Deuteronomy 22:12

Summary

The verse instructs the addressee to make gedilim ("tassels", H1434) on the four corners of the garment that covers him. The Hebrew specifies the placement precisely: on all four kanphot ("corners", H3671) of the kesut ("covering", H3682) that he wears.

Key words

• gedilim ("tassels", H1434) — masculine plural noun, placed first in the sentence, marking it as the direct object emphasized before the verb.
• ta'aseh ("you will make", H6213H) — Qal imperfect, second person masculine singular; a simple, non-intensive action projected into the future or as an ongoing obligation.
• kanphot ("corners of", H3671) — feminine plural construct form, grammatically bound to what follows (kesutekha), meaning "corners of your covering," not "corners" in isolation.
• kesutekha ("your covering", H3682 + H9021) — feminine singular construct plus second-person suffix, naming the specific garment on which the tassels go.
• tekhaseh ("you will cover", H3680) — Piel imperfect, second person masculine; the Piel stem gives an intensive or fuller sense of covering, describing the ordinary function of the garment (it is what he uses to cover himself).

What the text says

The sentence opens with the object gedilim ("tassels", H1434) before the verb ta'aseh ("you will make", H6213H), a word order that foregrounds the tassels as the topic of the instruction rather than the act of making. The verb is Qal, denoting a plain, direct action, in contrast to the following verb tekhaseh ("you will cover", H3680), which is Piel — a stem often carrying intensive or habitual nuance, appropriate here for describing the customary act of wrapping oneself in the garment.

The phrase 'al arba' kanphot kesutekha ("on the four corners of your covering") uses a construct chain: kanphot ("corners of", H3671) is grammatically dependent on kesutekha ("your covering", H3682), so the four corners are specifically those of the covering, not corners in general. The relative clause 'asher tekhaseh-bah ("which you cover yourself with it", H0834A + H3680 + H9034) closes the verse by defining kesutekha — the covering is identified functionally, as the item used for covering, with the pronominal suffix -bah ("with it", H9034) referring back to the covering itself.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders gedilim as στρεπτά ("twisted things"), a description of the tassels' twisted form, while the Hebrew gedilim (H1434) simply means "tassels." The LXX also uses plural τῶν περιβολαίων ("of the garments"), where the Hebrew kesutekha (H3682) is singular ("your covering"). The Vulgate's quo operieris ("with which you will be covered") uses a passive construction, whereas the Hebrew tekhaseh (H3680) is active, "you cover yourself."