Deuteronomy 17:1

Summary

Deuteronomy 17:1 prohibits sacrificing to Yehovah an ox or a sheep that has any physical defect or blemish. The verse gives the reason for this prohibition: such a flawed animal is called an "abomination" to Yehovah the God of the addressee.

Key words

• tiz.Bach ("you will sacrifice", H2076) — qal imperfect, second person masculine, expressing a future/ongoing prohibited action ("you shall not sacrifice").
• Shor ("an ox", H7794) and Seh ("a sheep", H7716) — two singular nouns joined by va ("and", H9002), naming the categories of sacrificial animals under discussion.
• Mum ("a blemish", H3971B) — masculine singular noun, the specific physical defect that disqualifies the animal.
• ra' ("bad", H7451A) — adjective modifying dabar ("thing", H1697I) in the phrase kol dabar ra' ("any bad thing"), broadening the prohibition beyond a single type of mum.
• to'a.Vat ("[the] abomination of", H8441) — feminine singular construct noun, linking directly to Yehovah to state what category the flawed offering falls into.

What the text says

The verse opens with the negation lo' ("not", H3808) attached to the imperfect verb tiz.Bach ("you will sacrifice", H2076), forming a prohibition addressed to a singular "you" (masculine). The object of the prohibited action is introduced through la ("to", H9005) plus the divine name Yahweh ("Yehovah", H3068G) and 'elohei ("God", H0430G) with the suffix kha ("your", H9021), forming the recipient phrase "to Yehovah your God." The animals in question, shor ("an ox", H7794) and seh ("a sheep", H7716), are then qualified by a relative clause: 'asher yihyeh bo mum ("which will be in it a blemish"), using the relative particle 'asher (H0834A) and the verb yihyeh ("it will be", H1961) to describe a defect located "in it" via the preposition-plus-suffix bo (H9003+H9033).

The clause kol dabar ra' ("any bad thing") functions in construct with the preceding material, generalizing the type of flaw beyond a specific mum. The second half of the verse begins with ki ("for/if", H3588A), a particle that introduces the reason for the prohibition. The construct phrase to'avat Yahweh 'elohekha ("abomination of Yehovah your God") places the flawed offering into the category of to'evah (H8441), and the sentence closes with the independent pronoun hu' ("that/he", H1931), which in Hebrew syntax emphasizes or restates the subject — here confirming that the blemished animal itself is what falls under that designation.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders shor ("an ox", H7794) as moschon ("calf/young bull") rather than a general term for an adult ox, and translates the relative clause construction more compactly using en hō estin en autō mōmos ("in which is in it a blemish"), preserving the double locative phrasing found in the Hebrew bo (H9003+H9033). The Vulgate lists the animals in reverse order — ovem, et bovem ("sheep and ox") — compared to the Hebrew order shor va-seh ("ox and sheep", H7794+H9002+H7716). The Vulgate also renders kol dabar ra' ("any bad thing", H3605+H1697I+H7451A) as aut quippiam vitii ("or any kind of flaw"), a broader phrasing than a literal "any bad thing."