Deuteronomy 19:8

And if the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as He swore to your fathers, and gives you all the land He promised them,

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses Israel on the plains of Moab, inserting a conditional clause into the laws regarding cities of refuge. The speaker presents a hypothetical scenario where Yahweh fulfills ancestral promises by expanding Israel's borders.

The words — יַרְחִ֞יב (yar.Chiv) translates literally as "he will enlarge," paired with נִשְׁבַּ֖ע (nish.Ba') meaning "he swore." These terms anchor the conditional territorial expansion to a prior divine oath rather than human initiative.

The thread — The motif of divinely granted borders recurs in Genesis 15:18, Exodus 23:31, and Exodus 34:24, where territorial limits are consistently tied to covenant promises.

Why it lands — The text conditions future land acquisition on Yahweh's sovereign action and future obedience, requiring the reader to recognize expansion as a covenantal provision rather than a guaranteed right.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְאִם־ve./'im-and/ if יַרְחִ֞יבyar.Chivhe will enlarge יְהוָ֤הYah.wehYahweh אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙'e.lo.Hei./khaGod/ your אֶת־'et-<obj.>גְּבֻ֣לְךָ֔ge.Vul./khaterritory/ your כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רka./'a.Sherjust/ as נִשְׁבַּ֖עnish.Ba'he swore לַאֲבֹתֶ֑יךָla./'a.vo.Tei./khato/ ancestors/ your וְנָ֤תַןve./Na.tanand/ he will giveלְךָ֙le./Khato <the>/ youאֶת־'et-<obj.>כָּל־kol-all הָאָ֔רֶץha./'A.retzthe/ land אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhich דִּבֶּ֖רdi.Berhe spoke לָתֵ֥תla./Tetto/ give לַאֲבֹתֶֽיךָ׃la./'a.vo.Tei./khato/ ancestors/ your

King James Version

And if the Lord thy God enlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers;

Cross-references

Genesis 15:18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
Exodus 23:31 And I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates. For I will deliver the inhabitants into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.
Exodus 34:24 For I will drive out the nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 12:20 When the LORD your God expands your territory as He has promised, and you crave meat and say, “I want to eat meat,” you may eat it whenever you want.
Genesis 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
Deuteronomy 11:24 Every place where the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Western Sea.
1 Kings 4:21 And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
Ezra 4:20 And mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole region west of the Euphrates; and tribute, duty, and toll were paid to them.