Favor · the best way to learn the Bible
Deuteronomy 12 Bible study: The place he will choose
Deuteronomy never names the place the LORD will choose; it names who goes there: sons, daughters, servants and the Levite, to eat and rejoice before him (12:12, 12:18). And the word for "soul" in "the desire of your soul" (12:15) is the word for "life" in "the blood is the life" (12:23).
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the words behind the words, what most readers miss, and how it all leads to Jesus.
First week free, then $10 a month per person
“There you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in all that you put your hand to, you and your households, in which the LORD your God has blessed you.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“In Deuteronomy 12, Israel is told to rejoice before the LORD together with their sons, daughters, servants and the Levite.”
Is that in Deuteronomy 12, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
Their name out, his name in
The chapter opens with two kinds of place. First the nations' places: "You shall surely destroy all the places in which the nations that you shall dispossess served their gods: on the high mountains, and on the hills, and under every green tree" (12:2), ending with "You shall destroy their name out of that place" (12:3). Then one short verse: "You shall not do so to the LORD your God" (12:4). Then the LORD's place: "But to the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, you shall seek his habitation, and you shall come there" (12:5). In Hebrew "places", "that place" and "the place" are the same word, maqom, and "their name" and "his name" are the same word, shem. Their name goes out of their places; his name is put in the place he chooses.
Where it leads to Jesus
Neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem
Deuteronomy 12:5leads toJohn 4:21
Moses sends Israel to "the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there" (12:5), and not to "every place that you see" (12:13). At Jacob's well a Samaritan woman said to Jesus, "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship" (John 4:20). Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father" (John 4:21), and "salvation is from the Jews" (John 4:22). Jesus doesn't cite Deuteronomy 12, so this is a reading. Some hear in his words a new answer to the question this chapter answers for Israel, where to worship: the hour he speaks of is one when worship of the Father is tied to neither place. Others read his words as answering the woman's own question about "this mountain" and Jerusalem (John 4:20), with no look back to Deuteronomy 12.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Deuteronomy 12
That was a taste
The rest of Deuteronomy 12 is waiting in Favor
- Eat, and rejoice, with everyone
- Right in his own eyes, or in the LORD's
- Meat anywhere, blood nowhere
- Seek his habitation; don't inquire after their gods
- "Under every green tree", in Kings
- Nothing added, nothing taken away, again
- 14 questions as you read
- 12 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Deuteronomy 12 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
מָקוֹםmaqomsay ma-KOM
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "standing-place, place". Strong's: "properly, a standing, i.e. a spot". It comes nine times in this chapter. First it is the nations' places: "all the places in which the nations that you shall dispossess served their gods" (12:2), and "You shall destroy their name out of that place" (12:3). Then it is the LORD's: "the place which the LORD your God shall choose" (12:5), and five more times the place he chooses, to 12:26. In between Moses sets two places against each other: "Be careful that you don’t offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; but in the place which the LORD chooses" (12:13-14). Exodus had used the word for where the LORD meets his people: "In every place where I record my name I will come to you and I will bless you" (Exodus 20:24).
For your group
Deuteronomy 12 Bible study questions
- 1"Every man whatever is right in his own eyes" (12:8), or "that which is good and right in the LORD your God’s eyes" (12:28). Where do you most often decide for yourself what is right without asking what God says?
- 2Israel was to rejoice before the LORD with their servants and the Levite, who had no inheritance (12:12). Who could you bring to your table, or into your joy, this week?
- 3"How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise" (12:30). Where are you tempted to copy the people around you in what you worship or how you live?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Deuteronomy 12 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
Start a Bible studyThe best way to learn the Bible
Favor opens up every chapter as you read.
Favor is a Bible study app for your phone or computer. It takes you through the Bible one chapter at a time, a few minutes a day, and shows you what's really there: the words behind the words, the moments most people miss, and how the whole story fits together. For you. For everyone.
Every chapter explains itself
As you read, short notes open up what's really going on, the details most readers walk past, and the honest questions people ask.
The Hebrew and Greek behind it
Tap a highlighted word to see the original, how to say it, and what it means, checked against the original-language texts.
Every page leads to Jesus
Watch promises made in Genesis kept in Jesus. Each line lights up on your map as you read.
Better together
Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together.
- 1
Start your free week
Sign up in a minute with your email.
- 2
Read a few minutes a day
Each chapter opens itself up as you go. Tap what you're curious about.
- 3
Bring your people, if you like
Send one link. Everyone reads the same chapter, then meets to talk.
First week free, then $10 a month per person
Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
How much does it cost?
Your first week is free. After that it's $10 a month per person, the same for everyone, including groups and churches. There are no tiers and nothing extra to unlock.
Can I read Deuteronomy 12 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Deuteronomy 12 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
I've never really read the Bible. Is this for me?
Yes. Favor starts where you are and explains as it goes. The questions along the way aren't marked right or wrong: you answer, then see what the text shows.
Which Bible does Favor use?
The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
Is Favor tied to a church?
No. Favor is non-denominational. Where Christians read a passage differently, it shows the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
Start with Deuteronomy 12
The best way to learn the Bible. For you. For everyone.
There's a seat for you at the table.
Start your free weekFirst week free, then $10 a month per person · Log in
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home