Deuteronomy 19:2

Summary

The verse instructs the addressee (grammatically singular "you") to separate three cities within his land, a land that Yehovah his God is in the process of giving him to take as possession. It is part of the legal instruction concerning designated cities in Deuteronomy 19.

Key words

• tavDil ("you will set apart", H0914) — Hiphil imperfect, causative form: the subject actively causes the setting-apart/separation of the cities, not a passive occurrence.
• Tokh ("midst of", H8432) — masculine singular noun in construct state, forming the phrase "in the midst of your land," marking a spatial relation of containment.
• 'arTzecha ("your land", H0776G + H9021) — feminine singular noun in construct with pronominal suffix, linking the land directly to the addressee as "your land."
• noTen ("[is] about to give", H5414G) — Qal participle, masculine singular, expressing an ongoing or imminent action ("the one giving"), distinct from a completed past action.
• rishTah ("to take possession of it", H3423H + H9034) — Qal infinitive with 3rd feminine singular suffix referring back to "land" ('aretz, feminine), expressing purpose ("in order to possess it").

What the text says

The clause begins with the object shaLosh 'aRim ("three cities", H7969 + H5892B) placed before the verb tavDil ("you will set apart", H0914), a common Hebrew word order that fronts the object for emphasis. The verb itself is Hiphil, meaning the subject is not merely separated but causes the separation of these cities — an active, deliberate administrative act attributed to "you" (masculine singular addressee).

The phrase be-Tokh 'artzecha ("in the midst of your land") uses the construct chain Tokh + 'aretz + suffix to locate the cities spatially within the addressee's territory. The relative clause that follows, introduced by 'aSher ("which", H0834A), modifies "your land" and describes it through two verbal ideas: noTen ("is about to give"), a participle indicating an action in progress or imminent rather than completed, and rishTah ("to take possession of it"), an infinitive expressing the purpose of the giving. The suffix on rishTah ("it", H9034) is feminine, agreeing with 'aretz ("land"), confirming that the object being possessed is the land, not the cities.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders tavDil ("you will set apart") with diastelēs (future "you will divide/set apart"), corresponding closely to the Hebrew causative sense. The Vulgate uses separabis ("you will separate"), similarly aligned. Where the Hebrew participle noTen ("is about to give / is giving") suggests an ongoing or imminent action, the Vulgate dabit ("will give") shifts this to a simple future, and the BSB likewise renders it "is giving," preserving the participial nuance more closely than the Vulgate's future tense.