of a single chosen place of worship.
Alternative generated candidates
- Only your sacred things and your vows you shall take and go to the place which the LORD will choose.
- Only take and present your holy things and your vows; go to the place which the LORD will choose.
Deu.12.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ועשית: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- עלתיך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- הבשר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והדם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- על: PREP
- מזבח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- ודם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- זבחיך: NOUN,m,sg,poss2
- ישפך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- מזבח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- והבשר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- תאכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Leviticus 7:15-18 (thematic): Describes the eating of peace/thanksgiving offering by the offerer (and priests) and regulations about portions — parallels Deut.12:27’s instruction that the flesh of the sacrifice be eaten after the blood is dealt with.
- Leviticus 17:11-14 (thematic): Affirms that the life is in the blood and that the blood is given on the altar for atonement; establishes the prohibition on eating blood — closely related theologically to Deut.12:27’s command that blood be poured out on the altar while the flesh is eaten.
- Numbers 18:17-18 (verbal): Speaks of pouring blood on the altar and the assignment of the sacrificial flesh to the priests (and their households) — parallels Deut.12:27’s juxtaposition of blood disposition on the altar and consumption of the flesh.
- Leviticus 3:2-3 (verbal): Gives procedural details for peace offerings: blood handling (sprinkling/pouring on the altar) and the consumption of the flesh — echoes the concrete sacrificial actions commanded in Deut.12:27.
Alternative generated candidates
- And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of the LORD your God; the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the LORD your God, and the flesh you shall eat.
- And you shall offer your burnt offerings—the flesh and the blood—on the altar of the LORD your God; the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the LORD your God, and you shall eat the flesh.
Deu.12.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ושמעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- הדברים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- האלה: DEM,pl
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- מצוך: VERB,piel,part,1,sg,obj:2,m,sg
- למען: PREP
- ייטב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- ולבניך: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,con,poss:2,m,sg
- אחריך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,m
- עד: PREP
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- תעשה: VERB,qal,imf,2,m,sg
- הטוב: ADJ,m,sg,def
- והישר: ADJ,m,sg,def
- בעיני: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
Parallels
- Deut 6:24-25 (verbal): Directly parallel within Deuteronomy: obedience to God's commandments results in well-being and is described as 'for our good' or 'it shall be our righteousness,' echoing the cause–effect language of 12:28.
- Josh 1:7-8 (thematic): Joshua is charged to keep and meditate on the law so that he may have success and prosper—same theme of careful obedience to the command leading to blessing and stability.
- Deut 5:29 (thematic): God's expressed desire that the people would fear him and keep his commandments 'that it may go well with them,' a closely related rationale for calling Israel to obedience.
- Ps 1:1-3 (thematic): The blessed person who delights in and meditates on the law is compared to a flourishing tree—an image of prosperity and continuity that parallels the promise of well-being for obedient households.
- Prov 3:1-2 (thematic): A parent's exhortation to keep teaching and commandments so that 'there will be length of days and years of life and peace,' reflecting the same cause–effect linking obedience to long-term blessing.
Alternative generated candidates
- Be careful and heed all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God.
- Be careful and obey all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God.
Deu.12.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- יכרית: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- את: PRT,acc
- הגוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- בא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שמה: ADV
- לרשת: VERB,qal,inf
- אותם: PRON,3,m,pl,obj
- מפניך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,2m
- וירשת: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- וישבת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- בארצם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def,poss:3mp
Parallels
- Deut.7.1 (verbal): Closely parallel wording and theme: Yahweh will cut off/drive out the nations before Israel as they enter to possess the land.
- Exod.23.28-30 (verbal): God promises to send hornets and drive out the inhabitants, and to dispossess nations as Israel enters the land—echoes the divine action of cutting off and dispossessing.
- Num.33.51-52 (structural): Direct command to dispossess the inhabitants and occupy the land; parallels the legal/ritual instruction connected to taking possession after God cuts off the nations.
- Deut.20.16-18 (thematic): Command to utterly destroy certain peoples in the land—connects to the theme of divine judgment and complete dispossession of nations before Israel.
- Josh.24.12 (allusion): Joshua recalls Yahweh driving out nations (sending hornets, delivering peoples) when giving the land to Israel—an historical/theological echo of Deut 12:29's claim.
Alternative generated candidates
- When the LORD your God cuts off the nations from before you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land,
- For when the LORD your God cuts off the nations from before you and you dispossess them and dwell in their land,
Deu.12.30 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- השמר: VERB,hitpael,imperat,2,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- פן: CONJ
- תנקש: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- אחריהם: PREP,3,m,pl
- אחרי: PREP
- השמדם: NOUN,f,sg,def
- מפניך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,2m
- ופן: CONJ
- תדרש: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- לאלהיהם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+3,m,pl
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- איכה: INTJ
- יעבדו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- הגוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- האלה: DEM,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- אלהיהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
- ואעשה: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- כן: ADV
- גם: ADV
- אני: PRON,1,sg
Parallels
- Exodus 34:15-16 (verbal): Uses closely related language and warning: do not make covenants with nations lest you be led to serve their gods — a verbal parallel to Deut 12:30's concern about being ensnared and imitating foreign worship.
- Deuteronomy 4:19 (thematic): Warns against being drawn away to worship heavenly or foreign things after seeing the nations' signs — thematically echoes the danger of following other peoples' religious practices.
- Deuteronomy 13:12-15 (thematic): Prescribes action against towns that entice Israel to serve other gods; reflects the same concern in Deut 12:30 about communities that could lead Israelites to imitate foreign worship.
- Judges 2:11-13 (thematic): Narrates Israel's descent into serving Baals and other gods after contact with surrounding peoples, illustrating the historical outcome Deut 12:30 seeks to prevent.
- 1 Kings 11:4-8 (thematic): Describes Solomon's turn to foreign gods under influence of foreign wives and the building of high places — a concrete example of the temptation to copy the worship of other nations warned against in Deut 12:30.
Alternative generated candidates
- take care for yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.’
- take heed to yourself that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed from before you, and that you inquire about their gods, saying, 'How did these peoples serve their gods? I will do likewise.'
Deu.12.31 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- תעשה: VERB,qal,imf,2,m,sg
- כן: ADV
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- כי: CONJ
- כל: DET
- תועבת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- שנא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- עשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לאלהיהם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- גם: ADV
- את: PRT,acc
- בניהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3,pl
- ואת: CONJ
- בנתיהם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- ישרפו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- באש: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לאלהיהם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Leviticus 18:21 (verbal): Direct legal prohibition against giving children to Molech/causing them to pass through fire; closely parallels Deut.12:31's condemnation of burning children for gods.
- Leviticus 20:2-5 (thematic): Prescribes punishment for offering children to Molech and treats child sacrifice as an abomination, reinforcing the ethical and cultic ban found in Deut.12:31.
- Deuteronomy 18:10 (verbal): Within the same Deuteronomic corpus, explicitly forbids practices such as passing children through fire and other occult/child-sacrificial rites—same prohibitional tradition as Deut.12:31.
- 2 Kings 23:10 (allusion): Describes King Josiah's destruction of Topheth in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom where children were burned for Molech—an historical example of the abomination condemned in Deut.12:31.
- Jeremiah 7:31 (verbal): Prophetic denunciation using language very similar to Deut.12:31 about children being burned in the fire for idols; invokes the same moral and cultic outrage at child sacrifice.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall not do so to the LORD your God; for every abomination that the LORD hates they have done to their gods—indeed they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
- You shall not do so to the LORD your God; for every abomination that the LORD hates they have done to their gods—indeed they burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.
These are the statutes and the judgments that you shall observe to do in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess all the days that you live upon the earth.
You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods—on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every luxuriant tree.
You shall break down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars, burn their Asherah poles with fire, hack to pieces the images of their gods, and blot out their name from that place.
You shall not do so to the LORD your God. But to the place that the LORD your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name there and to make his dwelling, you shall seek and there you shall go;
and there you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the contribution of your hand, your vows, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. And you shall eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice in all that you undertake, you and your households—the LORD your God has blessed you.
You shall not act as we act here today, each doing whatever is right in his own eyes.
For you have not yet come to the rest and to the possession that the LORD your God gives you.
When you cross the Jordan and dwell in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and when he gives you rest from all your enemies round about so that you dwell secure,
then the place that the LORD your God will choose to cause his name to dwell there shall be the place where you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution of your hand, and all the choice vows that you vow to the LORD. And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male servants and your female servants, and the Levite who is within your towns, for he has no portion or inheritance with you.
Take care that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see. But in the place that the LORD will choose in one of your tribes there you shall offer your burnt offerings and there you shall do all that I command you.
Only you may slaughter and eat meat in all your towns, as you desire, according to the blessing of the LORD your God that he has given you; the unclean and the clean alike may eat of it, like the gazelle and the deer.
Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.
You shall not eat within your towns the tithe of your grain, new wine, and oil, the firstborn of your herd or of your flock, or any of your vows that you vow, or your freewill offerings, or the contribution of your hand. But you shall eat them before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD your God will choose— you, your sons and your daughters, your male servants and your female servants, and the Levite who is within your towns— and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all the undertakings of your hand.
Be careful that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land.
When the LORD your God enlarges your border, as he has promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because your soul craves to eat meat, you may eat meat whenever you desire.
If the place that the LORD your God will choose to put his name is too far from you, then when the LORD your God has blessed you with livestock and flocks, as I have commanded you, you may slaughter from your herd and from your flock, which the LORD has given you, just as I commanded you, and you may eat within your towns whatever your soul desires.
Just as you eat the gazelle and the deer, so you may eat it; the unclean and the clean alike may eat of it.
Only be sure to refrain from eating the blood, for the blood is life; you shall not eat the life with the flesh.
You shall not eat it on the land; you shall pour it out like water.
You shall not eat it, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, because you will do what is right in the sight of the LORD.
Only the holy things that are yours and your vows you shall take, and you shall go to the place that the LORD will choose. And you shall offer your burnt offerings—the flesh and the blood—on the altar of the LORD your God; the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the LORD your God, and the flesh you shall eat.
Guard and obey all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God.
When the LORD your God cuts off the nations from before you and you dispossess them and dwell in their land,
take care that you do not ensnare yourself to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.’
You shall not do so to the LORD your God. For every abomination that the LORD hates they have done to their gods; even their sons and their daughters they have burned in the fire to their gods.