The Angel and the Promises
Exodus 23:20-33
Exo.23.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הנה: PART
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- שלח: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- מלאך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לפניך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- לשמרך: VERB,qal,inf,2,m,sg
- בדרך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ולהביאך: CONJ+VERB,hiph,inf,2,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- המקום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- הכנתי: VERB,hiph,perf,1,m,sg
Parallels
- Exodus 14:19 (verbal): Speaks of 'the angel of God' who went before the Israelite camp to guide and protect them during their journey—close verbal and functional parallel of an angel sent ahead to keep and lead Israel.
- Psalm 91:11 (verbal): Promises that God will command his angels to guard the faithful 'in all your ways,' echoing the idea of an angel sent to keep and protect on the road.
- Psalm 34:7 (thematic): Declares that 'the angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them,' reflecting the protective role of a divine messenger surrounding and preserving God's people.
- Isaiah 63:9 (allusion): Refers to the 'angel of his presence' who saved Israel in distress—an image that alludes to a special divine agent sent to deliver and lead the nation, similar to Exodus 23:20.
- Deuteronomy 31:8 (thematic): Assures that the LORD goes before Israel and will not fail them; thematically parallels Exodus 23:20's promise of a guiding/protecting presence sent ahead into the land prepared for them.
Alternative generated candidates
- Look, I am sending a messenger before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.
- Look, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.
Exo.23.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- השמר: VERB,hitpael,imperat,2,m,sg
- מפניו: PREP+3ms
- ושמע: CONJ+VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- בקלו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- תמר: NOUN,prop,f,sg,abs
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- ישא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לפשעכם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+2,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- שמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1cs
- בקרבו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRS,3,sg
Parallels
- Exodus 23:20-23 (structural): Immediate context — the promise of an angel sent before Israel, the warning to heed his voice and the consequence for provoking him are part of the same commission and covenant stipulation.
- Deuteronomy 18:19 (verbal): Speaks of a spokesman who speaks 'in my name' and the liability for not listening ('I will require it of him'), echoing the language and sanction in Exod 23:21 ('for my name is in him' and do not provoke him).
- Joshua 5:13-15 (thematic): Joshua's encounter with the 'commander of the LORD's army' reflects the motif of a divine/military angel sent ahead of Israel who demands obedience and embodies God's authority.
- 1 Kings 8:29 (verbal): Solomon's prayer asks that God's eyes be open toward the temple 'for your name is there' — a related theological idea of God's name residing with a representative/place, paralleling 'for my name is in him.'
- Numbers 14:18 (thematic): Declares that the LORD 'will by no means clear the guilty,' paralleling the warning in Exod 23:21 that the angel 'will not pardon your transgressions' if Israel provokes him.
Alternative generated candidates
- Take care before him and listen to his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your transgression, for my name is in him.
- Beware of him and listen to his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your transgressions, for my Name is within him.
Exo.23.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- אם: CONJ
- שמע: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- תשמע: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- בקלו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- ועשית: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- כל: DET
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אדבר: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- ואיבתי: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- איביך: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וצרתי: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- צרריך: NOUN,m,pl,abs,PRON,2,m
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:7 (thematic): Promised divine protection and victory over enemies as a consequence of covenant blessing and obedience: 'The LORD will cause your enemies... to be defeated before you.'
- Deuteronomy 11:25 (thematic): Assurance that no one will be able to stand against Israel when God accompanies them—another conditional promise of dominance over foes tied to God's presence and Israel’s faithfulness.
- Exodus 23:27 (verbal): Close parallel in the same chapter: God promises to send terror/fear before Israel and to destroy the peoples they encounter—same speaker and similar wording about removing enemies.
- Joshua 23:10 (thematic): Declaration that God enables overwhelming victory ('one shall chase a thousand') and fights for Israel, echoing the promise that God will be hostile to Israel’s enemies.
- Psalm 35:1-3 (thematic): A petition for God to contend with and fight against the psalmist’s adversaries—reflects the recurring biblical motif of God acting as defender and enemy-maker for his people.
Alternative generated candidates
- For if indeed you listen to his voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.
- But if you indeed listen to his voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
Exo.23.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- ילך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מלאכי: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- לפניך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- והביאך: CONJ+VERB,hif,impf,3,m,pl
- אל: NEG
- האמרי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והחתי: ADJ,m,sg,def
- והפרזי: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,def
- והכנעני: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,def
- החוי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והיבוסי: ADJ,m,sg,def
- והכחדתיו: CONJ+VERB,hif,impf,1,m,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 7:1-2 (verbal): Lists the same Canaanite nations (Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, Jebusites) and commands Israel to dispossess and destroy them, mirroring Exodus’ formula of divine removal.
- Deuteronomy 20:16-18 (verbal): Repeats the injunction to devote the seven nations of Canaan to destruction when Israel takes their cities, echoing the language of extermination in Exodus 23:23.
- Joshua 5:13-15 (allusion): Joshua’s encounter with the 'commander of the army of the LORD' portrays an angelic military leader who stands before Israel to lead and secure the land, alluding to Exodus’ promise that God’s angel will go before Israel.
- Exodus 23:27 (structural): Immediate parallel within the same pericope: God promises to send terror and put enemies into confusion and to drive them out—part of the same promise of divine aid and removal of the inhabitants (continuation of vv.20–33).
- Judges 2:1-3 (thematic): The Angel of the LORD reminds Israel that God brought them into the land and warns that failing to drive out the native nations will bring disaster—echoing Exodus’ emphasis on God’s agent driving out the Canaanites and the necessity of dispossession.
Alternative generated candidates
- For my messenger will go before you and bring you to the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, and I will wipe them out.
- For my angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, and I will wipe them out.
Exo.23.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- תשתחוה: VERB,hitp,impf,2,m,sg
- לאלהיהם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- תעבדם: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg+PRON,3,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- תעשה: VERB,qal,imf,2,m,sg
- כמעשיהם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- הרס: VERB,qal,infabs
- תהרסם: VERB,qal,imperfect,2,m,sg+PRON,3,m,pl
- ושבר: CONJ+VERB,qal,infabs
- תשבר: VERB,qal,imperfect,2,m,sg
- מצבתיהם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Exod.34:13 (verbal): Almost identical injunction—commands to break down altars, smash pillars and cut down Asherim; repeats the same vocabulary and cultic actions within Exodus.
- Deut.7:5 (verbal): Direct parallel command to destroy foreign altars, break their pillars and cut down their Asherim; echoes prohibition against serving other gods.
- Deut.12:2-3 (thematic): Instructs Israel to annihilate local high places and sacred stones so they will not worship other gods—same concern and prescribed destructive action against cultic sites.
- 2 Kings 18:4 (structural): Narrative fulfillment: King Hezekiah removes high places, breaks sacred stones and cuts down Asherim—implements the Mosaic command to tear down foreign cultic objects and not serve other gods.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall not bow down to their gods or serve them or do as they do; rather you shall utterly tear them down and shatter their sacred pillars.
- You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their practices; rather you shall utterly demolish them and smash their pillars.
Exo.23.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ועבדתם: CONJ,VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- וברך: CONJ,VERB,hiph,impf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- לחמך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,suff,2,m,sg
- ואת: CONJ
- מימיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs,suff,2,m,sg
- והסרתי: CONJ,VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- מחלה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מקרבך: PREP,NOUN,m,sg,abs,suff,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 7:15 (verbal): Direct verbal parallel: God promises to remove sickness from among the people as a consequence of his care/blessing ("the LORD will take away from you all sickness").
- Leviticus 26:5-6 (thematic): Part of the covenant‑blessings for obedience that pair agricultural prosperity with bodily well‑being (peace, fruitful fields and removal of disease).
- Deuteronomy 28:12 (thematic): A covenantal blessing linking divine provision for food and the land (rain, prosperity, blessing on the work of your hands) to obedience—echoes the promise to bless bread/water in Exodus 23:25.
- Psalm 103:2-3 (thematic): Attributes to God the action of blessing and healing ("who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases"), thematically paralleling God’s promise to bless sustenance and remove disease.
- Isaiah 33:24 (thematic): Apocalyptic/prophetic image of a community free from sickness ("no resident will say, 'I am sick'"), reflecting the motif of divine removal of disease promised to the faithful.
Alternative generated candidates
- And you shall serve YHWH your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will remove sickness from your midst.
- You shall serve YHWH your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will remove sickness from your midst.
Exo.23.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- תהיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,sg
- משכלה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ועקרה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בארצך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,ms
- את: PRT,acc
- מספר: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- ימיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs,2ms
- אמלא: VERB,qal,imprf,1,*,sg
Parallels
- Deut.7.14 (verbal): Promises that the people will not be barren or suffer miscarriages among them—language and theme closely parallel Exodus 23:26’s assurance of no miscarriage or barrenness in the land.
- Deut.28.4,11 (thematic): Part of the covenantal blessings including fruitfulness of the body and prosperity; echoes Exodus 23:26’s connection between obedience, fertility and blessing.
- Lev.26.9-10 (thematic): God’s covenantal promise to make Israel fruitful and to cause them to dwell securely in the land; parallels Exodus’ assurance of offspring and security in the land.
- Ps.91.16 (verbal): “With long life I will satisfy him” (or similar LXX/MT variants) parallels Exodus 23:26’s promise “I will fulfill the number of your days,” both promising longevity from God.
- Gen.15.15 (thematic): God’s promise that Abraham will ‘go to his fathers in peace, old and full of days’ echoes the Exodus assurance of a full number of days and peaceful lifespan as a divine blessing.
Alternative generated candidates
- There shall be no one miscarrying or barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
- None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; the number of your days I will fulfill.
Exo.23.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- את: PRT,acc
- אימתי: ADV
- אשלח: VERB,qal,imperf,1,_,sg
- לפניך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- והמתי: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- תבא: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- בהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- ונתתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- איביך: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- ערף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deut. 7:23-24 (verbal): Repeats the promise that God will send terror/hostile forces (often rendered 'hornets' or 'terror') before Israel and will throw the peoples into confusion and drive them out, echoing Exodus’ language of divine action against Israel’s enemies.
- Deut. 11:25 (thematic): Assures Israel that no one will be able to stand against them and that God will subdue their enemies—the same theme of God removing opposition and granting victory found in Exod 23:27.
- Joshua 23:10 (allusion): Echoes the covenantal promise that God will give Israel decisive victories (’one of you routs a thousand’), an application of the earlier promises that God will overcome Israel’s enemies for them.
- Judges 7:7 (thematic): God induces fear and confusion among Israel’s foes (here the Midianites), causing them to flee—an instance of the same divine tactic of causing terror before Israel described in Exodus.
- Psalm 18:40 (verbal): Uses the image of enemies turning their backs (’You make my enemies turn their backs to me’), a close verbal parallel to Exodus’ promise that God will make Israel’s enemies turn and be routed.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will send my dread before you and throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.
- I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.
Exo.23.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ושלחתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הצרעה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- לפניך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- וגרשה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- החוי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- את: PRT,acc
- הכנעני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
- ואת: CONJ
- החתי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלפניך: PREP,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 7:20 (verbal): Repeats the promise 'I will send the hornet before you' (same imagery and verbal motif of God sending a hornet to dislodge the Canaanite peoples).
- Joshua 24:12 (quotation): Joshua recalls God 'sending the hornet' which drove out nations—an explicit citation/allusion to the promise in Exodus/Deuteronomy presenting it as historical action.
- Exodus 34:11 (verbal): Similar formula 'I will drive out before you' with a parallel list of peoples (Hittite, Amorite, Canaanite, etc.), linking the promise of dispossession and divine agency.
- Deuteronomy 7:1 (thematic): Lists the Canaanite tribes (including Hittite, Hivite, Canaanite) and frames God's command to dispossess them—background legal/theological context for the Exodus promise.
- Numbers 33:52–53 (structural): Commands Israel to dispossess and destroy the inhabitants of the land and take possession—same covenantal/land-dispossession theme as Exodus 23:28.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I will send the hornet before you, and it will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.
- And I will send the hornet before you, and it will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.
Exo.23.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- אגרשנו: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- מפניך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,2m
- בשנה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אחת: NUM,f,sg
- פן: CONJ
- תהיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- שממה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ורבה: VERB,qal,impv,2,ms
- עליך: PREP+2ms
- חית: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- השדה: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Deut.7.22 (verbal): Almost identical wording: God says He will not drive out the inhabitants in one year, to avoid making the land desolate and increasing wild beasts — a close verbal and legal parallel.
- Exod.23.30 (structural): Immediate continuation/contrast in the same passage: after promising not to drive them out in one year, God says He will drive them out little by little until Israel is numerous — direct literary pair.
- Num.33.55 (thematic): Warning about the consequence of not driving out the Canaanite inhabitants: those left will be 'thorns' and snares to Israel — shares the theme of incomplete conquest bringing danger.
- Josh.23.13 (thematic): Joshua's warning that the LORD will eventually cease to drive out nations and that remaining peoples will become snares to Israel — echoes the motif of divine control over when enemies are expelled and the danger of leftover peoples.
- Judg.1.27-36 (thematic): Narrative report that several tribes did not drive out the native inhabitants, leading to ongoing cohabitation and later troubles — historical outcome corresponding to the law's concern about phased expulsion.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild animals of the field multiply against you.
- I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild animals of the field multiply against you.
Exo.23.30 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מעט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מעט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אגרשנו: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- מפניך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,2m
- עד: PREP
- אשר: PRON,rel
- תפרה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- ונחלת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Exodus 23:29 (structural): Immediate context — verse 29 explains why God will not drive out the nations at once, leading directly into the promise in v.30 that He will expel them little by little.
- Deuteronomy 7:22 (verbal): Repeats the promise that the LORD will displace the nations before Israel; shares the theme of God effecting Israel's possession of the land through divine action.
- Deuteronomy 11:23 (verbal): Echoes the promise that the LORD will drive out the nations from before Israel until they increase and inherit the land (a parallel formulation of gradual dispossession).
- Numbers 33:51-54 (thematic): Commands Israel to dispossess the inhabitants of Canaan and occupy their land — thematically parallel to God’s promise to drive out nations so Israel can possess the land.
- Judges 2:3 (thematic): Explains that God intentionally left some nations in the land to test Israel; thematically relates to the gradual and partial nature of dispossession described in Exod 23:30.
Alternative generated candidates
- Little by little I will drive them out from before you until you increase and take possession of the land.
- Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you increase and take possession of the land.
Exo.23.31 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ושתי: CONJ+NUM,f,du
- את: PRT,acc
- גבלך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- מים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- סוף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ועד: CONJ+PREP
- ים: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- פלשתים: NOUN,m,pl,cstr
- וממדבר: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- הנהר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- כי: CONJ
- אתן: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- בידכם: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- ישבי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- וגרשתמו: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- מפניך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,2m
Parallels
- Numbers 34:3-12 (verbal): Gives a detailed delimitation of the Israelite borders (south to the Sea of Reeds/Red Sea and north to the river/Lebanon), echoing Exodus' boundary language and territorial grant.
- Deuteronomy 11:24 (verbal): Promises that every place where Israel sets foot will be theirs and sets geographic limits (“from the wilderness to the Lebanon, from the river to the ends of the earth”), paralleling Exodus' promise of borders and possession.
- Joshua 1:3 (quotation): Repeats God's pledge that every place the sole of your foot treads will be given and that Israel will dispossess the inhabitants—an explicit restatement of the promise in Exodus 23:31.
- Genesis 15:18 (thematic): An earlier covenantal grant of land to Abraham’s descendants (from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates); thematically related as a foundational divine promise of territorial possession.
- 1 Chronicles 17:8 (allusion): God's promise to David that He will give Israel the land of their sojournings and dispossess its former inhabitants echoes the Exodus promise of borders and divine enablement to drive out the inhabitants.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I will set your boundary from the Sea of Reeds to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River; for I will give into your hand the inhabitants of the land, and you shall drive them out before you.
- And I will set your border from the Sea of Reeds to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River, the Euphrates; for I will give into your hand the inhabitants of the land, and you shall drive them out from before you.
Exo.23.32 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- תכרת: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- ולאלהיהם: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs,3,m,pl
- ברית: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 7:2 (verbal): Uses essentially the same prohibition — do not make a covenant with the nations (or their gods) that Israel is to dispossess; a near-verbal reiteration of Exod 23:32 in the Deuteronomic law context.
- Exodus 34:12-16 (verbal): A close parallel within Exodus warning Israel not to make covenants with the inhabitants of the land or follow their gods, explicitly linking such covenants to idolatry and religious corruption.
- Judges 2:2-3 (thematic): Summarizes the command given at the conquest — do not make covenants with the Canaanites or show them mercy — and presents the failure to keep this injunction as the root of Israel's later troubles.
- 2 Corinthians 6:14 (thematic): New Testament ethical parallel: forbids being 'unequally yoked' with unbelievers (no partnership/covenant with those who practice other religions), echoing the Old Testament concern to avoid binding association that leads to idolatry.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall not make a covenant with them or with their gods.
- You shall not make a covenant with them or with their gods.
Exo.23.33 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- ישבו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בארצך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs,2ms
- פן: CONJ
- יחטיאו: VERB,hiphil,impf,3,pl
- אתך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- כי: CONJ
- תעבד: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- אלהיהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- יהיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- למוקש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Exodus 34:12-16 (verbal): Repeats the warning not to make covenants with the land's inhabitants lest they lead Israel to worship their gods; language about their gods becoming a snare closely parallels Exod 23:33.
- Deuteronomy 7:2-4 (thematic): Commands Israel to destroy the Canaanite nations and forbids intermarriage because foreign wives will turn Israel to other gods—same concern that dwellers in the land will cause Israel to sin.
- Joshua 23:12-13 (structural): Joshua warns that if Israel intermingles with remaining nations and marries them, those nations will become snares and traps—echoing the consequence-language of Exod 23:33.
- Numbers 33:55 (thematic): Warns that if Israel does not drive out the inhabitants they will be 'thorns in your eyes' and 'pricks in your sides,' a related motive for removing pagan peoples to prevent spiritual corruption.
- Psalm 106:34-36 (thematic): Retrospective indictment: when Israel failed to drive out peoples they mingled with them and served their idols—illustrates the historical outcome Exod 23:33 seeks to prevent.
Alternative generated candidates
- They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for you would serve their gods, for it would become a snare to you.
- They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will be a snare to you.
Look, I am sending an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.
Pay heed to him and listen to his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your transgressions, for my name is in him. But if you indeed listen to his voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your adversaries.
For my angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, and I will cut them off.
You shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do according to their practices; rather you shall utterly tear them down and shatter their pillars.
You shall serve YHWH your God, and he will bless your bread and your water; and I will remove sickness from your midst.
None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; the number of your days I will fulfill.
I will send my terror before you, and I will throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. And I will send the hornet before you, and it will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.
I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild animals multiply against you.
Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you increase and take possession of the land. And I will set your border from the Sea of Reeds to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River; for I will give into your hand the inhabitants of the land, and you shall drive them out from before you.
You shall not make a covenant with them or with their gods.
They shall not dwell in your land, lest they cause you to sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will be a snare to you.