Tag Archives: Deuteronomy 6:12

הִשָּׁ֣מֶר לְךָ֔ פֶּן־תִּשְׁכַּ֖ח אֶת־יְהוָ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֧ר הֹוצִֽיאֲךָ֛ מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרַ֖יִם מִבֵּ֥ית עֲבָדִֽים׃ In the heart of Moses’ covenantal appeal to Israel, we find a warning that is both urgent and poetic: הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ פֶן תִּשְׁכַּח אֶת־יְהוָה “Take care, lest you forget the Lord.” This verse from Devarim 6:12 is not merely a moral admonition — it is a linguistic performance of caution. At its core lies a rare prohibitive construction that binds vigilance to memory, and memory to identity. Through careful attention to form and syntax, we uncover how Biblical Hebrew encodes divine obligation not only as law, but as language.… Learn Hebrew