Deuteronomy 1 2 3a 3b 4 5 6 7a 7b 8 9 10 11a 11b 12 13 14 15 16a 16b 17 18 19 20 21a 21b 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29a 29b 30 31 32 33 34
12:1 ELEH HA CHUKIM VE HA MISHPATIM ASHER TISHMERUN LA'ASOT BA ARETS ASHER NATAN YHVH ELOHEY AVOTEYCHA LECHA LE RISHTAH KOL HA YAMIM ASHER ATEM CHAYIM AL HA ADAMAH
אֵלֶּה הַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁמְרוּן לַעֲשׂוֹת בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נָתַן יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲבֹתֶיךָ לְךָ לְרִשְׁתָּהּ כָּל הַיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם חַיִּים עַל הָאֲדָמָה
KJ (King James translation): These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.
BN (BibleNet translation): These are the statutes and the ordinances, which you shall undertake to carry out in the land which YHVH, the god of your ancestors, has given you for a possession, all the days that you live upon the Earth.
It has been a very long, very slow, often impatient journey (a perfect parallel for the original wilderness-crossing!), but at last we have reached Second Sinai, and the giving of the laws.
12:2 ABED TE'ABDUN ET KOL HA MEKOMOT ASHER AVDU SHAM HA GOYIM ASHER ATEM YORSHIM OTAM ET ELOHEYHEM AL HE HARIM HA RAMIM VE AL HA GEVA'OT VE TACHAT KOL EYTS RA'ANAN
אַבֵּד תְּאַבְּדוּן אֶת כָּל הַמְּקֹמוֹת אֲשֶׁר עָבְדוּ שָׁם הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם יֹרְשִׁים אֹתָם אֶת אֱלֹהֵיהֶם עַל הֶהָרִים הָרָמִים וְעַל הַגְּבָעוֹת וְתַחַת כָּל עֵץ רַעֲנָן
KJ: Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:
BN: You shall totally destroy all the places in which the nations that you are to dispossess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every leafy tree.
This verse is significant in our understanding of the Book of Joshua as a religious rather than a purely "land-grab" military conquest. One religion is taking over from another - as the Beney Chet had done previously (that we know of, though there were probably others); as the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Moslems, the Crusaders would all do later on, each one destroying as many as they could of the previous, the "false" religions, and building their own, usually on the same spot, completing the destruction by replacing and supplanting.
And with this as the first instruction given by Mosheh, how do his listeners reconcile it with the teachings in the Shema: "you shall love your neighbour as yourself", and "you shall treat the stranger who is within your gate as you would treat your own family"? With everything he believes in destroyed!
ABED: Nor is without significance that, when Mosheh finally gets around to giving the laws, after eleven full chapters of prefacing, the very first word is the very opposite of Creation, and not even NICHRETAH or HASHMADAH, but the apocalyptic ABED (see my note to Deuteronomy 7:10)
GEVA'OT: There are towns named Gev'a and Giv-Yah etc; are they named for the Egyptian god Geb, or for their location in a high place? Or was Geb called Geb because he was a mountain-god? Click here for more on this.
RA'ANAN: Is the modern town of RA'ANANA named for this?
12:3 VE NITATSTEM ET MIZBECHOTAM VE SHIBARTEM ET MATSEVOTAM VA ASHEREYHEM TISREPHUN BA EYSH U PHESILEY ELOHEYHEM TEGADEY'UN VE IBADETEM ET SHAMAM MIN HA MAKOM HA HU
KJ: And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.
BN: And you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and burn their Asherim with fire; and you shall hew down the graven images of their gods; and you shall destroy their name out of that place.
Hardly any different really from what Islamic State are doing today in Syria and Iraq, or what the Catholic church did to the Americas. While we go round the Third World telling people with perfectly satisfactory tribal traditions that we won't trade with them unless they give them up and adopt our third-rate, failed mediocrity of a pretend democracy instead. Plus ça change!
12:4 LO TA'ASUN KEN LA YHVH ELOHEYCHEM
KJ: Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God.
BN: You shall not do the same to YHVH your god.
Jewish scholars have wrestled with this line for centuries. For Rashi's observations on the various possibilities, click here (but make sure you have hit the "show" button or you'll get the text withoutthe commentary).
ABED: Nor is without significance that, when Mosheh finally gets around to giving the laws, after eleven full chapters of prefacing, the very first word is the very opposite of Creation, and not even NICHRETAH or HASHMADAH, but the apocalyptic ABED (see my note to Deuteronomy 7:10)
GEVA'OT: There are towns named Gev'a and Giv-Yah etc; are they named for the Egyptian god Geb, or for their location in a high place? Or was Geb called Geb because he was a mountain-god? Click here for more on this.
RA'ANAN: Is the modern town of RA'ANANA named for this?
12:3 VE NITATSTEM ET MIZBECHOTAM VE SHIBARTEM ET MATSEVOTAM VA ASHEREYHEM TISREPHUN BA EYSH U PHESILEY ELOHEYHEM TEGADEY'UN VE IBADETEM ET SHAMAM MIN HA MAKOM HA HU
וְנִתַּצְתֶּם אֶת מִזְבְּחֹתָם וְשִׁבַּרְתֶּם אֶת מַצֵּבֹתָם וַאֲשֵׁרֵיהֶם תִּשְׂרְפוּן בָּאֵשׁ וּפְסִילֵי אֱלֹהֵיהֶם תְּגַדֵּעוּן וְאִבַּדְתֶּם אֶת שְׁמָם מִן הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא
KJ: And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.
BN: And you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and burn their Asherim with fire; and you shall hew down the graven images of their gods; and you shall destroy their name out of that place.
Hardly any different really from what Islamic State are doing today in Syria and Iraq, or what the Catholic church did to the Americas. While we go round the Third World telling people with perfectly satisfactory tribal traditions that we won't trade with them unless they give them up and adopt our third-rate, failed mediocrity of a pretend democracy instead. Plus ça change!
12:4 LO TA'ASUN KEN LA YHVH ELOHEYCHEM
לֹא תַעֲשׂוּן כֵּן לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם
KJ: Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God.
BN: You shall not do the same to YHVH your god.
Jewish scholars have wrestled with this line for centuries. For Rashi's observations on the various possibilities, click here (but make sure you have hit the "show" button or you'll get the text withoutthe commentary).
But actually I think that all three of the options given there are wrong, because the next verse does not endorse them. I think the statement is that you should not take over their shrines and adapt them as shrines to YHVH, but build your own shrines, and especially one central shrine, from zero; and this because those sites will continue to have residual connotations, and that leaves a risk of the worshippers being drawn back to the original, and even wanting to re-establish the original. So in England there are hundreds of churches on sites known to have been sacred to the Celts. So, in 2020, Caliph Erdogan of the revived Ottoman Empire reconsecrated the Hagia Sofia in Constantinople as a Shi'a mosque (I have phrased that very deliberately incorrectly to make my points).
12:5 KI IM EL HA MAKOM ASHER YIVCHAR YHVH ELOHEYCHEM MI KOL SHIVTEYCHEM LASUM ET SHEMO SHAM LE SHICHNO TIDRESHU U VATA SHAMAH
כִּי אִם אֶל הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם מִכָּל שִׁבְטֵיכֶם לָשׂוּם אֶת שְׁמוֹ שָׁם לְשִׁכְנוֹ תִדְרְשׁוּ וּבָאתָ שָּׁמָּה
BN: But to the place which YHVH your god shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even to his habitation shall you seek, and thither you shall come.
Did Mosheh really think that far ahead, to the creation of a centralised cult with a single, central place of worship? It seems unlikely. Why unlikely? Because all his thinking is towards a tribal civilisation, confederate, but each tribe primarily focused upon its own territory, with its own Levitical cities, its own elders, et cetera; centralisation annuls this, and whichever site is chosen automatically gives its tribe a superiority which Mosheh has already reserved for his own family by establishing the Kohanim and Leviyim as the dominant group. For David, on the other hand, establishing his tribe as predominant, and creating a centralised confederacy, made perfect sense, and for Ezra and Nechem-Yah to retain it likewise.
12:6 VA HAVEYTEM SHAMAH OLOTEYCHEM VE ZIVCHEYCHEM VE ET MASOROTEYCHEM VE ET TERUMAT YEDCHEM VE NIDREYCHEM VE NIDVOTEYCHEM U VECHOROT BEKARCHEM VE TSONCHEM
וַהֲבֵאתֶם שָׁמָּה עֹלֹתֵיכֶם וְזִבְחֵיכֶם וְאֵת מַעְשְׂרֹתֵיכֶם וְאֵת תְּרוּמַת יֶדְכֶם וְנִדְרֵיכֶם וְנִדְבֹתֵיכֶם וּבְכֹרֹת בְּקַרְכֶם וְצֹאנְכֶם
KJ: And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks:
BN: And that is where you shall bring your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and your wave-offerings, and your vows, and your freewill-offerings, and the firstling of your herd and your flock.
Again seeming to establish a central Temple, though the intention may be a central shrine inside each tribal territory. But either way, as per verse 5, a new site, not the metamorphosis of someone else's existing site.
12:7 VA ACHALTEM SHAM LIPHNEY YHVH ELOHEYCHEM U SEMACHTEM BE CHOL MISHLACH YEDCHEM ATEM U VATEYCHEM ASHER BERACHECHA YHVH ELOHEYCHA
וַאֲכַלְתֶּם שָׁם לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וּשְׂמַחְתֶּם בְּכֹל מִשְׁלַח יֶדְכֶם אַתֶּם וּבָתֵּיכֶם אֲשֶׁר בֵּרַכְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ
BN: And there you shall eat before YHVH your god, and you shall rejoice in all that you put your hand to, you and your households, in which YHVH your god has blessed you.
This second giving of the law completes the pilgrimage, whose first goal was the covenant renewal ceremony of the Law; and now, next, the conquest and occupation of the land: phase one, the destruction of "pagan" shrines, phase two, the erection of YHVH's palace, ensconcing him in the land. Only afterwards will the political, the social, the moral, the economic, the personal, the sexual laws be given.
12:8 LO TA'ASUN KE CHOL ASHER ANACHNU OSIM POH HAYOM ISH KOL HA YASHAR BE EYNAV
לֹא תַעֲשׂוּן כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר אֲנַחְנוּ עֹשִׂים פֹּה הַיּוֹם אִישׁ כָּל הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינָיו
KJ: Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.
BN: You shall not behave in the way that we have been behaving here today, each man doing whatever he deems right in his own eyes.
It comes as something of a surprise to discover that such a situation existed, forty years after Mosheh took charge of these people! Is that yet one more descriptor of his failed leadership? Or perhaps the crowd has been getting restless during his interminably long, and hideously derogatory speech, and they've been getting up and walking away, taking their lunch off to the sides somewhere, booing even. I have allowed my translation the possibility of this latter.
But then, re-think what he is actually saying, and consider the Kara'ite "heresy" (each person should endeavour, through study, to form his own understanding and interpretation of the scriptures). We have witnessed Mosheh removing the opposition, setting bounds around even his closest advisers, establishing his tribe as a ruling aristocracy; from today, any possibility of democracy is terminated. No one will need to think their own thoughts again. The laws I am about to give apply to everyone, and require no debate, permit no discussion. This is how it will be. "Each man doing what is right in his own eyes" may equally be a description of anarchy, or of human freedom and responsibility.
12:9 KI LO VATEM AD ATAH EL HA MENUCHAH VE EL HA NACHALAH ASHER YHVH ELOHEYCHA NOTEN LACH
כִּי לֹא בָאתֶם עַד עָתָּה אֶל הַמְּנוּחָה וְאֶל הַנַּחֲלָה אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ
BN: For you have not yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which YHVH your god is giving you.
12:10 VA AVARTEM ET HA YARDEN VIY'SHAVTEM BA ARETS ASHER YHVH ELOHEYCHEM MANCHIL ET'CHEM VE HEYNI'ACH LACHEM MI KOL OYEVEYCHEM MI SAVIV VIY'SHAVTEM BETACH
BN: But when you cross over the Yarden, and dwell in the land which YHVH your god is enabling you to inherit, and he gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety...
12:11 VE HAYAH HA MAKOM ASHER YIVCHAR YHVH ELOHEYCHEM BO LESHACHEN SHEMO SHAM SHAMAH TAVI'U ET KOL ASHER ANOCHI METSAVEH ET'CHEM OLOTEYCHEM VE ZIVCHEYCHEM MA'ASOROTEYCHEM U TERUMAT YEDCHEM VE CHOL MIVCHAR NIDREYCHEM ASHER TIDRU LA YHVH
וְהָיָה הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם בּוֹ לְשַׁכֵּן שְׁמוֹ שָׁם שָׁמָּה תָבִיאוּ אֵת כָּל אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם עוֹלֹתֵיכֶם וְזִבְחֵיכֶם מַעְשְׂרֹתֵיכֶם וּתְרֻמַת יֶדְכֶם וְכֹל מִבְחַר נִדְרֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר תִּדְּרוּ לַיהוָה
KJ: Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD:
BN: Then it shall come to pass that the place in which YHVH your god shall choose to cause his name to dwell, thither shall you bring all that I command you: your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which you vow to YHVH.
see verse 6, though this does look increasingly like a single, central shrine, and all others precluded.
12:12 U SEMACHTEM LIPHNEY YHVH ELOHEYCHEM ATEM U VENEYCHEM U VENOTEYCHEM VE AVDEYCHEM VE AMHOTEYCHEM VE HA LEVI ASHER BE SHA'AREYCHA KI EYN LO CHELEK VE NACHALAH IT'CHEM
וּשְׂמַחְתֶּם לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם אַתֶּם וּבְנֵיכֶם וּבְנֹתֵיכֶם וְעַבְדֵיכֶם וְאַמְהֹתֵיכֶם וְהַלֵּוִי אֲשֶׁר בְּשַׁעֲרֵיכֶם כִּי אֵין לוֹ חֵלֶק וְנַחֲלָה אִתְּכֶם
KJ: And ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you.
BN: And you shall rejoice before YHVH your god, you, and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, forasmuch as he has no portion nor inheritance with you.
12:13 HISHAMER LECHA PEN TA'ALEH OLOTECHA BE CHOL MAKOM ASHER TIREH
BN: And you shall rejoice before YHVH your god, you, and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, forasmuch as he has no portion nor inheritance with you.
12:13 HISHAMER LECHA PEN TA'ALEH OLOTECHA BE CHOL MAKOM ASHER TIREH
הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ פֶּן תַּעֲלֶה עֹלֹתֶיךָ בְּכָל מָקוֹם אֲשֶׁר תִּרְאֶה
BN: Take heed that you do not offer your burnt-offerings in any place that you happen to see.
12:14 KI IM BA MAKOM ASHER YIVCHAR YHVH BE ACHAD SHEVATEYCHA SHAM TA'ALEH OLOTECHA VE SHAM TA'ASEH KOL ASHER ANOCHI METSAVECHA
כִּי אִם בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהוָה בְּאַחַד שְׁבָטֶיךָ שָׁם תַּעֲלֶה עֹלֹתֶיךָ וְשָׁם תַּעֲשֶׂה כֹּל אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּךָּ
KJ: But in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.
BN: But in the place which YHVH shall choose in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt-offerings, and there you shall do all that I am instructing you.
And now "in one of your tribes" makes it absolutely clear: one central shrine, location still to be determined. And most likely this is another case of retroactive validation, though whether from the time of David, or Shelomoh (Solomon) or later we cannot tell.
12:15 RAK BE CHOL AVAT NAPHSHECHA TIZBACH VE ACHALTA VASAR KE VIRCHAT YHVH ELOHEYCHA ASHER NATAN LECHA BE CHOL SHE'AREYCHA HA TAM'E VE HA TAHOR YOCHLEYNU KA TSEVI VE CHA AYIL
רַק בְּכָל אַוַּת נַפְשְׁךָ תִּזְבַּח וְאָכַלְתָּ בָשָׂר כְּבִרְכַּת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לְךָ בְּכָל שְׁעָרֶיךָ הַטָּמֵא וְהַטָּהוֹר יֹאכְלֶנּוּ כַּצְּבִי וְכָאַיָּל
KJ: Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart.
BN: Notwithstanding you may kill and eat flesh within all your gates, after all the desire of your soul, according to the blessing of YHVH your god which he has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle, and as of the hart.
Is this not a total undermining of the basic laws of kashrut? Eat what you like, where you like? Which of course goes with the anarchy of verse 8. Even more fascinating: to witness the religious commentators trying to deal with this verse. Click here for some examples.
12:16 RAK HA DAM LO TOCHELU AL HA ARETS TISHPECHENU KA MAYIM
רַק הַדָּם לֹא תֹאכֵלוּ עַל הָאָרֶץ תִּשְׁפְּכֶנּוּ כַּמָּיִם
BN: Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it out upon the earth like water.
Oh yes, that other obsession of the Beney Yisra-El: racial purity and blood. Or maybe they are just two aspects of the same thing.
12:17 LO TUCHAL LE'ECHOL BI SHE'AREYCHA MA'SAR DEGANCHA VE TIRSHECHA VE YITS'HARECHA U VECHOROT BEKARCHA VE TSONECHA VE CHOL NEDAREYCHA ASHER TIDOR VE NIDVOTEYCHA U TERUMAT YADECH
KJ: But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto.
BN: But you shall eat them before YHVH your god in the place which YHVH your god shall choose, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your man-servant, and your maid-servant, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before YHVH your god in all that you put your hand to.
My impression is that Ezra was looking for a way of retroactively validating the existence of a central Temple that was never actually envisaged in the original establishment of the land and the nation, and was therefore not mentioned in any of the earlier versions of law-documents; but there has been a Temple, and he is now embarked on re-building it, and making Yeru-Shala'im the central shrine again.
12:19 HISHAMER LECHA PEN TA'AZOV ET HA LEVI KOL YAMEYCHA AL ADMATECHA
KJ: Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.
BN: Take heed to yourself that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live upon your land.
Mosheh making sure his own people are well looked after!
samech break
12:20 KI YARCHIV YHVH ELOHEYCHA ET GEVULCHA KA ASHER DIBER LACH VE AMARTA OCHLAH VASAR KI TE'AVEH NAPHSHECHA LE'ECHOL BASAR BE CHOL AVAT NAPHSHECHA TOCHAL BASAR
KJ: When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.
BN: When YHVH your god shall enlarge your border, as he has promised you, and you shall say: "I will eat meat", because your soul desires to eat meat; you may eat meat, after all the desire of your soul.
Once again it is worth looking at the religious commentaries on this (click here), as they try to make this utter contradiction of kashrut acceptable. And why is it unacceptable? Because, if it is valid, then none of the (Toraic) laws of kashrut apply in the diaspora, or even in Yisra-El if there is no Temple (Talmudic laws, belonging to the post-Temple era, are not affected by this).
12:21 KI YIRCHAK MIMCHA HA MAKOM ASHER YIVCHAR YHVH ELOHEYCHA LASUM SHEMO SHAM VE ZAVACHTA MI BEKARCHA U MI TSONCHA ASHER NATAN LECHA KA ASHER TSIVITICHA VE ACHALTA BE SHE'AREYCHA BE CHOL AVAT NAPHSHECHA
KJ: If the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to put his name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the LORD hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.
BN: If the place where YHVH your god shall choose to put his name is too far from you, then you shall kill of your herd and of your flock, which YHVH has given you, as I have instructed you, and you shall eat within your gates, after all the desire of your soul.
Until this verse it has been little more than speculation, hint, suggestion; but with this verse it is unequivocal. Except for the instruction concerning blood, the laws of kashrut - despite their being given at Sinai, immutable for all time - do not apply if you live "too far" from the Temple, even inside Yisra-El itself, let alone in some foreign country.
And why would Mosheh institute such an amendment to so fundamental a law, and without YHVH expressly telling him to do so, as is the case here? This can only be Ezraic, not Mosaic. And why? Presumably for the benefit of those still living in Babylon. But it may have been pre-Ezra, even Solomonic or any of the kings that followed, for the benefit of those living in the distant tribes, Asher, Dan etc.
12:22 ACH KA ASHER YE'ACHEL ET HA TSEVI VE ET HA AYIL KEN TOCHLEYNU HA TAM'E VE HA TAHOR YACHDAV YOCHLEYNU
KJ: Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike.
BN: Howbeit, as the gazelle and as the hart is eaten, so shall you eat of it; the unclean and the clean may eat of it alike.
And lest there be any doubt that kashrut as a whole is intended, the restatement here that even the previously taboo animals may be eaten - though it is worth noting that this amendment only applies to animals, and not to birds, insects, reptiles, fish or shellfish.
See Deuteronomy 14:4 ff.
12:23 RAK CHAZAK LE VILTI ACHOL HA DAM KI HA DAM HU HA NEPHESH VE LO TOCHAL HA NEPHESH MI HA BASAR
KJ: Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.
BN: Only be steadfast in not eating the blood; for the blood is the life; and you shall not eat the life with the meat.
In the end this is what matters most to YHVH, even if bloodless meat is taste-free and dry; he only wants the gravy anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter to him if Mankind wants boeuf bourgignon but has to accept BigMac.
12:24 LO TOCHLEYNU AL HA ARETS TISHPECHEYNU KA MAYIM
KJ: Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.
BN: You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out upon the earth like water.
Which ordinance should surely rule out that barbaric Jewish practice of killing Christian babies, in order to use their blood to make Passover matzah. But apparently the Jews go on doing it regardless - click here for one of the more recent cases, or here for a fuller explanation.
12:25 LO TOCHLEYNU LEMA'AN YIYTAV LECHA U LE VANEYCHA ACHAREYCHA KI TA'ASEH HA YASHAR BE EYNEY YHVH
KJ: Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.
BN: You shall not eat it; that it may go well with you, and with your children after you, when you do what is right in the eyes of YHVH.
12:26 RAK KADASHEYCHA ASHER YIHEYU LECHA U NEDAREYCHA TISA U VATA EL HA MAKOM ASHER YIVCHAR YHVH
KJ: Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the LORD shall choose:
BN: Only thy holy things which you have, and your vows, you shall take, and go to the place which YHVH shall choose.
As noted previously, this is the other major alteration, and it is theological more than cullinary: the purpose of the Temple is now more about the vows and less about the sanctification of the right to eat meat, more about the act of obedience to law than about propitiation of the deity (cf 1 Samuel 15:22, Isaiah 1:11, Hosea 6:6... I have only linked to the first of these as it includes the others in a much longer list of cross-references); more about the ideas behind the ceremony than the rituals themselves; we are moving, that is to say, from the Kohanic to the Prophetic (en route to, but not yet as far as, the Rabbinic), from the primitive to the abstract, from the mythological to the metaphysical. And the arguments over this transition will become central to the cult for the next four hundred years: the Perushim (Pharisees) versus the Tsadokim (Sadducees).
12:27 VE ASITA OLOTEYCHA HA BASAR VE HA DAM AL MIZBACH YHVH ELOHEYCHA VE DAM ZEVACHEYCHA YISHAPHECH AL MIZBACH YHVH ELOHEYCHA VE HA BASAR TOCHEL
KJ: And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the LORD thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the LORD thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh.
BN: And you shall offer your burnt-offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of YHVH your god; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out against the altar of YHVH your god, and you shall eat the meat.
12:28 SHEMOR VE SHAMATA ET KOL HA DEVARIM HA ELEH ASHER ANOCHI METSAVECHA LEMA'AN YIYTAV LECHA U LE VANEYCHA ACHAREYCHA AD OLAM KI TA'ASEH HA TOV VE HA YASHAR BE EYNEY YHVH ELOHEYCHA
KJ: Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the LORD thy God.
BN: Observe and hear all these words which I am instructing you, that it may go well with you, and with your children after you for ever, when you do that which is good and right in the eyes of YHVH your god.
12:17 LO TUCHAL LE'ECHOL BI SHE'AREYCHA MA'SAR DEGANCHA VE TIRSHECHA VE YITS'HARECHA U VECHOROT BEKARCHA VE TSONECHA VE CHOL NEDAREYCHA ASHER TIDOR VE NIDVOTEYCHA U TERUMAT YADECH
לֹא תוּכַל לֶאֱכֹל בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ מַעְשַׂר דְּגָנְךָ וְתִירֹשְׁךָ וְיִצְהָרֶךָ וּבְכֹרֹת בְּקָרְךָ וְצֹאנֶךָ וְכָל נְדָרֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר תִּדֹּר וְנִדְבֹתֶיךָ וּתְרוּמַת יָדֶךָ
KJ: Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand:
BN: You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your corn, or of your wine, or of your oil, or the firstlings of your herd or of your flock, nor any of the vows which you have made, nor your freewill-offerings, nor the wave-offerings...
Again see verse 6.
BI SHE'AREYCHA: All those theologians that I linked to at verse 15 tried to explain this by insisting it was about eating while in the desert, where there was no means of abattoiring the beasts in the required manner of Shechitah, and that the new law would apply when they reached the Promised Land. But this verse, and especially this phrase, counters that position. What appears to be the distinction is somewhat different: you can kill for food anywhere, but if the animal is intended as the beast-of-sacrifice to accompany a sin-offering et cetera, then it must be done at the Temple - the point being that people living a long way from the central shrine can't be expected to come to its abattoir every time they want to cook supper (see verse 21 which confirms this). It represents a fundamental change to the tribal structure, as noted above, but it has implications beyond that, of which this is key because it changes the nature of sacrifice: no longer is sacrifice simply a means of making it legitimate to kill for food, which is really an act of propitiation; it now becomes an act of worship in its own right. So again we witness the shift from the mythological to the metaphysical; so again we can date the text (no earlier than the 6th century BCE, probably as late as the mid 5th)
12:18 KI IM LIPHNEY YHVH ELOHEYCHA TOCHLEYNU BA MAKOM ASHER YIVCHAR YHVH ELOHEYCHA BO ATAH U VINCHA U VITECHA VE AVDECHA VA AMATECHA VE HE LEVI ASHER BI SHE'ARECHA VE SAMACHTA LIPHNEY YHVH ELOHEYCHA BE CHOL MISHLACH YADECH
BN: You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your corn, or of your wine, or of your oil, or the firstlings of your herd or of your flock, nor any of the vows which you have made, nor your freewill-offerings, nor the wave-offerings...
Again see verse 6.
BI SHE'AREYCHA: All those theologians that I linked to at verse 15 tried to explain this by insisting it was about eating while in the desert, where there was no means of abattoiring the beasts in the required manner of Shechitah, and that the new law would apply when they reached the Promised Land. But this verse, and especially this phrase, counters that position. What appears to be the distinction is somewhat different: you can kill for food anywhere, but if the animal is intended as the beast-of-sacrifice to accompany a sin-offering et cetera, then it must be done at the Temple - the point being that people living a long way from the central shrine can't be expected to come to its abattoir every time they want to cook supper (see verse 21 which confirms this). It represents a fundamental change to the tribal structure, as noted above, but it has implications beyond that, of which this is key because it changes the nature of sacrifice: no longer is sacrifice simply a means of making it legitimate to kill for food, which is really an act of propitiation; it now becomes an act of worship in its own right. So again we witness the shift from the mythological to the metaphysical; so again we can date the text (no earlier than the 6th century BCE, probably as late as the mid 5th)
12:18 KI IM LIPHNEY YHVH ELOHEYCHA TOCHLEYNU BA MAKOM ASHER YIVCHAR YHVH ELOHEYCHA BO ATAH U VINCHA U VITECHA VE AVDECHA VA AMATECHA VE HE LEVI ASHER BI SHE'ARECHA VE SAMACHTA LIPHNEY YHVH ELOHEYCHA BE CHOL MISHLACH YADECH
כִּי אִם לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ תֹּאכְלֶנּוּ בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בּוֹ אַתָּה וּבִנְךָ וּבִתֶּךָ וְעַבְדְּךָ וַאֲמָתֶךָ וְהַלֵּוִי אֲשֶׁר בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ וְשָׂמַחְתָּ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכֹל מִשְׁלַח יָדֶךָ
BN: But you shall eat them before YHVH your god in the place which YHVH your god shall choose, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your man-servant, and your maid-servant, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before YHVH your god in all that you put your hand to.
My impression is that Ezra was looking for a way of retroactively validating the existence of a central Temple that was never actually envisaged in the original establishment of the land and the nation, and was therefore not mentioned in any of the earlier versions of law-documents; but there has been a Temple, and he is now embarked on re-building it, and making Yeru-Shala'im the central shrine again.
12:19 HISHAMER LECHA PEN TA'AZOV ET HA LEVI KOL YAMEYCHA AL ADMATECHA
הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ פֶּן תַּעֲזֹב אֶת הַלֵּוִי כָּל יָמֶיךָ עַל אַדְמָתֶךָ
BN: Take heed to yourself that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live upon your land.
Mosheh making sure his own people are well looked after!
samech break
12:20 KI YARCHIV YHVH ELOHEYCHA ET GEVULCHA KA ASHER DIBER LACH VE AMARTA OCHLAH VASAR KI TE'AVEH NAPHSHECHA LE'ECHOL BASAR BE CHOL AVAT NAPHSHECHA TOCHAL BASAR
כִּי יַרְחִיב יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶת גְּבֻלְךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָךְ וְאָמַרְתָּ אֹכְלָה בָשָׂר כִּי תְאַוֶּה נַפְשְׁךָ לֶאֱכֹל בָּשָׂר בְּכָל אַוַּת נַפְשְׁךָ תֹּאכַל בָּשָׂר
BN: When YHVH your god shall enlarge your border, as he has promised you, and you shall say: "I will eat meat", because your soul desires to eat meat; you may eat meat, after all the desire of your soul.
Once again it is worth looking at the religious commentaries on this (click here), as they try to make this utter contradiction of kashrut acceptable. And why is it unacceptable? Because, if it is valid, then none of the (Toraic) laws of kashrut apply in the diaspora, or even in Yisra-El if there is no Temple (Talmudic laws, belonging to the post-Temple era, are not affected by this).
12:21 KI YIRCHAK MIMCHA HA MAKOM ASHER YIVCHAR YHVH ELOHEYCHA LASUM SHEMO SHAM VE ZAVACHTA MI BEKARCHA U MI TSONCHA ASHER NATAN LECHA KA ASHER TSIVITICHA VE ACHALTA BE SHE'AREYCHA BE CHOL AVAT NAPHSHECHA
כִּי יִרְחַק מִמְּךָ הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לָשׂוּם שְׁמוֹ שָׁם וְזָבַחְתָּ מִבְּקָרְךָ וּמִצֹּאנְךָ אֲשֶׁר נָתַן יְהוָה לְךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִךָ וְאָכַלְתָּ בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ בְּכֹל אַוַּת נַפְשֶׁךָ
BN: If the place where YHVH your god shall choose to put his name is too far from you, then you shall kill of your herd and of your flock, which YHVH has given you, as I have instructed you, and you shall eat within your gates, after all the desire of your soul.
Until this verse it has been little more than speculation, hint, suggestion; but with this verse it is unequivocal. Except for the instruction concerning blood, the laws of kashrut - despite their being given at Sinai, immutable for all time - do not apply if you live "too far" from the Temple, even inside Yisra-El itself, let alone in some foreign country.
And why would Mosheh institute such an amendment to so fundamental a law, and without YHVH expressly telling him to do so, as is the case here? This can only be Ezraic, not Mosaic. And why? Presumably for the benefit of those still living in Babylon. But it may have been pre-Ezra, even Solomonic or any of the kings that followed, for the benefit of those living in the distant tribes, Asher, Dan etc.
12:22 ACH KA ASHER YE'ACHEL ET HA TSEVI VE ET HA AYIL KEN TOCHLEYNU HA TAM'E VE HA TAHOR YACHDAV YOCHLEYNU
אַךְ כַּאֲשֶׁר יֵאָכֵל אֶת הַצְּבִי וְאֶת הָאַיָּל כֵּן תֹּאכְלֶנּוּ הַטָּמֵא וְהַטָּהוֹר יַחְדָּו יֹאכְלֶנּוּ
KJ: Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike.
BN: Howbeit, as the gazelle and as the hart is eaten, so shall you eat of it; the unclean and the clean may eat of it alike.
And lest there be any doubt that kashrut as a whole is intended, the restatement here that even the previously taboo animals may be eaten - though it is worth noting that this amendment only applies to animals, and not to birds, insects, reptiles, fish or shellfish.
See Deuteronomy 14:4 ff.
12:23 RAK CHAZAK LE VILTI ACHOL HA DAM KI HA DAM HU HA NEPHESH VE LO TOCHAL HA NEPHESH MI HA BASAR
רַק חֲזַק לְבִלְתִּי אֲכֹל הַדָּם כִּי הַדָּם הוּא הַנָּפֶשׁ וְלֹא תֹאכַל הַנֶּפֶשׁ עִם הַבָּשָׂר
KJ: Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.
BN: Only be steadfast in not eating the blood; for the blood is the life; and you shall not eat the life with the meat.
In the end this is what matters most to YHVH, even if bloodless meat is taste-free and dry; he only wants the gravy anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter to him if Mankind wants boeuf bourgignon but has to accept BigMac.
12:24 LO TOCHLEYNU AL HA ARETS TISHPECHEYNU KA MAYIM
לֹא תֹּאכְלֶנּוּ עַל הָאָרֶץ תִּשְׁפְּכֶנּוּ כַּמָּיִם
KJ: Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.
BN: You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out upon the earth like water.
Which ordinance should surely rule out that barbaric Jewish practice of killing Christian babies, in order to use their blood to make Passover matzah. But apparently the Jews go on doing it regardless - click here for one of the more recent cases, or here for a fuller explanation.
12:25 LO TOCHLEYNU LEMA'AN YIYTAV LECHA U LE VANEYCHA ACHAREYCHA KI TA'ASEH HA YASHAR BE EYNEY YHVH
לֹא תֹּאכְלֶנּוּ לְמַעַן יִיטַב לְךָ וּלְבָנֶיךָ אַחֲרֶיךָ כִּי תַעֲשֶׂה הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה
BN: You shall not eat it; that it may go well with you, and with your children after you, when you do what is right in the eyes of YHVH.
12:26 RAK KADASHEYCHA ASHER YIHEYU LECHA U NEDAREYCHA TISA U VATA EL HA MAKOM ASHER YIVCHAR YHVH
רַק קָדָשֶׁיךָ אֲשֶׁר יִהְיוּ לְךָ וּנְדָרֶיךָ תִּשָּׂא וּבָאתָ אֶל הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהוָה
BN: Only thy holy things which you have, and your vows, you shall take, and go to the place which YHVH shall choose.
As noted previously, this is the other major alteration, and it is theological more than cullinary: the purpose of the Temple is now more about the vows and less about the sanctification of the right to eat meat, more about the act of obedience to law than about propitiation of the deity (cf 1 Samuel 15:22, Isaiah 1:11, Hosea 6:6... I have only linked to the first of these as it includes the others in a much longer list of cross-references); more about the ideas behind the ceremony than the rituals themselves; we are moving, that is to say, from the Kohanic to the Prophetic (en route to, but not yet as far as, the Rabbinic), from the primitive to the abstract, from the mythological to the metaphysical. And the arguments over this transition will become central to the cult for the next four hundred years: the Perushim (Pharisees) versus the Tsadokim (Sadducees).
12:27 VE ASITA OLOTEYCHA HA BASAR VE HA DAM AL MIZBACH YHVH ELOHEYCHA VE DAM ZEVACHEYCHA YISHAPHECH AL MIZBACH YHVH ELOHEYCHA VE HA BASAR TOCHEL
וְעָשִׂיתָ עֹלֹתֶיךָ הַבָּשָׂר וְהַדָּם עַל מִזְבַּח יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ וְדַם זְבָחֶיךָ יִשָּׁפֵךְ עַל מִזְבַּח יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ וְהַבָּשָׂר תֹּאכֵל
BN: And you shall offer your burnt-offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of YHVH your god; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out against the altar of YHVH your god, and you shall eat the meat.
12:28 SHEMOR VE SHAMATA ET KOL HA DEVARIM HA ELEH ASHER ANOCHI METSAVECHA LEMA'AN YIYTAV LECHA U LE VANEYCHA ACHAREYCHA AD OLAM KI TA'ASEH HA TOV VE HA YASHAR BE EYNEY YHVH ELOHEYCHA
שְׁמֹר וְשָׁמַעְתָּ אֵת כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּךָּ לְמַעַן יִיטַב לְךָ וּלְבָנֶיךָ אַחֲרֶיךָ עַד עוֹלָם כִּי תַעֲשֶׂה הַטּוֹב וְהַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ
KJ: Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the LORD thy God.
BN: Observe and hear all these words which I am instructing you, that it may go well with you, and with your children after you for ever, when you do that which is good and right in the eyes of YHVH your god.
samech break
12:29 KI YACHRIT YHVH ELOHEYCHA ET HA GO'IM ASHER ATAH VA SHAMAH LARESHET OTAM MI PANEYCHA VE YARASHTA OTAM, VE YASHAVTA BE ARTSAM
KJ: When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
BN: When YHVH your god shall cut off the nations from before you, to whose land you are going, to dispossess them, and when you have dispossessed them, and dwell in their land...
12:30 HISHAMER LECHA PEN TINAKESH ACHAREYHEM ACHAREY HISHAMDAM MI PANEYCHA U PEN TIDROSH LE ELOHEYHEM LEMOR EYCHAH YA'AVDU HA GO'IM HA ELEH ET ELOHEYHEM VE E'ESEH KEN GAM ANI
KJ: Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
BN: Take precautions against yourself, lest you find yourself trapped into following them, even after you have destroyed them; and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying: 'How did these nations serve their gods in former times?' Because if you do, I will treat you as you have treated them.
There is an inherent paradox here: if they have utterly destroyed the people, and the shrines, and all the ikonic paraphenalia as well, they won't be able to follow those no-longer-existent gods. So there is an implicit acceptance that monotheism is an imposed falsehood, or at best a statement of Yahwistic supremacy rather than singularity. So there is no point in destroying the people and the shrines and the ikonic paraphenalia, because, the gods living on anyway...
Is this Mosheh thinking ahead (and if it is, then he is being prophetically gloomy, and derogating his people yet again), or Ezra being clever in using known (or even invented) history as a tool for moral blackmail?
12:29 KI YACHRIT YHVH ELOHEYCHA ET HA GO'IM ASHER ATAH VA SHAMAH LARESHET OTAM MI PANEYCHA VE YARASHTA OTAM, VE YASHAVTA BE ARTSAM
כִּי יַכְרִית יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶת הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה בָא שָׁמָּה לָרֶשֶׁת אוֹתָם מִפָּנֶיךָ וְיָרַשְׁתָּ אֹתָם וְיָשַׁבְתָּ בְּאַרְצָם
BN: When YHVH your god shall cut off the nations from before you, to whose land you are going, to dispossess them, and when you have dispossessed them, and dwell in their land...
12:30 HISHAMER LECHA PEN TINAKESH ACHAREYHEM ACHAREY HISHAMDAM MI PANEYCHA U PEN TIDROSH LE ELOHEYHEM LEMOR EYCHAH YA'AVDU HA GO'IM HA ELEH ET ELOHEYHEM VE E'ESEH KEN GAM ANI
הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ פֶּן תִּנָּקֵשׁ אַחֲרֵיהֶם אַחֲרֵי הִשָּׁמְדָם מִפָּנֶיךָ וּפֶן תִּדְרֹשׁ לֵאלֹהֵיהֶם לֵאמֹר אֵיכָה יַעַבְדוּ הַגּוֹיִם הָאֵלֶּה אֶת אֱלֹהֵיהֶם וְאֶעֱשֶׂה כֵּן גַּם אָנִי
BN: Take precautions against yourself, lest you find yourself trapped into following them, even after you have destroyed them; and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying: 'How did these nations serve their gods in former times?' Because if you do, I will treat you as you have treated them.
There is an inherent paradox here: if they have utterly destroyed the people, and the shrines, and all the ikonic paraphenalia as well, they won't be able to follow those no-longer-existent gods. So there is an implicit acceptance that monotheism is an imposed falsehood, or at best a statement of Yahwistic supremacy rather than singularity. So there is no point in destroying the people and the shrines and the ikonic paraphenalia, because, the gods living on anyway...
Is this Mosheh thinking ahead (and if it is, then he is being prophetically gloomy, and derogating his people yet again), or Ezra being clever in using known (or even invented) history as a tool for moral blackmail?
Where does the last sentence fit into this verse? Is it part of the enquiry of the later people, which is how most translations present it? Or is it the divine punishment being pre-ordained, as I have translated it?
12:31 LO TA'ASEH CHEN LA YHVH ELOHEYCHA KI CHOL TO'AVAT YHVH ASHER SAN'E ASU LE ELOHEYHEM KI GAM ET BENEYHEM VE ET BENOTEYHEM YISREPHU VA EYSH LE ELOHEYNU
לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה כֵן לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ כִּי כָל תּוֹעֲבַת יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר שָׂנֵא עָשׂוּ לֵאלֹהֵיהֶם כִּי גַם אֶת בְּנֵיהֶם וְאֶת בְּנֹתֵיהֶם יִשְׂרְפוּ בָאֵשׁ לֵאלֹהֵיהֶם
KJ: Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
BN: You shall not treat YHVH in this manner; for every abomination to YHVH, which he hates, they have done to their gods; for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.
This only relates to Moloch-worship, which was specifically a pre-Jerusalem cult, on the hill known as Tsi'on because, in pre-Davidic times, it hosted the great obelisk of Moloch, known as the Tsi'un, which David ordered to be demolished; none of the fertility cults practiced Sati (sometimes written as Suttee) or its child-equivalents.
The King James version, and some other Christian versions, have a verse 32: "What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it", which in other versions is verse 1 of the following chapter (13). I have included it there with the Yehudit text, English transliteration, and BibleNet translation and commentary, rather than here.
Deuteronomy 1 2 3a 3b 4 5 6 7a 7b 8 9 10 11a 11b 12 13 14 15 16a 16b 17 18 19 20 21a 21b 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29a 29b 30 31 32 33 34
Copyright © 2021 David Prashker
All rights reserved
The Argaman Press
No comments:
Post a Comment