Deuteronomy 19

^I “Lord” = YHVH. From havah (to be, become) or hayah (to come to pass, become, be). This is the name of the God of Israel, the self-existent and eternal one, the tetragrammaton. This pronunciation has been lost to time so “Lord” is generally used in its place.
^II “God” = Elohim.
^III “cut off” = karat. This is to cut down, cut off, or make a covenant (idiom for making a covenant is “to cut a covenant”). It can also mean to destroy, fail, or consume.
^IV “nations” = goy. From the same root as gevah (the back, person, or body); related to gev (among); related to gaah (to rise up). This is nation or people. Often used to refer to Gentiles or foreign nations. It can also be used figuratively for a group of animals. This is where the Yiddish “goy” comes from.

^V “land” = erets. Root may mean to be firm. This is earth, ground, field land, or country.
^VI “giving” = natan. This is to give, put, set, offer. It is to give literally or figuratively.
^VII “dispossessed” = yarash. This is inheriting or dispossessing. It refers to occupying or colonizing – taking territory by driving out the previous inhabitants and living there instead of them. By implication, it can mean to seize or rob, to expel, ruin, or impoverish.
^VIII “settled” = yashab. This is to sit and so to remain and so to dwell. It is sitting for any reason – as a judge, in order to ambush, or just sitting quietly. Causatively, this can mean settling or marrying. This can also mean continue, endure, or establish.

^IX “towns” = iyr. From uwr (to awaken or wake oneself up). This can mean excitement in the sense of wakefulness or city. Properly, this is a place that is guarded. Guards kept schedules according to watches. This sense of the word would include cities as well as encampments or posts that were guarded.
^X “houses” = bayit. Probably from banah (to build, make, set up, obtain children; to build literally or figuratively). This is house, court, family, palace, temple.
^XI “set apart” = badal. This is to divide, distinguish, select, differ, sever. It is to divine in a literal or figurative sense.
^XII “three” = shalosh. This is three, fork, three times.
^XIII “cities” = iyr. Same as “towns” in v1. See note IX above.

^XIV “in” = tavek. This is among, middle, in the midst, the center. Perhaps, properly, to sever.
^XV “possess” = yarash. Same as “dispossessed” in v1. See note VII above.
^XVI “calculate” = kun. Properly, this means in a perpendicular position. So, it is set up in a literal sense – establish, fix, fasten, prepare. In a figurative sense, it is certainty, to be firm, faithfulness, render sure or prosperous.
^XVII “distances” = derek. From darak (to tread, march, to walk. Can also mean affixing a string to a box since one needs to step on it to bend it in the process; so also an archer). This is a road as a thing that is walked on. Can be used figuratively for the path that one’s life takes or how one chooses to live one’s life.

^XVIII “divide into three” = shalash. Related to “three” in v2. 9x in OT. From shalosh (see note XII above). This is to intensify, separate into three sections, do a third, triplicate.
^XIX “regions” = gebul. Perhaps from gabal (to border, twist like rope). This is boundary, limit, coast, space. Properly, it is a line that is twisted, which implies a boundary and, by extension, the boundaries of a territory or other enclosed space.
^XX “gives…as a possession” = nachal. From nachalah (properly something that was inherited; can mean occupancy generally or, more particularly, an heirloom or an estate; can be an inheritance, gift, possession, or portion). This is to gain as a possession, divide for inheritance. Also, to occupy for any reason.

^XXI “any” = kol. From kalal (to complete). This is all or every.
^XXII “homicide” = ratsach. Properly, this is to dash something to pieces. It is to kill a person, but it is used particularly (though not exclusively) for murder.
^XXIII “can” = hayah. Related to “Lord” in v1. See note I above.
^XXIV “flee” = nus. This is to flee, vanish away, hide, escape, be displayed.
^XXV “case” = dabar. From dabar (to speak, declare, discuss). This is speech, a word, a matter, an affair, charge, command, message, promise, purpose, report, request. It is a word, which implies things that are spoken of in a wide sense.
^XXVI “live” = chayay. 17x in OT. This is to live, save life, or revive.

^XXVII “killed” = nakah. This is to hit whether lightly or severely. It can be used in a literal or figurative sense. So, this could be beat, punish, give wounds, kill, or slaughter.
^XXVIII “another person” = rea. From raah (to associate with). This is the same as neighbor in Leviticus 19:18 “love your neighbor as yourself.” This is friend, companion, fellow, neighbor. It is someone with whom you associate, whether more or less close.
^XXIX “unintentionally” = beli + daat. Beli is from balah (to grow old, wear out, waste away, consume, spend). This is properly a failure. So, it could mean without, not yet, unawares, lacking, something that wears out, or because not. Daat is from yada (to know, be aware, see and so understand – includes observation, care, recognition; can also be used as a euphemism). This is knowledge, unawares, cunning, wittingly.

^XXX “been at enmity” = sane. This is to hate, an enemy. It is a personal hatred and not an abstract one.
^XXXI “before” = temol + shilshom. Temol may be from ethmol (formerly, before, yesterday, time); {from et (with, among, beside, including, toward, near); from anah (to meet, happen, approach)} + mul (front, opposite, toward); {from mul (to cut short, circumcise, blunt, destroy)}. This is ago, recently, yesterday, past. Shilshom is related to “three” in v2 & “divide into three” in v3. From shalash (see note XVIII above). This is three days ago, before, yesterday in the past.
^XXXII “goes” = bo. This is to enter, come in, advance, fulfill, bring offerings, enter to worship, attack. It can also have a sexual connotation.
^XXXIII “forest” = ya’ar. This is honeycomb, forest, thicket. Root may mean thick with green growth. It is a forest as a place where one would find honeycomb.
^XXXIV “another” = rea. Same as “another person” in v4. See note XXVIII above.

^XXXV “cut” = chatab. 9x in OT. This is to chop wood, a woodcutter, to polish or carve wood.
^XXXVI “wood” = ets. Perhaps from atsah (to shut, fasten, firm up, to close one’s eyes). This is tree or other things related to trees like wood, sticks, or stalks. It can also refer to wood products like a plank or staff or gallows. Additionally, this can refer to a carpenter.
^XXXVII “swings” = nadach. This is scatter, seduce, banish, draw away, drive away, outcast, scatter. It means to push off in a literal or figurative sense so it could also be mislead, inflict, or withdraw.
^XXXVIII {untranslated} = yad. This is hand, ability, power. Hand in a literal sense, but also what one can do or the means by which one does it.
^XXXIX “ax” = garzen. 4x in OT. From garaz (to cut off). This is an ax.

^XL “cut down” = karat. Same as “cut off” in v1. See note III above.
^XLI “tree” = ets. Same as “wood” in v5. See note XXXVI above.
^XLII “head” = barzel. From the same as Birzoth (a name meaning holes). Root may mean to pierce. This is iron as something used as a cutting implement. It can also specifically mean ax head.
^XLIII “slips” = nashal. 7x in OT. To pluck off, clear, remove, eject, or drop.
^XLIV “handle” = ets. Same as “wood” in v5. See note XXXVI above.

^XLV “strikes” = matsa. This is to find, catch or acquire. It can also mean to come forth or appear. Figuratively, this can mean to meet or be together with.
^XLVI “other person” = rea. Same as “another person” in v4. See note XXVIII above.
^XLVII “dies” = mut. This is to die in a literal or figurative sense. It can also refer to being a dead body.
^XLVIII “killer” = hu. Literally, “he.”
^XLIX “one” = echad. Perhaps from achad (to unify, continue on a path; figuratively, to gather one’s thoughts). This is the number one, first, united. It can also be alone, altogether, a certain, a few.

^L “but” = pen. Perhaps from panah (to turn, face, appear). This is lest, if, or.
^LI “is too great” = rabah. This is increasing in any aspect whether quantity, authority, size, quality, greatness, etc.
^LII “avenger” = gaal. This is to redeem someone or something according to kinship laws. So, it could be acting on a relative’s behalf to buy back their property, to marry one’s brother’s widow, etc. This could be more briefly translated as to redeem, acts as kinsman, or purchase. As a noun, it could be deliverer or avenger.
^LIII “blood” = dam. Perhaps from damam (to cease, be or become mute, silent, still, cut off, hold peace, be astonished, die). This is blood, bloodshed, bloodguilt, lifeblood, and death. It is used for people and animals. More often blood from a wound or the blood of the innocent. Used figuratively for violence or for wine. Closely tied to life and death.

^LIV “hot anger” = yacham + lebab. Yacham is 10x in OT. This is to be hot, mate. It is figuratively, to conceive. Lebab may be related to labab (to encourage; properly, to be encased as with fat; used in a good sense, this means to transport someone with love; used in a bad sense, it can mean to dull one’s senses). This is the heart, courage, one’s inner self, the mind, or the will. Heart is only used in a figurative sense in the Old and New Testaments.
^LV “pursue” = radaph. This is to chase after, pursue, hunt, or persecute. It is running after someone or something, generally with hostile motives.
^LVI “overtake” = nasag. This is to reach in a literal or figurative sense. It is to overtake, catch, or be able to.

^LVII {untranslated} = achar. From achar (to remain behind, linger, continue, be behind, or delay; can also imply procrastination). This is after or the last part, following.
^LVIII “killer” = ratsach…nephesh. Ratsach is the same as “homicide” in v3. See note XXII above. Nephesh is related to naphash (to refresh or be refreshed). This is soul, self, person, emotion. It is a breathing creature. Can also refer to appetites and desires.
^LIX “put…to death” = nakah. Same as “killed” in v4. See note XXVII above.
^LX “death sentence” = mavet. Related to “dies” in v5. From muth (see note XLVII above). This can be death, deadliness, the dead, or the place where the dead go. It can be used figuratively for pestilence or ruin.

^LXI “not” = ayin. Perhaps from a word that means to be nothing. This means nothing, none, non-existent. It can also simply mean not or are not.
^LXII “deserved” = mishpat. From shaphat (to judge, defend, pronounce judgment, condemn, govern). This is a verdict or formal sentence whether from humans or from God. It includes the act of judging as well as the place that judging takes place, the suit itself, and the penalty. Abstractly, this is justice, which includes the rights of the participants.
^LXIII “before” = temol + shilshom. Temol is the same as “before” in v4. See note XXXI above. Shilshom is the same as “before” in v4. See note XXXI above.
^LXIV “therefore” = ken. Related to “calculate” in v3. Perhaps from kun (see note XVI above). This is to set upright. Generally used figuratively to mean thus, so, afterwards, rightly so.
^LXV “command” = tsavah. This is to charge, command, order, appoint, or enjoin. This is the root that the Hebrew word for “commandment” comes from (mitsvah).
^LXVI {untranslated} = amar. This is to speak, say, answer, command, promise, report.

^LXVII “enlarges” = rachab. This is to grow wide or enlarge in a literal or figurative sense. It can also mean extend, relieve, rejoice, or speak boldly. This is the verb that Rahab comes from.
^LXVIII “territory” = gebul. Same as “regions” in v3. See note XIX above.
^LXIX “swore” = shaba. Perhaps from sheba (seven – the number of perfection/sacred fullness). This is to swear, curse, vow, make a covenant. Properly, it can mean to be complete. This is to seven oneself – as in affirming something so strongly it is as though it were said seven times.
^LXX “ancestors” = ab. This is father, chief, or ancestor. It is father in a literal or figurative sense.
^LXXI “all” = kol. Same as “any” in v3. See note XXI above.
^LXXII “promised” = dabar. Related to “case” in v4. See note XXV above.

^LXXIII “diligently observe” = shamar…asah. Shamar is to keep, watch, or preserve. It means to guard something or to protect it as a thorny hedge protects something. Asah is to make, do, act, appoint, become in many senses.
^LXXIV “entire” = kol. Same as “any” in v3. See note XXI above.
^LXXV “commandment” = mitsvah. Related to “command” in v7. From tsavah (see note LXV above). This is a commandment, law, ordinance obligation, or tradition. It is something commanded whether by God or by a human authority. This term is sometimes used collectively to refer to the Law.
^LXXVI “today” = yom. Root may mean being hot. This is the day in a literal or figurative sense. It can also mean birth, age, daylight, continually or other references to time.

^LXXVII “loving” = aheb. This is to love, beloved, friend. It is to have affection for sexually or otherwise.
^LXXVIII “Lord” = YHVH. Related to “Lord” in v1 & “can” in v3. From the same as YHVH (see note I above). This is a secondary spelling of the Lord, the name of the God of Israel. It has the same meaning.
^LXXIX “walking” = halak. This is go, come, walk. It is walk literally and figuratively and includes people and animals. It can be used figuratively for one’s moral life – how we walk according to God’s way or against it. It can also refer to the walk of life as in the course one’s life takes, the choices we make, etc.
^LXXX “always” = kol + yom. Literally, “all days.” Kol is the same as “any” in v3. See note XXI above. Yom is the same as “today” in v9. See note LXXVI above.
^LXXXI “ways” = derek. Same as “distances” in v3. See note XVII above.
^LXXXII “add” = yasaph. This is to add, increase, continue, exceed.

^LXXXIII “innocent person” = naqiy. From naqah (to be empty, cleanse, acquit; to be clean in a literal or figurative sense). This is blameless, innocent, free from punishment, or clear.
^LXXXIV “be shed” = shaphak. This is to pour out, gust, or slip. It can be to pour as blood, a drink offering, or molten metal. It can also mean to create a mound. Figuratively, it can refer to killing, or spending money.
^LXXXV “in” = qereb. Perhaps from qarab (to come near or approach). This is among, in the midst, before, the center It is the inward part, whether literal or figurative. It can also be used for the heart, the site of thoughts and feelings. This word is also used as a technical term for the entrails of the animals who are sacrificed.

^LXXXVI “Lord” = YHVH. Same as “Lord” in v1. See note I above.
^LXXXVII “inheritance” = nachalah. Related to “gives…as a possession” in v3. See note XX above.
^LXXXVIII “bringing” = hayah. Same as “can” in v3. See note XXIII above.
^LXXXIX “bloodguilt” = dam. Same as “blood” in v6. See note LIII above.
^XC {untranslated} = hayah. Same as “can” in v3. See note XXIII above.
^XCI “someone” = ish. Perhaps from enosh (human, humankind, mortal); from anash (to be weak, sick, or frail). This is man, husband, another, or humankind.
^XCII “enmity” = sane. Same as “been at enmity” in v4. See note XXX above.

^XCIII “lies in wait” = arab. This is to lie in wait, lurk, or ambush.
^XCIV {untranslated} = qum. To arise, stand, accomplish, establish, abide. This is rising as in rising against, getting up after being sick or asleep, arising from one state to another, becoming powerful, or rising for action. It can also be standing in a figurative sense.
^XCV “attacks” = nakah. Same as “killed” in v4. See note XXVII above.
^XCVI “takes” = mut. Same as “dies” in v5. See note XLVII above.
^XCVII “life” = nephesh. Same as “killer” in v6. See note LVIII above.

^XCVIII “elders” = zaqen. From the same as zaqan (beard or chin – the beard represents old age). This is old, aged, or elder.
^XCIX “send” = shalach. This is to send out, away, send for, forsake. It can also mean to divorce or set a slave free.
^C “taken” = laqach. This is to take, accept, carry away, receive. It can also have the sense of take a wife or take in marriage.
^CI “handed over” = natan + et + yad. Natan is the same as “giving” in v1. See note VI above. Yad is the same as {untranslated} in v5. See note XXXVIII above.
^CII “put to death” = mut. Same as “dies” in v5. See note XLVII above.

^CIII “show…pity” = chus + ayin. Chus is properly to cover. In a figurative sense it means looking with compassion, pitying, regarding, or sparing someone. Ayin is eye in a literal or figurative sense so eye, appearance, favor, or a fountain (the eye of the landscape).
^CIV “purge” = baar. This is to burn, consume, heat, remove. It can also be to consume by a fire or through eating, being brutish or wasting.
^CV “innocent” = naqiy. Same as “innocent person” in v10. See note LXXXIII above.
^CVI “Israel” = Yisrael. Related to “God” in v1. From sarah (to persist, exert oneself, contend, persevere, wrestle, prevail) + El (see note II above). This is Israel, meaning God strives or one who strives with God; new name for Jacob and for his offspring. This refers to the people and to the land.
^CVII “go well” = tob. This is to be good, go well, please.

^CVIII “move” = nasag. 9x in OT. This is to reach in a literal or figurative sense. It is to overtake, catch, or be able to.
^CIX “neighbor’s” = rea. Same as “another person” in v4. See note XXVIII above.
^CX “boundary marker” = gebul. Same as “regions” in v3. See note XIX above.
^CXI “set up” = gabal. Related to “regions” in v3. 5x in OT. See note XIX above.
^CXII “former generations” = rishon. From rishah (beginning or early time); from rosh (head, captain, or chief; excellent or the forefront; first in position or in statue or in time). This is first, former, ancestor, beginning, ranked first.

^CXIII “property” = nachalah. Same as “inheritance” in v10. See note LXXXVII above.
^CXIV “allotted” = nachal. Same as “gives…as a possession” in v3. See note XX above.
^CXV “Lord” = YHVH. Same as “Lord” in v1. See note I above.
^CXVI “single” = echad. Same as “one” in v5. See note XLIX above.
^CXVII “witness” = ed. From ud (to admonish, repeat, duplicate, testify, restore, record, relieve). This is a witness, testimony, or one who records testimony. It can also refer to a prince.
^CXVIII “suffice” = qum. Same as {untranslated} in v11. See note XCIV above.

^CXIX “person” = ish. Same as “someone” in v11. See note XCI above.
^CXX “crime” = avon. Perhaps related to avah (to bend, twist, be amiss). This is sin, mischief, guilt, fault, punishment for iniquity, or moral evil.
^CXXI {untranslated} = kol. Same as “any” in v3. See note XXI above.
^CXXII “wrongdoing” = chatta’ah. From chata’ (to miss or go wrong and so to sin, bear the blame; it can also include the sense of forfeiting or lacking). This is sin itself as well as punishment for sin. It is sometimes used specifically to refer to sin that is habitual.
^CXXIII “offense” = chet. Related to “wrongdoing” in v15. From chata (see note CXXII above). This is sin, fault, or punishment of sin.
^CXXIV “committed” = chata. Related to “wrongdoing” and “offense” in v15. See note CXXII above.

^CXXV “evidence” = peh. This is mouth in a literal or figurative sense. So, more literally, it can be beak or jaws. More figuratively, it refers to speech, commands, or promises.
^CXXVI “two” = shenayim. From sheni (double, again, another, second); from shanah (to fold, repeat, double, alter, or disguise). This is two, both, second, couple.
^CXXVII {untranslated} = ed. Same as “witness” in v15. See note CXVII above.
^CXXVIII {untranslated} = peh. Same as “evidence” in v15. See note CXXV above.
^CXXIX “charge” = dabar. Same as “case” in v4. See note XXV above.
^CXXX “sustained” = qum. Same as {untranslated} in v11. See note XCIV above.

^CXXXI “malicious” = chamas. From chamas (to violate, do violence, to wrong; implies mistreatment). This is violence, cruelty, damage, wrong, injustice, or unrighteous. Violence implies a wrong done. The term is also used to describe unjust gain.
^CXXXII “comes forward” = qum. Same as {untranslated} in v11. See note XCIV above.
^CXXXIII “accuse” = anah. This is answer, respond, announce, sing, shout, or testify. It means to pay attention, which implies responding and, by extension, starting to talk. Used in a specific sense for singing, shouting, testifying, etc.
^CXXXIV “wrongdoing” = sarah. 8x in OT– 2x in Deuteronomy, 4x in Isaiah, & 2x in Jeremiah. From sur (to turn aside in a literal or figurative sense – to depart, decline, rebel, remove, or withdraw). This is a turning aside, so it could refer to a rebellion, withdraw, treason, or apostasy.

^CXXXV “both” = shenayim. Same as “two” in v15. See note CXXVI above.
^CXXXVI “parties” = ish. Same as “someone” in v11. See note XCI above.
^CXXXVII “dispute” = rib. From rib (properly to toss or grapple; used figuratively to mean wrangling and so for arguments, complaints, or disputes; used in a legal setting for pleading or defending a case). This is strife or dispute – whether a personal one or one in a court of law.
^CXXXVIII “appear” = amad. This is to stand up in a literal or figurative sense. So it can be establish, continue, endure, take a stand, act, be a servant, stand still, remain, stand against an enemy.

^CXXXIX “before” = paneh. Related to “but” in v6. From panah (see note L above). This is face in a literal or figurative sense. It could be face, presence, anger, respect. It can also be used of God to indicate divine favor or presence.
^CXL “Lord” = YHVH. Same as “Lord” in v1. See note I above.
^CXLI “before” = paneh. Same as “before” in v17. See note CXXXIX above.
^CXLII “priests” = kohen. This is literally the one who officiates i.e. the priest. This is where the Jewish last name “Cohen” (and its variants) comes from.
^CXLIII “judges” = shaphat. Related to “deserved” in v6. See note LXII above.

^CXLIV “are in office” = hayah. Same as “can” in v3. See note XXIII above.
^CXLV “days” = yom. Same as “today” in v9. See note LXXVI above.
^CXLVI “thorough” = yatab. This is to be good or pleasing, joyful. It can also mean doing good in an ethical sense or be beautiful, happy, successful, or right.
^CXLVII “make…inquiry” = darash. This is seek, ask, inquire, care for. Generally it means following in pursuit or following as part of a search, which implies seeking or asking. Also used specially to mean worship.

^CXLVIII {untranslated} = hinneh. From hen (lo! Behold! If, though; an expression of surprise). This is to draw attention, show suddenness or surprise, or to emphasize the importance of the coming statement. See! Lo! Behold!
^CXLIX “false” = sheqer. This is deception, lie, or disappointment. It can also be something that is vain or wrongfully.
^CL “testified” = anah. Same as “accuse” in v16. See note CXXXIII above.
^CLI “falsely” = sheqer. Same as “false” in v18. See note CXLIX above.
^CLII “another” = ach. This is brother, kindred, another, other, like. It is literally brother, but it can also be someone who is similar, resembling, or related to.

^CLIII “do” = asah. Same as “diligently observe” in v9. See note LXXIII above.
^CLIV “meant” = zamam. 13x in OT. This is to devise, plot, imagine, intend, scheme, think evil. It is usually used in an evil sense.
^CLV “other” = ach. Same as “another” in v18. See note CLII above.
^CLVI “evil” = ra’. From ra’a’ (to be evil, bad, afflict; properly, to spoil – to destroy by breaking into pieces; figuratively, to cause something to be worthless; this is bad in a physical, social, or moral sense; that which displeases, to do harm or mischief, to punish or vex). This is bad, disagreeable, that which causes pain, misery, something having little or no value, something that is ethically bad, wicked, injury, calamity. This refers to anything that is not what it ought to be – a natural disaster, a disfigurement, an injury, a sin.
^CLVII “midst” = qereb. Same as “in” in v10. See note LXXXV above.

^CLVIII “rest” = shaar. Properly, this is swelling up i.e. being left over, a remnant, remaining, being redundant.
^CLIX “hear” = shama. This is to hear, call, consent, or consider. It implies listening intelligently, giving attention, and, because of these two factors, obedience and action are often implied.
^CLX “be afraid” = yare. This is to fear, be afraid, dreadful. It can also refer to fearful reverence – to fear in a moral sense is to say to revere, respect.
^CLXI “crime” = ra’. Same as “evil” in v19. See note CLVI above.
^CLXII “such” = dabar. Same as “case” in v4. See note XXV above.

^CLXIII “again” = yasaph. Same as “add” in v9. See note LXXXII above.
^CLXIV “committed” = asah. Same as “diligently observe” in v9. See note LXXIII above.
^CLXV “among” = qereb. Same as “in” in v10. See note LXXXV above.
^CLXVI “life” = nephesh. Same as “killer” in v6. See note XCVII above.

^CLXVII “eye” = ayin. Same as “show…pity” in v13. See note CIII above.
^CLXVIII “tooth” = shen. From shanan (to sharpen, point, pierce; figuratively to teach). This is a tooth, ivory, something sharp, or, figuratively, a cliff.
^CLXIX “hand” = yad. Same as {untranslated} in v5. See note XXXVIII above.
^CLXX “foot” = regel. This is foot, endurance, or journey. It is a foot as the means of walking and so it implies a step or a greater journey. It can be used euphemistically for private parts.