Deuteronomy 29:6

Summary

The verse recalls that during the wilderness period the people did not eat bread nor drink wine or strong drink, and states the purpose of this: so that they would know that the speaker is Yehovah their God. It functions as a summary clause explaining a divine intention behind Israel's sustenance conditions.

Key words

• Lechem ("bread", H3899) — masculine singular noun, object of the negated verb, placed first for emphasis on what was not consumed.
• 'achalTem ("you ate", H0398) — qal perfect, 2nd person masculine plural, denoting a completed past action negated by lo' ("not", H3808).
• lema'an ("so that", H4616) — subordinating particle introducing the purpose clause that follows.
• tede'U ("you may know", H3045) — qal form, 2nd person masculine plural, expressing the intended result/purpose of the preceding negated actions.
• 'elohei-Khem ("your God", H0430G + H9026) — construct plural noun with 2nd person masculine plural suffix, syntactically bound to the preceding Yehovah.

What the text says

The verse is built on two parallel negated clauses: lechem lo' 'achalTem ("bread not you-ate") and ve-yayin ve-shekhar lo' shetiTem ("and wine and strong drink not you-drank"). In both, the object precedes the negation and verb, a common Hebrew word order that places emphasis on what was withheld rather than on the act of eating or drinking itself. Both verbs are qal perfect 2mp, describing completed actions attributed collectively to the addressed group.

The second half of the verse is introduced by lema'an ("so that", H4616), which connects the preceding statement to a stated purpose: tede'u ki ("that you may know that"). The clause ki 'ani Yehovah 'elohei-khem ("that I [am] Yehovah your God") uses the independent personal pronoun 'ani ("I", H0589) before the name Yehovah (H3068G), creating a self-identifying formula. 'Elohei (H0430G) appears in construct form, meaning literally "God of," followed by the suffix -khem ("your," masculine plural, H9026), so the phrase reads "the God of you (plural)." This construct chain is a standard way in Hebrew to express possession or belonging tied to a group.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders lema'an tede'u with ἵνα γνῶτε ("so that you might know"), matching the Hebrew purpose structure. The Vulgate similarly uses ut sciretis ("that you might know"). Both the LXX (Κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν ἐγώ) and Vulgate (ego sum Dominus Deus vester) reorder the self-identification clause compared to the Hebrew's 'ani Yehovah 'elohei-khem, but preserve the same semantic content: an identification of the speaker with the divine name and title "God of you (plural)."