Deuteronomy 11:14

Summary

The verse presents Yehovah's promise to give rain to the land at its proper time, specified as the early (autumn) and late (spring) rains, resulting in the ability to gather grain, new wine, and fresh oil. The sentence structure links divine provision of rain directly to agricultural yield through two sequential verbs.

Key words

• na.ta.Ti ("I will give", H5414G) — qal sequential perfect, first person; continues a chain of divine promises, here specifically "I will give."
• me.tar ("rain of", H4306) — construct noun, linking "rain" directly to "your land" ('ar.tze.khem) in a possessive relationship.
• yo.Reh ("autumn rain", H3138) — a specific term for the early-season rain, distinct from the general word for rain (me.tar).
• mal.Ko.osh ("spring rain", H4456) — the counterpart term for the late-season rain, paired with yo.Reh to express the full rainy season.
• 'a.saf.Ta ("you will gather", H0622) — qal sequential perfect, second person masculine singular; the human action that follows the divine gift of rain.

What the text says

The verse opens with a narrative vav on na.ta.Ti ("and I will give"), marking it as a continuation of a preceding sequence of promises. The grammatical subject is first person ("I"), referring to Yehovah as speaker. The object is me.tar-'ar.tze.khem ("rain of your land"), a construct chain where me.tar ("rain of") governs 'ar.tze.khem ("your land"), with the second-person plural suffix -khem attached to "land."

The phrase be.'i.T.o ("at its appropriate time") uses a construct noun 'i.T ("appropriate time of") with a third-person suffix -o ("its"), referring back to the land or to the rain itself. This is followed by two specific terms in apposition: yo.Reh ("autumn rain") and, joined by the conjunction u- ("and"), mal.Ko.osh ("spring rain"). These are not generic synonyms for "rain" but designate the two distinct rainy periods of the agricultural calendar — the early rain that comes after planting and the late rain that comes before harvest.

The second half of the verse shifts to second person with another narrative vav on 'a.saf.Ta ("and you will gather"), continuing the same sequential-perfect chain. The gathered items are three construct nouns each bearing a second-person masculine singular suffix -kha: de.ga.ne.kha ("your grain"), ti.ro.she.kha ("your new wine"), and yitz.ha.re.kha ("your fresh oil"), joined by the conjunction ve- ("and") between each. The construct + suffix pattern repeated three times creates a rhythmic listing of the three staple agricultural products.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders yo.Reh and mal.Ko.osh with the Greek terms πρόιμον ("early") and ὄψιμον ("late"), which function as adjectives modifying the rain (ὑετόν) rather than as the two distinct Hebrew nouns for autumn and spring rain. The Vulgate similarly uses temporaneam et serotinam ("timely and late") as adjectives describing the rain (pluviam), following a structure closer to the LXX than to the Hebrew's paired-noun construction. The Hebrew construct chain me.tar-'ar.tze.khem ("rain of your land") appears in the LXX as τὸν ὑετὸν τῇ γῇ σου ("the rain to your land"), using a dative rather than a genitive/construct relationship.