Exodus 34:12

Summary

The verse contains a warning against making a covenant with the inhabitants of the land the addressee is about to enter, followed by a second warning that such inhabitants could become a snare. The structure uses two parallel clauses introduced by the same particle expressing apprehension or negative purpose.

Key words

hiShamer ("take heed", H8104J) — niphal imperative, giving the verse its opening command tone; the niphal form here carries a reflexive/passive nuance, "guard yourself."

pen ("lest", H6435) — appears twice (items 4 and 16), introducing two parallel warnings; it marks a feared or undesired outcome rather than a simple negative command.

tikhRot berit ("you should make a covenant", H3772H + H1285) — the verb karat ("to cut") combined with berit ("covenant") is the standard idiom for covenant-making; here in the qal imperfect, marking a potential future action to be avoided.

yoshev haAretz ("inhabitant of the land", H3427 + H0776G) — a participle in construct with the noun "land," describing the ongoing state of dwelling; the construct chain links "inhabitant" directly to "the land."

moKesh ("a snare", H4170) — a masculine singular noun denoting a trap or lure, used metaphorically for the danger the covenant-partners could represent.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with the niphal imperative hiShamer ("take heed") reinforced by the preposition le plus the pronominal suffix khah ("to yourself"), an emphatic construction meaning "guard yourself" rather than a plain "beware." This is followed by the first pen clause: pen tikhrot berit ("lest you make a covenant"), using the qal imperfect of karat, the verb regularly paired with berit in the idiom "to cut a covenant."

The object of the feared covenant is yoshev haAretz ("inhabitant of the land"), a participle in construct form, which is further specified by the relative clause asher attah ba' aleiha ("which you are entering"), itself built on the qal participle ba' ("the one going/entering"), portraying the entry as an ongoing or imminent action rather than a single completed event.

The second pen clause, pen yihyeh le-moqesh be-qirbekha ("lest he/it become a snare in your midst"), uses the qal imperfect of hayah ("to be/become") plus the preposition le before moqesh ("snare"), a construction meaning "become as a snare." The phrase be-qirbekha ("in your midst") uses qereb ("midst") in construct with the pronominal suffix "your," locating the danger internally, among the addressee, rather than externally.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders pen as mē pote ("lest ever") and uses diathēkē for berit ("covenant"), a term also used elsewhere for "testament." The Vulgate renders the covenant-warning more freely as "ne... jungas amicitias" ("lest you join friendships"), interpreting berit as "friendship" rather than a literal "covenant." For be-qirbekha ("in your midst"), the LXX reads en hymin ("among you"), while the Vulgate has "tibi in ruinam" ("to you for ruin"), shifting the locative "in your midst" toward a result-oriented phrase "for your ruin."