False Prophets and Idolatry
Deuteronomy 13:1-18
Deu.13.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- הדבר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- מצוה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- אתו: PRON,3,m,sg,acc
- תשמרו: VERB,qal,impf,2,masc,pl
- לעשות: VERB,qal,inf
- לא: PART_NEG
- תסף: VERB,qal,impf,2,masc,sg
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- תגרע: VERB,qal,impf,2,masc,sg
- ממנו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Deut.4:2 (verbal): Explicitly repeats the command not to add to or take away from God’s instructions—same wording and legal concern for preserving divine revelation.
- Deut.12:32 (verbal): A near-identical injunction elsewhere in Deuteronomy warning Israel to observe precisely what God has commanded and not to add or subtract from it.
- Proverbs 30:5-6 (verbal): Affirms the purity and sufficiency of God’s word and explicitly warns, “Do not add to his words,” echoing the prohibition against altering divine revelation.
- Revelation 22:18-19 (allusion): Directly echoes the Deuteronomic/Proverbial warning by condemning anyone who adds to or takes away from the book of prophecy—same theological principle applied to Scripture.
- Deut.5:32 (thematic): Carries the same concern for faithful obedience to God’s commands—an admonition to follow the law exactly (not turning aside), thematically related to not adding or subtracting from it.
Alternative generated candidates
- Every word that I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to it, nor take from it.
- Everything that I command you, you shall diligently observe to do; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.
Deu.13.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- יקום: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בקרבך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,prs:2ms
- נביא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- או: CONJ
- חלם: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- חלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ונתן: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- אות: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- או: CONJ
- מופת: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deut.18:20-22 (verbal): Gives the explicit test for a prophet: if what he prophesies does not come to pass he is false. This parallels Deut 13:2’s concern with signs/wonders as criteria that must be tested.
- Numbers 12:6 (verbal): God distinguishes a prophet and a dreamer, stating that he speaks in visions and dreams—echoing Deut 13:2’s pairing of ‘prophet or dreamer of dreams.’
- Jeremiah 28:9 (verbal): States that a prophet who prophesies peace is validated when his word comes true—another articulation of testing prophecy by fulfillment like Deut 13:2–3.
- Matthew 24:24 (thematic): Jesus warns that false Christs and false prophets will show great signs and wonders to deceive many, echoing the warning that miraculous signs can be used to mislead (the concern of Deut 13:2).
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9 (thematic): Paul describes the lawless one coming with all power and false signs and wonders—New Testament parallel to the theme of deceptive signs used by false prophetic figures in Deut 13:2.
Alternative generated candidates
- If there arise among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams and he gives you a sign or a wonder,
- If among you there shall arise a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder,
Deu.13.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ובא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- האות: NOUN,f,sg,def
- והמופת: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- נלכה: VERB,qal,cohort,1,_,pl
- אחרי: PREP
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אחרים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- ידעתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- ונעבדם: VERB,qal,cohort,1,pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 13:1-5 (structural): Immediate context: the chapter’s command not to trust prophets or dreamers who produce signs or wonders to entice Israel to follow other gods; vv.1–5 frame and expand the exact prohibition of v.3.
- Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (verbal): Provides a criterion for testing prophets (prophecy must come to pass); thematically linked to Deut 13’s concern with distinguishing true from false prophetic signs that might lead Israel astray.
- Matthew 24:24 (thematic): Jesus warns that false Christs and false prophets will show great signs and wonders to deceive many—echoing Deut 13’s warning about signs used to entice people to follow other gods.
- Revelation 13:13-14 (thematic): The beast performs miraculous signs to deceive the inhabitants of the earth and promote idolatrous worship—parallels Deut 13’s motif of signs leading to false worship.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9 (thematic): Paul describes the lawless one as coming 'with all power, signs and lying wonders' to deceive—reflects the New Testament reception of Deut 13’s concern about deceptive signs fostering false allegiance.
Alternative generated candidates
- and the sign or wonder which he spoke to you comes to pass, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods, whom you have not known, and let us serve them,’
- and the sign or wonder of which he spoke to you comes to pass, saying, 'Let us go after other gods—gods you have not known—and serve them,'
Deu.13.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- תשמע: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- דברי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- הנביא: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- או: CONJ
- אל: NEG
- חולם: VERB,qal,ptcp,3,m,sg,def
- החלום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- כי: CONJ
- מנסה: VERB,piel,ptcp,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- לדעת: VERB,qal,inf,-,-,-
- הישכם: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- אהבים: VERB,qal,ptcp,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לבבכם: NOUN,m,sg,poss
- ובכל: CONJ+PREP
- נפשכם: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss:2,m,pl
Parallels
- Deut.6.5 (verbal): Repeats the central command to love Yahweh 'with all your heart and with all your soul,' which Deut 13:4 cites as the criterion God tests to know Israel's love.
- Deut.8.2 (verbal): Speaks of God 'humbling' and 'testing' Israel in the wilderness 'to know what is in your heart,' closely paralleling the purpose language of Deut 13:4.
- Jer.17.10 (verbal): Yahweh declares 'I the LORD search the heart, I test the mind/reins,' directly echoing the idea that God probes inner loyalty and motives.
- Psalm 26.2 (verbal): The psalmist prays 'Test me, O LORD, and try me; examine my heart and mind,' reflecting the same motif of divine testing to reveal the state of the heart.
Alternative generated candidates
- you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
- you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deu.13.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אחרי: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- תלכו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- ואתו: CONJ+PRON,3,m,sg
- תיראו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- ואת: CONJ
- מצותיו: NOUN,f,pl,abs,poss:3,m,sg
- תשמרו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- ובקלו: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- תשמעו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- ואתו: CONJ+PRON,3,m,sg
- תעבדו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- ובו: CONJ+PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- תדבקון: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Deut.10.12-13 (verbal): Same cluster of commands—fear the LORD, walk in his ways, love and serve him, and keep his commandments (very close verbal overlap with Deut 13:5).
- Deut.6.5 (thematic): Commands wholehearted devotion to YHWH (love with all heart and soul), paralleling Deut 13:5’s call to follow, fear, serve and cleave to the LORD with total commitment.
- Deut.11.22 (verbal): Includes the injunction to walk in the ways of the LORD, fear him, and keep his commandments—echoing the same ethical-religious summons found in Deut 13:5.
- Joshua 22.5 (verbal): Joshua’s charge to the Transjordan tribes closely mirrors Deut 13:5 language: love and serve the LORD, keep his commandments, and cleave to him (near-verbatim covenantal exhortation).
- 1 Kings 8.61 (thematic): Solomon’s prayer urges wholehearted devotion—'that your heart be perfect with the LORD, to walk in his statutes and keep his commandments'—echoing Deut 13:5’s demands of fear, obedience, service and cleaving to God.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall walk after the LORD your God, fear him, keep his commandments, listen to his voice, serve him, and cleave to him.
- You shall walk after the LORD your God; you shall fear him, keep his commandments and heed his voice; you shall serve him and cling to him.
Deu.13.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והנביא: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- או: CONJ
- חלם: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- החלום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- יומת: VERB,niphal,impf,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- סרה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- המוציא: VERB,hif,ptc,3,m,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- מארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מצרים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- והפדך: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,sg
- מבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עבדים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- להדיחך: VERB,hiphil,inf,2,m,sg
- מן: PREP
- הדרך: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- צוך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- ללכת: VERB,qal,inf
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- ובערת: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- הרע: ADJ,m,sg,def
- מקרבך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 13:1-5 (structural): Immediate context: the surrounding verses lay out the law about testing and executing prophets or dreamers who entice Israel to serve other gods; verse 6 is part of this same legal unit.
- Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (verbal): Gives the general criterion and penalty for a false prophet—'the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name... that prophet shall die'—paralleling Deut 13's command to put false prophets to death.
- Leviticus 20:6 (thematic): Prescribes divine judgment ('I will set my face against him and cut him off') against those who turn to mediums/other spirits, echoing Deut 13's demand to purge those who lead Israel into other worship.
- Jeremiah 23:21-22 (thematic): God condemns false prophets who prophesy lies and lead the people astray, arguing that true prophets stand in God's council—a prophetic denunciation of the same behavior Deut 13 treats with legal sanctions.
- Matthew 7:15-20 (thematic): Jesus warns against false prophets and instructs disciples to discern them by their fruits; thematically parallels Deut 13's concern for protecting the community from deceptive leaders who would lead them astray.
Alternative generated candidates
- That prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way that the LORD your God commanded you to walk in, and to remove you from the covenant; thus you will purge the evil from your midst.
- That prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, for he has spoken rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery—seeking to lead you astray from the way that the LORD your God commanded you to walk in and to remove the good from your midst.
Deu.13.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- יסיתך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אחיך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אמך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- או: CONJ
- בנך: NOUN,m,sg,cstr+poss,2,m,sg
- או: CONJ
- בתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss:2,m
- או: CONJ
- אשת: NOUN,f,sg,cns
- חיקך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- או: CONJ
- רעך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- כנפשך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בסתר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- נלכה: VERB,qal,cohort,1,_,pl
- ונעבדה: CONJ+VERB,qal,cohort,1,pl
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אחרים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- ידעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- ואבתיך: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Deut.13:8-11 (structural): Continuation of the same law: prescribes testing and severe punishment for a close relative or friend who entices you to serve other gods.
- Deut.13:12-18 (structural): Parallel case-law treating an entire town enticed to idolatry — similar concern with false persuasion to serve other gods and corresponding communal procedure and sanctions.
- Proverbs 1:10 (thematic): Uses the same motif of personal enticement — "My son, if sinners entice thee" — and counsels refusal, paralleling Deuteronomy’s warning against being seduced into wrongdoing (idolatry here).
- Exodus 20:3-5 (thematic): The Decalogue’s prohibition against other gods and idolatry provides the theological basis for Deut.13’s prohibition and the condemnation of any enticement to serve other gods.
- 1 Corinthians 10:14 (thematic): New Testament injunction to "flee from idolatry" echoes the Torah’s prohibition and the imperative not to yield to persuasion to worship other gods.
Alternative generated candidates
- If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your close friend who is like your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’
- If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own life, secretly entices you, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods, gods you have not known,'
Deu.13.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מאלהי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,constr
- העמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- סביבתיכם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+2mp
- הקרבים: ADJ,m,pl,def
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- או: CONJ
- הרחקים: ADJ,m,pl,def
- ממך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- מקצה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ועד: CONJ+PREP
- קצה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Deut.6.14 (verbal): Uses almost identical language forbidding Israelites to follow 'other gods' — 'the gods of the peoples who are around you' — a close verbal and thematic parallel to Deut 13:8.
- Exod.20.3 (thematic): The Decalogue's prohibition 'You shall have no other gods before me' provides the foundational command against worshiping foreign gods that underlies Deut 13:8.
- Deut.7.3-4 (thematic): Prohibits intermarriage with surrounding peoples because their gods will 'turn away' Israel’s descendants to other gods — echoes Deut 13's concern about influence from nearby or distant nations.
- Deut.12.29-31 (allusion): Warns Israelites not to be enticed to serve the gods of the nations around them and to avoid imitating their practices, reflecting the same prohibition against foreign deities found in Deut 13:8.
- 1 Kings 11.2-4 (thematic): Describes foreign wives leading Solomon to follow other gods; illustrates the danger posed by 'those around you' (close relationships) enticing Israel to foreign worship, a concrete example of Deut 13's concern.
Alternative generated candidates
- gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end,
- from the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other,
Deu.13.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- תאבה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- תשמע: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- אליו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- תחוס: VERB,qal,impf,2,ms
- עינך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+2ms
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- תחמל: VERB,qal,impf,2,ms
- ולא: CONJ
- תכסה: VERB,qal,impf,2,ms
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 13:8 (verbal): Immediate parallel within the same pericope repeating the command not to pity, spare, or conceal the person who incites idolatry—essentially the same language as v.9.
- Deuteronomy 13:10 (structural): Prescribes the execution (stoning) of the offender and uses the same legal move to 'purge the evil' from Israel—continuation of the command in v.9 to take no pity.
- Deuteronomy 17:7 (thematic): Gives the legal procedure for carrying out capital punishment by witnesses and the people and connects the death penalty with removing evil from the community, echoing Deut 13's purpose.
- Ezekiel 9:6 (verbal): The executioners in Ezekiel are ordered to slay without pity or mercy—language and the motif of uncompromising removal of guilt parallel Deut 13:9's injunction not to spare or conceal the offender.
- Leviticus 20:2 (thematic): Commands capital punishment for a severe form of cultic transgression (child sacrifice/Molech worship); like Deut 13:9 it prescribes no clemency for religious crimes that threaten covenantal purity.
Alternative generated candidates
- you shall not consent to him, nor listen to him; your eye shall not pity him, you shall not spare him, nor shall you conceal him.
- you shall not consent to him, nor listen to him; you shall not pity him, nor spare him, nor conceal him.
Deu.13.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- הרג: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- תהרגנו: VERB,qal,imperf,2,m,pl
- ידך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss:2,f,sg
- תהיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,sg
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- בראשונה: PREP+ADV,ord,f,sg
- להמיתו: INF,hiphil,3,m,sg
- ויד: CONJ
- כל: DET
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- באחרנה: PREP+ADV,ord,f,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 17:7 (verbal): Uses nearly identical wording about the witnesses' hand being first to put the offender to death and then the hand of all the people — a parallel legal formula for capital cases.
- Deuteronomy 13:5 (quotation): Immediate legal context: declares that a prophet or dreamer who leads Israel to other gods 'shall be put to death,' the substantive command echoed in 13:10.
- Leviticus 24:16, 24:23 (thematic): Law prescribing death for blasphemy and specifying that the congregation execute the sentence — parallels the communal execution procedure in Deut 13:10.
- Numbers 15:32–36 (thematic): Narrative instance of capital punishment carried out by the whole congregation (stoning of the Sabbath-breaker), illustrating the communal enforcement of capital law described in Deut 13:10.
Alternative generated candidates
- But you shall kill him; your hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.
- You shall surely put him to death; your hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.
Deu.13.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וסקלתו: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- באבנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ומת: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- בקש: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- להדיחך: VERB,hiph,inf,2,m,sg
- מעל: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- המוציאך: VERB,hiph,ptcp,3,m,sg,def+suff
- מארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מצרים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- מבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עבדים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 13:5 (verbal): Immediate parallel within the same unit: repeats the command to put the false prophet/dreamer to death for enticing Israel away from YHWH, using similar language and rationale.
- Deuteronomy 13:12-18 (structural): Continues the legislation against idolatry on a communal level—procedure for dealing with a town that turns to false gods, including execution (stoning) and destruction.
- Deuteronomy 17:2-7 (thematic): Prescribes capital punishment (stoning) for persons caught in idolatry or false prophecy and requires judicial procedures and testimony—parallels the penal and evidentiary framework.
- Leviticus 20:2-5 (thematic): Imposes death for giving children to Molech and links idolatrous practices to covenant breach; reflects the wider Priestly/Legal stance that apostasy merits the death penalty.
- Numbers 25:6-8 (allusion): The Phinehas episode where one who led Israel into sexual/idolatrous sin is killed and the plague stops—narrative example of violent sanction against those causing Israel to fall into foreign cults.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to draw you away from the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
- You shall stone him with stones so that he dies, because he sought to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of slavery.
Deu.13.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישמעו: VERB,qal,imf,3,mp
- ויראון: VERB,qal,imf,3,mp
- ולא: CONJ
- יוספו: VERB,qal,imf,3,mp
- לעשות: VERB,qal,inf
- כדבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הרע: ADJ,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- בקרבך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,prs:2ms
Parallels
- Deut.13.18 (verbal): Closely parallels and repeats the concluding phrase of the city-law: after the destruction the whole Israel will hear and fear and not do this evil again (near-verbatim restatement of the same legal effect).
- Deut.13.6-11 (structural): The individual-case counterpart to the city-procedure: instructions to execute an individual who entices to idolatry so that the community will hear, fear, and cease the evil—same legal aim and rhetoric of deterrence.
- Leviticus 10:3 (thematic): After Nadab and Abihu are punished for profaning the sanctuary, Moses tells Aaron that by this action the community will know that God is holy and will fear—communal fear produced by divine judgment as a deterrent to wrongdoing.
- Joshua 7:25-26 (thematic): Achan’s public execution for covenant violation (taking devoted things) follows a defeated Israel and results in communal purging of sin; like Deut.13:12 the public punishment is meant to purge evil and deter others from repeating it.
Alternative generated candidates
- And all Israel shall hear and fear, and no longer do any such wickedness among you.
- And all Israel shall hear and fear, and no longer do any such wicked thing among you.
Deu.13.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- תשמע: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- באחת: PREP
- עריך: NOUN,f,pl,const
- 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
- לשבת: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- שם: ADV
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
Parallels
- Deut.13.12-18 (structural): Direct continuation of the same law — the chapter expands the case introduced in 13:13, giving the investigation, communal action, and punitive measures for a whole city that has been led into idolatry.
- Deut.13.6-11 (verbal): Closely related clause earlier in the chapter dealing with an individual (prophet or close relative) who entices you to other gods; shares language and the theme of rooting out apostasy and prescribing death for those who lead Israel astray.
- Deut.17.2-7 (structural): Parallel legal procedure for persons ‘found in thy midst’ or ‘within thy gates’ who have served other gods: investigation by the elders and application of capital punishment — similar setting and judicial form to Deut.13’s city-case.
- Deut.12.29-31 (thematic): Warning not to adopt the Canaanite practices and command to destroy their altars and religious objects; addresses the same worry about impurity and idolatry arising within the land God gives Israel to inhabit.
- Lev.20.2-5 (thematic): Prescribes severe communal sanctions (including death and divine retribution) for persons who turn to forbidden cultic practices; reflects the broader legal-theological principle of purging abominable worship from the community found in Deut.13.
Alternative generated candidates
- If there should be told you in one of your cities, which the LORD your God gives you to dwell there, saying,
- If you hear in one of the cities that the LORD your God gives you to dwell there that—
Deu.13.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יצאו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אנשים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- בליעל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מקרבך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- וידיחו: VERB,hif,perf,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- ישבי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- עירם: NOUN,f,sg,abs,3,m,pl
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- נלכה: VERB,qal,cohort,1,_,pl
- ונעבדה: VERB,qal,ipf,1,c,pl
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אחרים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- ידעתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 13:6-12 (structural): Immediate legal context of the same law: procedures and penalties when a close relative or townsmen entice people to serve other gods (same theme and legal instruction as the given verse).
- 1 Samuel 2:12 (verbal): Uses the same phrase בני בליעל ("sons of Belial") to describe corrupt persons; both texts label lawless leaders who pervert the community's faith and conduct.
- Judges 2:11-13 (thematic): Describes Israel forsaking YHWH and serving Baals/other gods, a recurring pattern of leaders and people turning the community to idolatry, parallel to townsmen persuading others to serve foreign gods.
- 1 Kings 18:17-18 (thematic): Elijah charges Israel (and Ahab) with abandoning YHWH and following Baal—an indictment of communal apostasy and leadership that leads the people into worship of other gods, similar in substance to Deut.13.14.
- 2 Kings 17:15-17 (thematic): Records Israel's persistent abandonment of the commandments and adoption of foreign gods, with resulting communal corruption—an historical example of the very danger Deut.13 warns against.
Alternative generated candidates
- ‘Some men, sons of Belial, have gone out from among you and have led the inhabitants of their city astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods,”—whom you have not known,’
- men, sons of Belial, have gone out from among you and led the inhabitants of their city astray, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods, gods you have not known,'
Deu.13.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ודרשת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- וחקרת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- ושאלת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- היטב: ADV
- והנה: ADV
- אמת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נכון: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- הדבר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- נעשתה: VERB,nip,perf,3,f,sg
- התועבה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הזאת: DEM,f,sg,def
- בקרבך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,prs:2ms
Parallels
- Deut.13.14 (structural): Immediate context — the same instruction to inquire and investigate when a report of idolatry arises; sets up the conditional action if the report proves true.
- Deut.17.6-7 (thematic): Legal procedure for capital cases: requires the testimony and corroboration of witnesses and due inquiry before carrying out execution — parallels the demand to examine and confirm the offense.
- Deut.19.15 (verbal): Rule that a matter must be established by two or three witnesses; undergirds Deut 13's requirement to investigate and verify serious accusations.
- Matt.18.16 (verbal): New Testament restatement of the two-or-three-witness principle from Deuteronomy (used in adjudicating accusations) — echoes the need for corroboration before action.
- Acts.17.11 (thematic): Commends those who 'searched the Scriptures' to verify claims; thematically parallels the command to inquire diligently and ascertain whether a report is true.
Alternative generated candidates
- you shall inquire, search, and ask diligently; and behold, if it be true and certain that such an abomination has been done among you,
- you shall inquire, investigate, and ask thoroughly; and if it is true and certain that this detestable thing has been done among you,
Deu.13.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הכה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- תכה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- ישבי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- העיר: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ההיא: DEM,f,sg
- לפי: PREP
- חרב: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- החרם: VERB,qal,perf,1,pl
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- ואת: CONJ
- כל: DET
- אשר: PRON,rel
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- ואת: CONJ
- בהמתה: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PR,3,f,sg
- לפי: PREP
- חרב: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deut.20.16-18 (verbal): Nearly identical legal formula commanding total destruction of certain cities and everything in them with the sword (herem language and lethal imperative).
- Joshua 6.21 (verbal): Narrative fulfillment of the herem-command: the inhabitants of Jericho were killed and the city devoted to destruction — “they devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the edge of the sword every living thing.”
- 1 Samuel 15.3 (quotation): Divine command to Saul to ‘devote to destruction’ Amalek — kill men, women, children, infants, and animals — echoing the same totalizing language of annihilation.
- Deut.7.2 (thematic): Earlier Deuteronomic instruction to utterly destroy the peoples of the land and make no covenant with them; shares the theme of exclusive sanctification through total removal of foreign populations and influences.
- Judges 1.8 (verbal): Narrative report that the Israelites ‘devoted the city to destruction by the edge of the sword,’ using the same expression for violent conquest and destruction as in Deut 13:16.
Alternative generated candidates
- then you shall strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword; you shall destroy it and all that is in it by the sword, and its beasts with the sword.
- you shall strike the inhabitants of that city with the sword; you shall devote it to the ban, you and all that is in it; you shall put them to the sword.
Deu.13.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואת: CONJ
- כל: DET
- שללה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3fs
- תקבץ: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- תוך: PREP
- רחבה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ושרפת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- באש: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- העיר: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ואת: CONJ
- כל: DET
- שללה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3fs
- כליל: ADV
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- והיתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- תל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- תבנה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- עוד: ADV
Parallels
- Joshua 6:21 (verbal): Jericho is put under herem: the city is destroyed and all that was in it is devoted/utterly destroyed — language and action parallel the burning and total destruction in Deut 13:17.
- Joshua 8:28 (verbal): After Ai is captured Joshua burns the city and makes it "a heap for ever," echoing the specific phraseology and outcome of Deut 13:17.
- Deuteronomy 20:16-18 (thematic): Commands for warfare against Canaanite cities — to leave none alive and to devote cities to destruction — closely parallel the legal rationale and terminology of Deut 13:17.
- Deuteronomy 7:2-5 (thematic): Instruction to utterly destroy the nations of Canaan and not make covenants with them; shares the theme of total destruction (herem) and irrevocable removal of idolatrous influence.
- 1 Samuel 15:3 (thematic): Samuel's commission to Saul to "utterly destroy" Amalek (men, women, children, animals) reflects the same concept of divinely commanded, complete destruction found in Deut 13:17.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall gather all its spoil into the middle of the public square and burn with fire the city and all its spoil wholly for the LORD your God; it shall be a ruin forever; it shall never be rebuilt.
- You shall gather all its spoil into the midst of the public square and burn the city and all its spoil with fire; it shall be a perpetual ruin, an everlasting desolation; it shall not be rebuilt.
Deu.13.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ולא: CONJ
- ידבק: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בידך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,suff,2,m,sg
- מאומה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מן: PREP
- החרם: VERB,qal,perf,1,pl
- למען: PREP
- ישוב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מחרון: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,cons
- אפו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,suff3ms
- ונתן: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- רחמים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ורחמך: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg+PRON,2,m
- והרבך: VERB,hif,impf,3,m,sg
- כאשר: CONJ
- נשבע: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- לאבתיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Deut.7:2 (verbal): Same injunction to destroy the nations and not retain 'the devoted things' (חֵרֶם); both passages use the language of not holding back spoils so that Yahweh's wrath might be turned away.
- Deut.20:16-18 (verbal): Commands concerning cities of the nations being devoted to destruction and the prohibition against sparing or taking any of the devoted things—parallel legal formulation about חרם and consequences for obedience.
- Joshua 6:17-19 (verbal): Account of Jericho being devoted (חרם) to the Lord and explicit prohibition against taking any of the devoted things; echoes the language and practice presupposed in Deut.13:18.
- Joshua 7:11-12 (thematic): Narrative consequence when Achan takes devoted things—Israel suffers Yahweh's anger and defeat, illustrating the very connection in Deut.13:18 between keeping the חרם and incurring divine wrath.
- 1 Samuel 15:3,9,23 (thematic): God's command to destroy Amalek and Samuel's rebuke of Saul for sparing spoil and the king Agag—thematively parallels the obligation to devote enemies and the link between disobedience in keeping spoils and divine judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- Nothing of the devoted things shall cling to your hand, that the LORD may turn from his fierce anger, show you mercy and have compassion on you, and multiply you, as he has sworn to your fathers.
- Nothing devoted shall cling to your hand, that the LORD may turn from his fierce anger, show you mercy, have compassion on you, and multiply you, as he swore to your fathers.
All the word that I command you, you shall diligently observe to do; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.
If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams should rise up among you and give you a sign or a wonder,
and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods, whom you have not known, and let us serve them,'
you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
You shall walk after the LORD your God, fear him, keep his commandments, heed his voice, serve him, and cling to him.
That prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken treachery against the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, seeking to lead you astray from the way that the LORD your God commanded you to walk in and to do you harm in your midst.
If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your very soul secretly entices you, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods'—gods that you have not known, you nor your fathers—
from the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near to you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other,
you shall not consent to him, nor listen to him; your eye shall not pity him, neither shall you spare or conceal him.
You shall surely put him to death; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.
You shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to draw you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage. And all Israel shall hear and fear, and none of you shall again do such an evil thing in your midst.
If you hear it said in one of the cities that the LORD your God gives you to dwell there,
that certain worthless men have gone out from among you and have led astray the inhabitants of their city, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods'—gods that you have not known—
you shall investigate, search, and inquire thoroughly; and if it be true and certain that this abomination has been done among you,
then you shall strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword; you shall devote it to destruction, and all who are in it by the edge of the sword.
You shall gather all its spoil into the middle of the street and burn with fire the city and all its spoil, utterly to the LORD your God; it shall be a perpetual ruin—never to be rebuilt.
Nothing that is devoted shall cling to your hand, that the LORD may turn from his fierce anger, show you mercy, have compassion on you, and multiply you, as he swore to your fathers.