Deuteronomy 20:17

Summary

The verse commands the total destruction of six named peoples living in the land — the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites — specifying that this action follows a prior command from Yehovah.

Key words

• ha.cha.Rem ("certainly ", H2763A) — infinitive absolute of the same root as the following verb; in Hebrew this construction precedes the finite verb to intensify or emphasize the action described.
• ta.cha.ri.Me ("you will totally destroy", H2763A) — hiphil (causative) imperfect, second person masculine; expresses a future or ongoing obligation to cause destruction, paired with the suffix -m ("them", H9038) marking the direct object.
• chi.Ti ("Hittite", H2850) and the following gentilic nouns ('e.mo.Ri, ke.na.'a.Ni, pe.ri.Zi, chi.Vi, ye.vu.Si) — each is a masculine singular gentilic noun with the definite article ha- (H9009), functioning collectively to name a people-group as a whole category rather than individuals.
• tzi.ve.Kha ("he commanded you", H6680 + H9031) — piel perfect, third person masculine singular verb with second-person suffix; piel stem intensifies the act of commanding, and the perfect aspect marks it as a completed action prior to the moment of speaking.
• Yehovah 'e.lo.Hei.kha ("Yehovah your God", H3068G + H0430G + H9021) — the divine name followed by a construct plural noun ("God of") with a second-person suffix, identifying the source of the command.

What the text says

The sentence opens with ki ("for/if", H3588A), a subordinating particle that connects this verse to the preceding context, followed immediately by the infinitive absolute ha.cha.Rem and the finite verb ta.cha.ri.Mem, both built on the same root (H2763A). This doubling — infinitive absolute plus finite verb of the same root — is a common Hebrew syntactic device that reinforces or intensifies the verbal action; here it underscores the totality of the destruction commanded, rather than adding new semantic content beyond emphasis.

After the verb, six peoples are listed, each introduced by the definite article ha- and, except for the first, joined by the conjunction ve- ("and", H9002) in an alternating pattern (some joined by "and," others simply juxtaposed). Grammatically, each name is a singular gentilic noun used to represent the group as a collective entity, functioning as the direct object of the verb ta.cha.ri.Mem via the attached pronominal suffix -m ("them").

The final clause, introduced by ka'asher ("just as", H9004 + H0834D), subordinates the entire command to a prior instruction: the perfect verb tzi.ve.kha ("he commanded you") indicates that this order was already given by Yehovah 'e.lo.hei.kha ("Yehovah your God") before the moment described in this verse.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the infinitive absolute + finite verb construction as ἀναθέματι ἀναθεματιεῖτε ("with a curse/devotion you shall devote"), using a noun-plus-verb pairing from the same root, structurally similar to the Hebrew's infinitive-plus-finite-verb intensification. The Vulgate renders the command with interficies in ore gladii ("you shall kill by the edge of the sword"), a phrase not present in the Hebrew word list provided, which does not include a lexical item for "sword" or "edge" among the words glossed here.