Deuteronomy 23:12

Summary

Deuteronomy 23:12 instructs that a designated place must exist outside the camp, to which one is to go out. The Hebrew is terse, using the noun "hand" idiomatically to mean "place" or "designated spot," followed by a directive to go out to that outside area.

Key words

• Yad ("a hand", H3027M) — noun used here idiomatically, not literally "hand," but functioning as "a place" or "spot" designated for a purpose.
• tih.Yeh ("it will belong", H1961) — qal imperfect, third person feminine, agreeing with yad; expresses future/ongoing state ("there will be to you").
• Chutz ("[the] outside", H2351) — appears twice (positions 7 and 14), masculine singular noun, marking the location as outside the camp boundary.
• ma.cha.Neh ("camp", H4264) — feminine singular noun, the reference point from which the "outside" is measured.
• ya.Tza.ta ("you will go out", H3318G) — qal sequential perfect, second person masculine singular, continuing the narrative sequence begun by the vav (H9001); indicates the action that follows once the place is established.

What the text says

The verse opens with ve-Yad tih.Yeh le.kha — literally "and a hand will be to you" — an idiomatic construction where Yad (H3027M) does not refer to a literal hand but functions as a term for a designated place or spot. The verb tih.Yeh (H1961), a qal imperfect feminine form, agrees grammatically with the feminine noun Yad, expressing a future or habitual state: "there will be for you [a place]."

This place is located mi.Chutz la.ma.cha.Neh — "from outside to the camp" — using the preposition mi (H9006, "from") combined with Chutz (H2351, "outside") and la.ma.cha.Neh (preposition + article + H4264, "camp"), pinpointing the location as external to the camp boundary.

The second clause, introduced by the narrative vav (H9001) attached to ya.Tza.ta (H3318G), shifts to a qal sequential perfect: "and you will go out." This verb form continues the sequence of action begun by the first clause, indicating what happens once the place exists. The destination is marked by Sha.ma (H8033G, "there") with a directional he (H9011, "toward"), reinforcing motion toward that place, followed by Chutz (H2351) again — "outside" — repeating the same term used earlier to describe the location.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate (VULCLEM) adds explanatory content not present in the Hebrew word list, specifying "ad requisita naturæ" ("for the needs of nature"), which clarifies the purpose of going outside. The Hebrew data itself, as segmented, does not contain a word corresponding to this purpose clause — it only states the location ("outside the camp") and the action ("you will go out there, outside"). The English translations BSB and SBLIBRE similarly supply interpretive purpose clauses ("to relieve yourself," "donde harás tus necesidades") that are not directly represented in the Hebrew word-by-word data provided.