Deuteronomy 12:2

12:2 You must by all means destroy ¹  all the places where the nations you are about to dispossess worship their gods – on the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree. ² 

Deuteronomy 12:18

12:18 Only in the presence of the Lord your God may you eat these, in the place he ³  chooses. This applies to you, your son, your daughter, your male and female servants, and the Levites ⁴  in your villages. In that place you will rejoice before the Lord your God in all the output of your labor. ⁵ 

¹ tn Heb “destroying you must destroy”; KJV “Ye shall utterly (surely ASV) destroy”; NRSV “must demolish completely.” The Hebrew infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by the words “by all means.”

² sn Every leafy tree. This expression refers to evergreens which, because they keep their foliage throughout the year, provided apt symbolism for nature cults such as those practiced in Canaan. The deity particularly in view is Asherah, wife of the great god El, who was considered the goddess of fertility and whose worship frequently took place at shrines near or among clusters (groves) of such trees (see also Deut 7:5). See J. Hadley, NIDOTTE 1:569-70; J. DeMoor, TDOT 1:438-44.

³ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 12:5.

⁴ tn See note at Deut 12:12.

⁵ tn Heb “in all the sending forth of your hands.”