Exodus 23:13

Summary

Exodus 23:13 closes a legal section with a general command to observe everything YHWH has spoken, followed by a specific prohibition: the people are not to bring up the name of other gods, nor let such a name be heard from their mouth.

Key words

tishamerú ("you will take heed", H8104J) — niphal imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural. The niphal form gives a reflexive/passive nuance ("be kept/guard yourselves"), and the imperfect aspect marks an ongoing or repeated obligation rather than a single act.

azkiru (tazkiru, "you will bring to remembrance", H2142) — hiphil imperfect, 2nd masc. plural. The hiphil (causative) stem means the subject causes remembrance/mention to happen — i.e., "you shall not cause [the name] to be mentioned," stronger than a simple "remember."

elohim ("gods", H0430J) — masculine plural noun, here in construct relation with shem ("name of", H8034), forming the phrase "name of other gods."

acherim ("other", H0312) — masculine plural adjective agreeing with elohim, specifying "gods" as belonging to a category distinct from the one addressed in context.

yishamá ("it will be heard", H8085G) — niphal imperfect, 3rd masculine singular, passive in sense: the subject (the name) is the one heard, not the hearer.

What the text says

The verse divides into two grammatical units joined by ve ("and", H9002). The first unit opens with u-ve-khol asher ("and in all that"), a relative clause construction where khol ("all", H3605) is qualified by asher amarti aleikhem ("that I have said to you"), using the qal perfect amarti ("I have said", H0559) to mark a completed prior act of speaking. This clause is the object of the niphal imperfect tishamerú, producing a broad, general injunction to heed everything previously stated.

The second unit narrows to a specific case: shem elohim acherim ("name of other gods") functions as the object fronted before the verb lo tazkiru ("you will not cause to be mentioned"). The hiphil stem of tazkiru indicates that the prohibited action is not merely private remembering but the causative act of making a name be spoken or invoked. This is reinforced by the final clause, lo yishamá al pikha ("it will not be heard upon your mouth"), where the niphal passive yishamá ("it will be heard", H8085G) shifts perspective: the name itself is the grammatical subject of "being heard," emphasizing the result (audibility) rather than the speaker's intent.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders tazkiru with ἀναμνησθήσεσθε ("you will be reminded/remember"), a passive-middle form that shifts the causative nuance of the Hebrew hiphil toward simple remembrance. The Vulgate instead reads non jurabitis ("you will not swear"), introducing the notion of oath-taking not explicit in the Hebrew verb tazkiru ("bring to remembrance/mention", H2142), which concerns speaking or invoking a name rather than swearing by it.