Deuteronomy 12:20

When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
LORD	יְהוָ֨ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
God	אֱלֹהֶ֥יךָ 'e.lo.Hei.kha	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
enlarge	יַרְחִיב֩ yar.Chiv	H7337	to broaden (intransitive or transitive · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
border	גְּבֽוּלְךָ֮ ge.vu.le.Kha	H1366	properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
promised	דִּבֶּר di.ber-	H1696	perhaps properly · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
say	וְאָמַרְתָּ֙ ve.'a.mar.Ta	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
eat	אֹכְלָ֣ה 'o.khe.Lah	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal infinitive construct, 1st person common singular
flesh	בָשָׂ֔ר va.Sar	H1320	flesh (from its freshness) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
soul	נַפְשְׁךָ֖ naf.she.Kha	H5315	properly · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
longeth	תְאַוֶּ֥ה te.'a.Veh	H183	to wish for · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
eat	לֶאֱכֹ֣ל le.'e.Khol	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
flesh	בָּשָׂ֑ר ba.Sar	H1320	flesh (from its freshness) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
eat	תֹּאכַ֥ל to.Khal	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
flesh	בָּשָֽׂר ba.Sar	H1320	flesh (from its freshness) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
soul	נַפְשְׁךָ֖ naf.she.Kha	H5315	properly · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
after	אַוַּ֥ת 'a.Vat	H185	longing · noun, common feminine singular construct

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 19:8 And if the LORD thy God enlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy…
Deuteronomy 11:24 Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates,…
Exodus 34:24 For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear…
Genesis 28:14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the sout…
1 Chronicles 4:10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be wit…
Genesis 15:18-21 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great ri…
Exodus 23:31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the…
Deuteronomy 12:15 Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD th…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 12:5–end

There is not any one particular precept (as I remember) in all the law of Moses so largely pressed and inculcated as this, by which they are all tied to bring their sacrifices to that one altar which was set up in the court of the tabernacle, and there to perform all the rituals of their religion; for, as to moral services, then, no doubt, as now, men might pray every where, as they did in their synagogues. The command to do this, and the prohibition of the contrary, are here repeated again and again, as we teach children: and yet we are sure that there is in scripture no vain repetition; but all this stress is laid upon it, 1. Because of the strange proneness there was in the hearts of the…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 12:16

BLOOD PROHIBITED. (Deu 12:16-25) ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water--The prohibition against eating or drinking blood as an unnatural custom accompanied the announcement of the divine grant of animal flesh for food (Gen 9:4), and the prohibition was repeatedly renewed by Moses with reference to the great objects of the law (Lev 17:12), the prevention of idolatry, and the consecration of the sacrificial blood to God. In regard, however, to the blood of animals slain for food, it might be shed without ceremony and poured on the ground as a common thing like water--only for the sake of decency, as well as for preventing all risk of idolatry, it was to be cover…

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John Gill on Deuteronomy 12:20

When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee,.... Brought them into the land of Canaan, where they should have large and good pastures for the feeding of their cattle, which they had not in the wilderness, and so a greater increase of them: and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh; which they were shorts of, or ate but little of in the wilderness, lest their herds and their flocks should be consumed; but now having room to feed them, and an increase of them, they would give themselves a greater liberty of eating flesh: because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; would have a craving appetite unto it, having so long ate none, or very little: thou mayest eat flesh, whatso…

Dictionary and topics

High place — An eminence, natural or artificial, where worship by sacrifice or offerings was made (1 Kings 13:32; 2 Kings 17:29). The first altar after the Flood was built on a mountain (Gen. 8:20). Abraham also…
Sanitation · FOOD — FOOD

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Deuteronomy 12:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 12:5–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 12:16

John Gill on Deuteronomy 12:20

Dictionary and topics

Deuteronomy 12:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 12:5–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 12:16

John Gill on Deuteronomy 12:20

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Deuteronomy 12:19-27

Keil & Delitzsch on Deuteronomy 12:20-21

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Deuteronomy 12:18

Rashi on Deuteronomy 12:20