Discovery BoxDeuteronomy 12:2 
Context12:2 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 15:10
Context15:10 You must by all means lend 3 to him and not be upset by doing it, 4 for because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you attempt.
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 The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “by all means.”
4 tc Heb “your heart must not be grieved in giving to him.” The LXX and Orig add, “you shall surely lend to him sufficient for his need,” a suggestion based on the same basic idea in v. 8. Such slavish adherence to stock phrases is without warrant in most cases, and certainly here.
