What Does Deuteronomy 22:10 Mean in the King James?

Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.

Deuteronomy 22:10 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

THE KEY

Hebrew “together” carries a sense of being joined as one, so the verse exposes a plow line where shared labor does not erase difference.

THE MEANING

Two distinct animals are joined beneath one plow, yet the shared task does not erase their difference. The verse makes the fitness of a union visible in the work it is asked to carry.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

Being placed under one task does not, by itself, make two things suited to carry it together.

THE ROOT

יַחְדָּו

yachdav

GROWS FROM

יחד

To unite, join, or be one.

“Together” carries the sense of being joined into one; here both animals are placed within a single plowing unit. The word lets the tension sit inside that joining: the union is real, and the difference remains.

ALSO GROWS

yachad: Together, in company.

יַחַד

This is the same root’s familiar form for togetherness, also used of brothers dwelling together in Psalm 133:1.

yachid: Only one, solitary, or unique.

יָחִיד

This branch shows the root’s connection to oneness, whether one stands alone or several are joined.

THE PATTERN

A shared path or task depends on the kind of union holding it together.

Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

Amos 3:3 · KJVThe same Hebrew word for “together” links shared movement with the agreement that holds it.

Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.

Leviticus 19:19 · KJVThe verse names distinct kinds across livestock, seed, and cloth, showing that joining does not make them the same.

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

2 Corinthians 6:14 · KJVThe shared-yoke image carries the question of what can bear one bond into another kind of shared life.

THE THREAD

A Song of degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Psalm 133:1 · KJV

The same Hebrew root, ⁨יחד⁩, names togetherness in both verses, and the Psalm calls that shared dwelling good. The word itself is not a warning against union; Deuteronomy focuses on the particular pairing placed beneath one plow.

Read the SDV Bible.

Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.

Get Selah Verse

The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.

Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us