Deuteronomy 22:10

Summary

The verse gives a prohibition against plowing with two different animals — an ox and a donkey — yoked together at the same time. It is formulated as a direct negative command addressed to a single individual.

Key words

• ta.cha.Rosh ("you will plow", H2790A) — qal imperfect, second person masculine singular; the imperfect form here carries the force of a prohibitive command when combined with the negation lo'- ("not", H3808).
• shor ("an ox", H7794) — masculine singular noun, marking one of the two animal types named in the pairing.
• cha.Mor ("a donkey", H2543) — common gender singular noun, the second animal named; introduced with the preposition va. ("with", H9003) parallel to be. before shor.
• yach.Dav ("together", H3162B) — adverb placed at the end of the clause, specifying that the prohibition concerns the joint, simultaneous use of both animals rather than either animal alone.

What the text says

The sentence is built on a simple verbal negation: lo'- ("not", H3808) plus ta.cha.Rosh ("you will plow", H2790A), a qal imperfect verb addressed to a singular "you." This construction functions as a direct prohibition rather than a simple future statement. The verb governs a compound object introduced twice by the preposition H9003 (rendered be. before shor and va. before cha.Mor), joining "an ox" (shor, H7794) and "a donkey" (cha.Mor, H2543) into a single paired object of the forbidden action of plowing.

The final word, yach.Dav ("together", H3162B), is an adverb that modifies the whole clause, clarifying that what is forbidden is the joint or simultaneous plowing with both animals — not plowing with either animal individually. The syntax places this adverb at the very end, giving it emphatic force as the closing qualifier of the entire prohibition. The structure is thus: [negation] + [verb, 2ms imperfect] + [prepositional phrase: ox] + [conjunction] + [prepositional phrase: donkey] + [adverb: together].

Differences between versions

The LXX renders shor ("an ox", H7794) as μόσχῳ ("calf/young ox") rather than a direct equivalent for a mature ox, and renders cha.Mor ("a donkey", H2543) as ὄνῳ ("donkey"), matching the Hebrew pairing but with a lexical shift on the first animal. The Vulgate uses bove ("ox") and asino ("donkey"), closely matching the Hebrew terms. The LXX phrase ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό ("upon the same thing") and the Vulgate simul ("at the same time") both correspond to the Hebrew adverb yach.Dav ("together", H3162B), though each expresses the simultaneity with different idiomatic phrasing.