Deuteronomy 12:11
Then there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the Lord:
Study Note
Study Note
God's promise of 'a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there' is the Deuteronomic theology of the divine Name's centralised presence — a principle that shapes the entire Deuteronomistic vision of worship, sacrifice, and pilgrimage. The 'name theology' of Deuteronomy (YHWH causes his name to dwell rather than dwelling himself) is a deliberate theological qualification of the more direct presence language of the Priestly source, resisting any crude identification of God with a specific physical location. Stephen's speech in Acts 7:47-49 draws on this tradition to challenge Solomon's temple as the exclusive divine dwelling, citing Isaiah 66:1-2's 'the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.' John 4:21-23's declaration that true worshippers will worship 'neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem' completes this trajectory: the Name's dwelling-place becomes the person of Jesus and the community of Spirit-worshippers.
Other Translations
then it shall come to pass that to the place which Jehovah your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there, thither shall ye bring all that I command you: your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto Jehovah.
`And it hath been, the place on which Jehovah your God doth fix to cause His name to tabernacle there, thither ye bring in all that which I am commanding you, your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all the choice of your vows which ye vow to Jehovah;
Then there will be a place marked out by the Lord your God as the resting-place for his name, and there you will take all the things which I give you orders to take: your burned offerings and other offerings, and the tenth part of your goods, and the offerings to be lifted up, and the offerings of your oaths which you make to the Lord;
Cross References
But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name …
But in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt …
But thou must eat them before the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, …
If the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to put his name there be too far from thee, …
Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the …
And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name …
Thou shalt eat it before the Lord thy God year by year in the place which the Lord shall choose, …
Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the Lord thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place …
Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord …
If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and …