Deuteronomy 27:8

Summary

This verse commands writing "all the words of this law" upon the stones, clearly and thoroughly. It continues a sequence begun earlier in the chapter, using the sequential form of "to write" to link this action to what precedes it.

Key words

• ve.khatavta ("and you will write", H3789) — qal sequential perfect; continues a narrative chain of commands, marking this as the next action following prior instructions.
• 'avanim ("stones", H0068G) — feminine plural noun with the definite article ha (H9009), specifying the physical surface for the writing.
• divrei ("words of", H1697G) — masculine plural construct, linked to kol ("all", H3605) and hatorah ("the law", H8451), forming the phrase "all the words of the law."
• ba'er ("surely clearly", H0874) — piel infinitive functioning adverbially, the first of a doubled expression intensifying the manner of writing.
• heitev ("doing well", H3190) — hiphil absolute infinitive, paired with ba'er to reinforce the intensity of the instruction.

What the text says

The sentence structure follows a simple qal sequential verb (khatavta) governing a prepositional phrase ('al ha'avanim, "on the stones") and a direct object marked by 'et (H0853) — "all the words of this law" (kol divrei hatorah hazot). The construct chain kol...divrei...hatorah stacks three nouns together: "all," "words of," and "the law," producing the sense that every word of the law, not a summary, is to be written.

The final two words, ba'er heitev, form a double infinitive construction. Ba'er is a piel infinitive and heitev a hiphil absolute infinitive; together they function adverbially to modify how the writing is to be done. This doubling of near-synonymous verbal forms — both conveying clarity or thoroughness — creates an emphatic construction that Hebrew often uses to intensify an instruction, roughly "very distinctly" or "with total clarity."

Differences between versions

The Hebrew has kol divrei hatorah hazot ("all the words of this law"), explicitly including divrei ("words of"). The LXX renders this as πάντα τὸν νόμον τοῦτον ("all this law"), omitting an equivalent for divrei and treating "law" as the direct object rather than "words of the law." The Vulgate follows the Hebrew structure more closely with omnia verba legis hujus ("all the words of this law"), preserving the "words of" element.

For the doubled intensifying infinitives ba'er heitev, the LXX uses two adverbs, σαφῶς σφόδρα ("clearly, exceedingly"), and the Vulgate similarly uses two adverbs, plane et lucide ("plainly and clearly") — both versions matching the Hebrew's doubling structure with two terms of manner, though using adverbs rather than infinitives.