What Does Deuteronomy 14:23 Mean?
And you shall eat before the face of the LORD your God, in the place he chooses to cause his nature to dwell there, the tenth of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock, so that you may learn awe of the LORD your God always.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.THE KEY
Awe is learned at the table where God’s nature dwells, as provision becomes presence.
THE MEANING
The verse places you before God with the grain, wine, oil, and firstborn from your herds and flocks. In the chosen place where God’s nature dwells, eating becomes a way of learning awe. Reverence takes shape through receiving provision in God’s presence.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that reverence belongs only to inward feeling, detached from food and material life. Here, what sustains you becomes part of how awe is learned.
THE ROOT
לְשַׁכֵּן
le-shakken
GROWS FROM
שׁכן
Dwell, settle, remain; in this form, cause to dwell.
“to cause his nature to dwell there” in this verse is le-shakken. The phrase rendered “place his name” speaks of causing God’s name, his nature, to dwell in a chosen place. The meal happens within that presence, so awe is learned through receiving provision before God.
ALSO GROWS
mishkan: Dwelling place; tabernacle.
מִשְׁכָּן
This branch names a dwelling, connecting the chosen place with God’s presence.
shakhen: Neighbor; one who dwells nearby.
שָׁכֵן
The root carries a sense of nearness: the meal is eaten where God’s nature dwells among the people.
תִּלְמַד
tilmad
GROWS FROM
למד
Learn, be taught, or be trained.
“learn” in this verse is tilmad. The verse says awe can be learned; it is not merely an instant feeling. The meal, with its provisions eaten before God, makes reverence embodied and practiced.
ALSO GROWS
lamad: Learn or study.
לָמַד
It is the basic verb behind “learn,” making awe something acquired.
talmid: Learner; disciple.
תַּלְמִיד
This branch names one who is learning, showing that the verse presents awe as a formed understanding.
יִרְאָה
yir'ah
GROWS FROM
ירא
Fear, revere, stand in awe.
Because the object of this response is the LORD, the root carries awe and reverence. Paired with “learn,” it describes a recognition formed through life lived in God’s presence.
ALSO GROWS
yare: To fear or revere.
יָרֵא
This verb shares the root and shows the response as an ongoing relation to God.
nora: Awesome; fearsome.
נוֹרָא
This branch describes what evokes awe, linking the learned response to the presence before which the meal is eaten.
THE PATTERN
Eating before God turns material provision into a way of recognizing divine presence.
And on the nobles of the children of Israel he did not stretch out his hand, and they saw God, and they ate and drank.O taste and see that the LORD is good. Flourishing is the strong one who takes shelter in him.And it happened, as he lay down at table with them, that he took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and handed it to them. And their eyes were thrown open, and they recognized him, and he became unseen to them.THE THREAD
Assemble the people, the men, the women, and the little ones, and the sojourner within your gates, so that they may hear and respond, and so that they may learn, and be struck with awe of the LORD your God, and guard to do all the words of this instruction;The same roots, למד (lamad, “learn”) and ירא (yare, “fear or revere”), bind the verses: both describe awe as something learned. Here that learning happens as the gathered people hear instruction; Deuteronomy 14:23 locates it in a meal where God’s nature dwells.
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