Deuteronomy 7:6

Summary

The verse states that the addressed group ("you", masculine singular) is a qadosh ("holy") 'am ("people") belonging to Yehovah their God, and that Yehovah has chosen this group out of all the peoples on the earth to become his own 'am segullah ("people of possession").

Key words

• qadosh ("holy", H6918G) — masculine singular adjective modifying 'am, describing the people's status in relation to Yehovah.
• bachar ("he has chosen", H0977) — qal perfect, a completed action; the verb is preceded by be-kha ("in you"), placing emphasis on the object of the choice before the verb itself appears.
• lihyot ("to become/to be", H1961) — qal infinitive construct, expressing purpose or result: the goal of the choosing is stated as "in order to be/become."
• segullah ("possession", H5459) — feminine singular noun in construct with 'am ("people"), forming the phrase "people of possession."
• 'adamah ("ground", H0127I) — feminine singular noun, part of the construct phrase penei ha'adamah ("face of the ground/earth"), used to describe the totality of peoples being compared.

What the text says

The verse divides into two clauses joined by the particle ki ("for/that", H3588A), which introduces the reason for a preceding statement (not included in this passage). The first clause, "'am qadosh 'attah la-Yehovah 'Eloheikha," places the predicate noun 'am ("people") and its modifier qadosh ("holy") before the pronoun 'attah ("you"), a common feature of Hebrew nominal sentences where the predicate can precede the subject pronoun. The phrase la-Yehovah 'Eloheikha ("to Yehovah your God") uses the preposition le (H9005) to indicate relationship or belonging rather than simple possession.

The second clause begins with be-kha bachar Yehovah 'Eloheikha — literally "in you he has chosen, Yehovah your God." Here the prepositional phrase be-kha ("in you") is fronted before the verb bachar ("he has chosen"), a word-order pattern that places focus on the object of selection. This is followed by the infinitive clause lihyot lo le-'am segullah ("to become for him a people of possession"), where the construct chain 'am segullah indicates a people set apart as a specific possession, distinguished mi-kol ha-'ammim ("from all the peoples") who are described as being 'al penei ha-'adamah ("upon the face of the ground").

Differences between versions

The LXX renders segullah (H5459) as περιούσιον ("prized, particular"), and the Vulgate uses peculiaris ("particular, special"), both conveying the sense of a distinct possession similar to the Hebrew construct 'am segullah. The LXX also translates bachar with προείλατο ("he chose beforehand/preferred"), adding a nuance of prior selection not explicit in the Hebrew qal perfect bachar, which simply marks a completed act of choosing without indicating anteriority.