12:2 on the high mountains, and on the hills In the ancient Near East, people associated high mountains and hills—remote places that were removed from humans and closer to the sky—as places of worship. They believed these elevated places were sites where divine beings might come down to earth from heaven. The Canaanite god Baal built a dwelling on Mount Zaphon. Yahweh was associated with Mount Sinai (Horeb). See 1 Kgs 14:23; 2 Kgs 16:4; 17:10; Jer 3:6.

under each leafy green tree Ancient Canaanites considered trees to be sacred because they symbolized fertility and life. Israelites likewise associated trees with the sacred; trees often marked places of divine encounter (see Gen 12:6–7; compare Judg 4:4–5).

Sacred Trees in Israelite Religion

12:3 you shall break down their altars This list of actions is a slight variation on the list in Deut 7:5. See note on 7:5.

12:4 like this The Israelites must not follow the worship practices of other peoples; Yahweh is completely unlike the gods of Canaan (see vv. 30–31; compare Exod 23:24).

12:5 the place that Yahweh your God will choose Deuteronomy regularly uses this phrase to refer to the central sanctuary (Deut 12:11, 14, 18, 21, 26). From the narrative perspective of Deuteronomy, the location had not yet been determined, but from the later perspective of the historical books, the only legitimate place to worship Yahweh was the Jerusalem temple (see 1 Kgs 12:25–31; 2 Kgs 17:9; compare John 4:19–26).

place his name there as his dwelling This phrase represents important formulaic language in Deuteronomy. The wording describes a place where God might choose to make His presence dwell. This is seen in other places in the ot where Yahweh’s “name” refers to Yahweh Himself and to His very presence.

12:6 you shall bring there Moses commands that every worship practice associated with the tabernacle be conducted only at this future center of worship (compare Lev 1–5; 27; Num 18; 28–29). Deuteronomy 12:8–28 explains how the centralization will modify Israelite worship and life. See note on vv. 1–28.

12:7 you shall eat Certain sacrifices involved meals. Once the central sanctuary was in place, people would have to travel to meet these obligations. See note on vv. 1–28.

12:8 that is right in his eyes A reference to the unregulated personal sacrificial practices that were followed prior to Israel’s settlement in the land.

12:9 inheritance See Gen 12:1–3; 15:1–6, 18; 28:13; 35:12; 48:21. Moses tells the Israelites that God allows their present practices only because they are not yet in their allotted tribal portions within Canaan.

12:15 gazelle and as the deer Moses may be introducing a modification to earlier legislation. Leviticus 17:1–7 appears to require that all slaughter of animals for food had to be treated like a sacrifice (see Lev 17:1–7; compare 1 Sam 14:31–35). With centralization of worship, it would be impractical to require all people in the land to come to the central sanctuary to slaughter all animals used for food. Here Moses explicitly allows non-sacrificial slaughter, applying the rules for handling the slaughter of wild game to any slaughter that occurs away from the central sanctuary (compare Lev 17:13).

12:16 the blood you must not eat This prohibition against eating blood is consistent throughout ot law (see Lev 3:17; 7:26–27; 17:11–14; compare Acts 15:20). Blood was a life fluid; therefore, it belonged only to God, the life-giver.

12:20 your territory According to Deut 7:22, control of the land would be obtained gradually. Given this scenario, Israel would not be able to build and maintain a central sanctuary (see v. 10) for some time. Thus, the language of enlarging the territory here alludes to a completed conquest and fully centralized worship. The permission of non-ritual slaughter requires these conditions be met.

12:29 has cut off The Hebrew verb used here, karath, elsewhere expresses the idea of cutting (or making) a covenant with Israel (see note on Gen 15:10). The Canaanite nations, however, are not brought into a covenant but are cut off from the land—a warning of the fate that will come to Israel if they disregard Yahweh’s commandments. See Gen 15:18–21; Exod 23:28–30; Num 33:52, 53; Deut 7:22; 12:31.

12:31 every detestable thing Against the backdrop of chs. 10–11, Moses once again warns the Israelites of God’s abhorrence of Canaanite practices, which are repulsive to Yahweh. Following Canaanite practices will result in expulsion from the land in the same way that Yahweh will drive out the Canaanites.

even their sons and their daughters they would burn Child sacrifice—a capital crime in Mosaic law (Lev 18:21; 20:2–5)—illustrates the reprehensible nature of Canaanite religion. Later in Israel’s history, some apostate kings commit this crime (2 Kgs 21:6; 2 Chr 28:3). For this and other heinous sins, God brought judgment on the northern kingdom of Israel through the Assyrians (2 Kgs 17:17–18).