Deuteronomy 14:24

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

If the way be too long for you, so that you are not able to carry it, because the place is too far from you, which Yahweh your God shall choose, to set his name there, when Yahweh your God shall bless you;

World English Bible · Public Domain

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יִרְחַ֤ק

râchaq

H7368

“to be far”

Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular

Appears 58× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Genesis 21:16

Full BDB Definition

Origin: a primitive root

TWOT: 2151

to be or become far, be or become distant, be removed, go far away (verb) - (Qal) to be far, be distant - (Piel) to send far away, extend - (Hiphil) - to make or exhibit distance, be gone far - to remove, put far away - (Niphal) loose (verb) - at a distance (verbal infinitive [as adverb])

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

23: words
17: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Shared distinctive vocabulary

יִרְחַ֤ק to be far H7368 occurs in 56 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

7 verbs
7 nouns
2 prepositions
4 conjunctions
1 adverb
2 particles

Verb forms

יִרְבֶּ֨ה Qal · Imperfect
תוּכַ֘ל Qal · Imperfect
שְׂאֵתוֹ֒ Qal · Infinitive Construct
יִרְחַ֤ק Qal · Imperfect
יִבְחַר֙ Qal · Imperfect
לָשׂ֥וּם Qal · Infinitive Construct
יְבָרֶכְךָ֖ Piel · Imperfect

Repetition

Words recur within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

יְהוָ֣ה LORD H3068 ×2
אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ God H430 ×2
וְכִֽי that H3588 ×4
מִמְּךָ֜ from H4480 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 43 words from the Hebrew and 45 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 23 Hebrew tokens and 38 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Deuteronomy 14:24 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Deuteronomy 12:21 If the place which Yahweh your God shall choose, to put his name there, be too far from you, then you shall kill of your herd and of your flock, which Yahweh has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates, after all the desire of your soul.
Deuteronomy 12:5 But to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, even to his habitation shall you seek, and there you shall come;
Exodus 23:31 I will set your border from the Red Sea even to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.
Deuteronomy 11:24 Every place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even to the hinder sea shall be your border.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Deuteronomy 14:24 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וְכִֽי יִרְבֶּ֨ה מִמְּךָ֜ הַדֶּ֗רֶךְ כִּ֣י לֹ֣א תוּכַ֘ל שְׂאֵתוֹ֒ כִּֽי יִרְחַ֤ק מִמְּךָ֙ הַמָּק֔וֹם אֲשֶׁ֤ר יִבְחַר֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ לָשׂ֥וּם שְׁמ֖וֹ שָׁ֑ם כִּ֥י יְבָרֶכְךָ֖ יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ

If the way be too long for you, so that you are not able to carry it, because the place is too far from you, which Yahweh your God shall choose, to set his name there, when Yahweh your God shall bless you;

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Deuteronomy 14:24 Septuagint · lemma form

ἐάν δέ μακράν γίγνομαι ἀπό σύ ὁ ὁδός καί μή δύναμαι ἀναφέρω αὐτός ὅτι μακράν ἀπό σύ ὁ τόπος ὅς ἄν ἐκλέγω κύριος ὁ θεός σύ ἐπικαλέω ὁ ὄνομα αὐτός ἐκεῖ ὅτι εὐλογέω σύ κύριος ὁ θεός σύ

And if the journey be too far for you, and you are not able to bring them, because the place is far from you which the Lord your God shall choose to have his name called there, because the Lord your God will bless you;

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

Targum Onkelos Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

וַאֲרֵי יִסְגֵי מִנָךְ אָרְחָא אֲרֵי לָא תִכּוּל לְמִטְלֵהּ אֲרֵי יִתְרָחַק מִנָךְ אַתְרָא דִי יִתִּרְעֵי יְיָ אֱלָהָךְ לְאַשְׁרָאָה שְׁכִנְתֵּהּ תַּמָן אֲרֵי יְבָרֵכִנָךְ יְיָ אֱלָהָךְ

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Onkelos — Aramaic: “Onkelos Genesis” (public domain); “Onkelos Exodus” (public domain); “Onkelos Leviticus” (public domain); “Onkelos Numbers” (public domain); “Onkelos Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “J.W. Etheridge. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch. London: Longmans, Green, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

וַאֲרוּם יִסְגֵי מִנְכוֹן אוֹרְחָא אֲרוּם לָא תֵיכוּל לְמִיסוֹבְרָא יַת מַעַשְרָא אֲרוּם יִתְרְחַק מִנְכוֹן אַתְרָא דְיִתְרְעֵי יְיָ אֱלָהָכוֹן לְאַשְׁרָאָה שְׁכִינְתֵּיהּ תַּמָּן אֲרוּם יְבָרְכִינָךְ יְיָ אֱלָהָךְ

And if the way be too great for you to be able to carry the tenth, because the place which the Lord thy God will choose for His Shekinah to dwell there is too distant from you, when the Lord thy God shall have blessed thee,

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan — Aramaic: “Targum Jonathan on Genesis” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Exodus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Leviticus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Numbers” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, trans. J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on Deuteronomy 14:24 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Joseph Benson's Commentary

Deu 14:24-25. When the Lord thy God hath blessed thee — Hath given thee so great an increase that the tenth thereof is more than thou canst carry to the sanctuary. Bind up the money in thy hand — That is, in a bag, to be taken in thy hand and carried with thee.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Geneva Bible (1599)

Geneva Bible translators

When he shall give thee ability.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

John Gill's Exposition

And the Levite that is within thy gates, thou shalt not forsake him,.... As not from giving him the first tithe, as Jarchi remarks, so he was not to forget him in this; he was not to leave him behind, but take him with him to partake of this entertainment:

for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee in the land: see Deu 12:12.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

Daniel D. Whedon

24. If the way be too long for thee — If they lived at so great a distance from the appointed place that it would be difficult to carry the prescribed tithes they were allowed to sell them and buy provision at the sanctuary.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Pulpit Commentary

In the land of Canaan, as the people would be dispersed over a wide tract, it might happen that the place which the Lord should choose was at such a distance from the usual residence of many that to observe this injunction would be to them very difficult, if not impossible. To meet this, therefore, it was enacted that the tithe might be commuted into money, and with this the things required for the sacrificial meals at the sanctuary might be purchased.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Keil & Delitzsch

C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch

In the land of Canaan, however, where the people would be scattered over a great extent of country, there would be many for whom the fulfilment of this command would be very difficult-would, in fact, appear almost impossible. To meet this difficulty, permission was given for those who lived at a great distance from the sanctuary to sell the tithes at home, provided they could not convey them in kind, and then to spend the money so obtained in the purchase of the things required for the sacrificial meals at the place of the sanctuary. ממּך ירבּה כּי, "if the way be too great (too far) for thee," etc., sc., for the delivery of the tithe. The parenthetical clause, "if Jehovah thy God shall bless thee," hardly means "if He shall extend thy territory" (Knobel), but if He shall bless thee by plentiful produce from the field and the cattle.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

unfoldingWord translationNotes

Door43 World Missions Community

carry it

Here "it" refers to the tithe of crops and livestock.

you will convert the offering into money

"you will sell your offering for money"

tie up the money in your hand, and go

"put the money in a bag and take it with you"

translationWords

sanctuary

bless

sacrifice

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

כי יברכך WHEN [THE LORD THY GOD] HATH BLESSED THEE — so that your produce will be too much to carry [as far as Jerusalem].

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Deuteronomy, in the Pentateuch, opens this verse with 23 words (17 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is râchaq (“to be far”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

What does “to be far” (râchaq) contribute to the verse as a whole?
Genesis 21:16 shares the word «to be far» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
“LORD” occurs 2× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
These translations render this verse differently; the difference is in the English rendering, not the original. What questions does that raise?
The verb «יִרְבֶּ֨ה» is Qal Imperfect. How does its form color the action?
Reading how Joseph Benson's Commentary and Geneva Bible (1599) read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

This verse counts 23 Hebrew ↔ 38 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 14 words in this verse.
“LORD” occurs 2× in this single verse.
17 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 23 words in this verse.