Footnotes

1. Deuteronomy 12:1 tn Heb “fathers.”
2. Deuteronomy 12:1 tn Heb “you must be careful to obey in the land the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess all the days which you live in the land.” This adverbial statement modifies “to obey,” not “to possess,” so the order in the translation has been rearranged to make this clear.
3. Deuteronomy 12:2 tn Heb “destroying you must destroy”; KJV “Ye shall utterly (surely ASV) destroy”; NRSV “must demolish completely.” The Hebrew infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by the words “by all means.”
4. Deuteronomy 12:2 sn Every leafy tree. This expression refers to evergreens which, because they keep their foliage throughout the year, provided apt symbolism for nature cults such as those practiced in Canaan. The deity particularly in view is Asherah, wife of the great god El, who was considered the goddess of fertility and whose worship frequently took place at shrines near or among clusters (groves) of such trees (see also Deut 7:5). See J. Hadley, NIDOTTE 1:569-70; J. DeMoor, TDOT 1:438-44.
5. Deuteronomy 12:3 sn Sacred pillars. These are the stelae (stone pillars; the Hebrew term is מַצֵּבֹת, matsevot) associated with Baal worship, perhaps to mark a spot hallowed by an alleged visitation of the gods. See also Deut 7:5.
6. Deuteronomy 12:3 sn Sacred Asherah poles. The Hebrew term (plural) is אֲשֵׁרִים (ʾasherim). See note on the word “(leafy) tree” in v. 2, and also Deut 7:5.
7. Deuteronomy 12:5 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
8. Deuteronomy 12:5 tc Some scholars, on the basis of v. 11, emend the MT reading שִׁכְנוֹ (shikhno, “his residence”) to the infinitive construct לְשַׁכֵּן (l^eshakken, “to make [his name] to dwell”), perhaps with the third person masculine singular sf לְשַׁכְּנוֹ (l^eshakk^eno, “to cause it to dwell”). Though the presupposed noun שֵׁכֶן (shekhen) is nowhere else attested, the parallel here with שַׁמָּה (shammah, “there”) favors retaining the MT as it stands.
9. Deuteronomy 12:6 tn Heb “heave offerings of your hand.”
10. Deuteronomy 12:7 tn Heb “and your houses,” referring to entire households. The pronouns “you” and “your” are plural in the Hebrew text.
11. Deuteronomy 12:7 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 12:5.
12. Deuteronomy 12:8 tn Heb “a man.”
13. Deuteronomy 12:9 tn Heb “rest.”
14. Deuteronomy 12:10 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
15. Deuteronomy 12:10 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 12:5.
16. Deuteronomy 12:10 tn In the Hebrew text vv. 10-11 are one long, complex sentence. For stylistic reasons the translation divides this into two sentences.
17. Deuteronomy 12:11 tn Heb “and it will be (to) the place where the Lord your God chooses to cause his name to dwell you will bring.”
18. Deuteronomy 12:11 tn Heb “heave offerings of your hand.”
19. Deuteronomy 12:11 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 12:5.
20. Deuteronomy 12:12 tn Heb “within your gates” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “who belongs to your community.”
21. Deuteronomy 12:12 sn They have no allotment or inheritance with you. See note on the word “inheritance” in Deut 10:9.
22. Deuteronomy 12:14 tn Heb “offer burnt offerings.” The expression “do so” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
23. Deuteronomy 12:14 sn This injunction to worship in a single and central sanctuary—one limited and appropriate to the thrice-annual festival celebrations (see Exod 23:14-17; 34:22-24; Lev 23:4-36; Deut 16:16-17)—marks a departure from previous times when worship was carried out at local shrines (cf. Gen 8:20; 12:7; 13:18; 22:9; 26:25; 35:1, 3, 7; Exod 17:15). Apart from the corporate worship of the whole theocratic community, however, worship at local altars would still be permitted as in the past (Deut 16:21; Judg 6:24-27; 13:19-20; 1 Sam 7:17; 10:5, 13; 2 Sam 24:18-25; 1 Kgs 18:30).