Deuteronomy 12:1

Summary

Deuteronomy 12:1 introduces a set of legal instructions (statutes and judgments) that the Israelites are commanded to observe in the land Yehovah has given them. The verse frames this obligation temporally: it applies for the entire duration of their life on that land.

Key words

• chuqqim ("statutes", H2706G) — masculine plural noun, paired with mishpatim to designate two categories of legal material.
• tishmerun ("you will take care", H8104J) — qal imperfect 2mp, marking ongoing/future obligation; the paragogic nun (H9013) adds emphasis to the verb form.
• natan ("he has given", H5414G) — qal perfect 3ms, describing the giving of the land as a completed action, distinct in aspect from the imperfect tishmerun.
• lerishtah ("to take possession of it", H3423H) — qal infinitive construct with 3fs suffix (-ah, H9034) referring back to 'aretz ("land", feminine), expressing purpose.
• chayyim ("alive", H2416A) — masculine plural adjective describing the subject 'atem ("you", H0859D), used with the preposition 'al ("on", H5921A) to indicate duration "as long as you live on the land."

What the text says

The verse opens with the demonstrative 'Eleh ("these", H0428) followed by two nouns in construct-like coordination — chuqqim and mishpatim — both governed by the definite article, presenting them as a defined, known set. The relative clause 'asher tishmerun la'asot uses an imperfect verb with paragogic nun followed by an infinitive (la'asot, "to observe/do"), a common Hebrew construction pairing a finite verb of care/observance with an infinitive of action, meaning something like "which you shall carefully do."

The second relative clause, 'asher natan Yehovah 'elohei 'avoteikha lekha lerishtah, shifts to a qal perfect (natan), presenting the land-gift as an accomplished fact rather than a future or ongoing one. The chain 'elohei 'avoteikha ("God of your fathers") uses two nouns in construct state, linking divine identity to ancestral relationship. The infinitive lerishtah carries a 3fs pronominal suffix agreeing with the feminine noun 'aretz ("land"), expressing the purpose of the giving: "in order that you take possession of it."

The final clause, kol hayyamim 'asher 'atem chayyim 'al ha'adamah, uses the adjective chayyim ("alive") rather than a verb of dwelling, literally "all the days that you are alive upon the ground," using 'adamah (soil/ground) rather than repeating 'eretz (land).

Differences between versions

The Vulgate renders natan ("has given," perfect) as daturus est ("is about to give"), a future periphrastic construction, differing from the Hebrew's completed-action perfect. The LXX reads "τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν" ("of our fathers") where the Hebrew 'avoteikha has a second-person singular suffix ("your fathers"). The Vulgate's gradieris ("you will walk/tread") replaces the Hebrew adjective chayyim ("alive") with a verb of movement, altering the image from "living on the land" to "walking on the ground."