Ulangan 24:1--27:26
Konteks24:1 If a man marries a woman and she does not please him because he has found something offensive 1 in her, then he may draw up a divorce document, give it to her, and evict her from his house. 24:2 When she has left him 2 she may go and become someone else’s wife. 24:3 If the second husband rejects 3 her and then divorces her, 4 gives her the papers, and evicts her from his house, or if the second husband who married her dies, 24:4 her first husband who divorced her is not permitted to remarry 5 her after she has become ritually impure, for that is offensive to the Lord. 6 You must not bring guilt on the land 7 which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
24:5 When a man is newly married, he need not go into 8 the army nor be obligated in any way; he must be free to stay at home for a full year and bring joy to 9 the wife he has married.
24:6 One must not take either lower or upper millstones as security on a loan, for that is like taking a life itself as security. 10
24:7 If a man is found kidnapping a person from among his fellow Israelites, 11 and regards him as mere property 12 and sells him, that kidnapper 13 must die. In this way you will purge 14 evil from among you.
24:8 Be careful during an outbreak of leprosy to follow precisely 15 all that the Levitical priests instruct you; as I have commanded them, so you should do. 24:9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam 16 along the way after you left Egypt.
24:10 When you make any kind of loan to your neighbor, you may not go into his house to claim what he is offering as security. 17 24:11 You must stand outside and the person to whom you are making the loan will bring out to you what he is offering as security. 18 24:12 If the person is poor you may not use what he gives you as security for a covering. 19 24:13 You must by all means 20 return to him at sunset the item he gave you as security so that he may sleep in his outer garment and bless you for it; it will be considered a just 21 deed by the Lord your God.
24:14 You must not oppress a lowly and poor servant, whether one from among your fellow Israelites 22 or from the resident foreigners who are living in your land and villages. 23 24:15 You must pay his wage that very day before the sun sets, for he is poor and his life depends on it. Otherwise he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
24:16 Fathers must not be put to death for what their children 24 do, nor children for what their fathers do; each must be put to death for his own sin.
24:17 You must not pervert justice due a resident foreigner or an orphan, or take a widow’s garment as security for a loan. 24:18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do all this. 24:19 Whenever you reap your harvest in your field and leave some unraked grain there, 25 you must not return to get it; it should go to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow so that the Lord your God may bless all the work you do. 26 24:20 When you beat your olive tree you must not repeat the procedure; 27 the remaining olives belong to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow. 24:21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard you must not do so a second time; 28 they should go to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow. 24:22 Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt; therefore, I am commanding you to do all this.
25:1 If controversy arises between people, 29 they should go to court for judgment. When the judges 30 hear the case, they shall exonerate 31 the innocent but condemn 32 the guilty. 25:2 Then, 33 if the guilty person is sentenced to a beating, 34 the judge shall force him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of blows his wicked behavior deserves. 35 25:3 The judge 36 may sentence him to forty blows, 37 but no more. If he is struck with more than these, you might view your fellow Israelite 38 with contempt.
25:4 You must not muzzle your 39 ox when it is treading grain.
25:5 If brothers live together and one of them dies without having a son, the dead man’s wife must not remarry someone outside the family. Instead, her late husband’s brother must go to her, marry her, 40 and perform the duty of a brother-in-law. 41 25:6 Then 42 the first son 43 she bears will continue the name of the dead brother, thus preventing his name from being blotted out of Israel. 25:7 But if the man does not want to marry his brother’s widow, then she 44 must go to the elders at the town gate and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to preserve his brother’s name in Israel; he is unwilling to perform the duty of a brother-in-law to me!” 25:8 Then the elders of his city must summon him and speak to him. If he persists, saying, “I don’t want to marry her,” 25:9 then his sister-in-law must approach him in view of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, and spit in his face. 45 She will then respond, “Thus may it be done to any man who does not maintain his brother’s family line!” 46 25:10 His family name will be referred to 47 in Israel as “the family 48 of the one whose sandal was removed.” 49
25:11 If two men 50 get into a hand-to-hand fight, and the wife of one of them gets involved to help her husband against his attacker, and she reaches out her hand and grabs his genitals, 51 25:12 then you must cut off her hand – do not pity her.
25:13 You must not have in your bag different stone weights, 52 a heavy and a light one. 53 25:14 You must not have in your house different measuring containers, 54 a large and a small one. 25:15 You must have an accurate and correct 55 stone weight and an accurate and correct measuring container, so that your life may be extended in the land the Lord your God is about to give you. 25:16 For anyone who acts dishonestly in these ways is abhorrent 56 to the Lord your God.
25:17 Remember what the Amalekites 57 did to you on your way from Egypt, 25:18 how they met you along the way and cut off all your stragglers in the rear of the march when you were exhausted and tired; they were unafraid of God. 58 25:19 So when the Lord your God gives you relief from all the enemies who surround you in the land he 59 is giving you as an inheritance, 60 you must wipe out the memory of the Amalekites from under heaven 61 – do not forget! 62
26:1 When 63 you enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you occupy it and live in it, 26:2 you must take the first of all the ground’s produce you harvest from the land the Lord your God is giving you, place it in a basket, and go to the place where he 64 chooses to locate his name. 65 26:3 You must go to the priest in office at that time and say to him, “I declare today to the Lord your 66 God that I have come into the land that the Lord 67 promised 68 to our ancestors 69 to give us.” 26:4 The priest will then take the basket from you 70 and set it before the altar of the Lord your God. 26:5 Then you must affirm before the Lord your God, “A wandering 71 Aramean 72 was my ancestor, 73 and he went down to Egypt and lived there as a foreigner with a household few in number, 74 but there he became a great, powerful, and numerous people. 26:6 But the Egyptians mistreated and oppressed us, forcing us to do burdensome labor. 26:7 So we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and he 75 heard us and saw our humiliation, toil, and oppression. 26:8 Therefore the Lord brought us out of Egypt with tremendous strength and power, 76 as well as with great awe-inspiring signs and wonders. 26:9 Then he brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 26:10 So now, look! I have brought the first of the ground’s produce that you, Lord, have given me.” Then you must set it down before the Lord your God and worship before him. 77 26:11 You will celebrate all the good things that the Lord your God has given you and your family, 78 along with the Levites and the resident foreigners among you.
26:12 When you finish tithing all 79 your income in the third year (the year of tithing), you must give it to the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows 80 so that they may eat to their satisfaction in your villages. 81 26:13 Then you shall say before the Lord your God, “I have removed the sacred offering 82 from my house and given it to the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows just as you have commanded me. 83 I have not violated or forgotten your commandments. 26:14 I have not eaten anything when I was in mourning, or removed any of it while ceremonially unclean, or offered any of it to the dead; 84 I have obeyed you 85 and have done everything you have commanded me. 26:15 Look down from your holy dwelling place in heaven and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us, just as you promised our ancestors – a land flowing with milk and honey.”
26:16 Today the Lord your God is commanding you to keep these statutes and ordinances, something you must do with all your heart and soul. 86 26:17 Today you have declared the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk in his ways, keep his statutes, commandments, and ordinances, and obey him. 26:18 And today the Lord has declared you to be his special people (as he already promised you) so you may keep all his commandments. 26:19 Then 87 he will elevate you above all the nations he has made and you will receive praise, fame, and honor. 88 You will 89 be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he has said.
27:1 Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Pay attention to all the commandments 90 I am giving 91 you today. 27:2 When you cross the Jordan River 92 to the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must erect great stones and cover 93 them with plaster. 27:3 Then you must inscribe on them all the words of this law when you cross over, so that you may enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, 94 said to you. 27:4 So when you cross the Jordan you must erect on Mount Ebal 95 these stones about which I am commanding you today, and you must cover them with plaster. 27:5 Then you must build an altar there to the Lord your God, an altar of stones – do not use an iron tool on them. 27:6 You must build the altar of the Lord your God with whole stones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. 27:7 Also you must offer fellowship offerings and eat them there, rejoicing before the Lord your God. 27:8 You must inscribe on the stones all the words of this law, making them clear.”
27:9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel: “Be quiet and pay attention, Israel. Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. 27:10 You must obey him 96 and keep his commandments and statutes that I am giving you today.” 27:11 Moreover, Moses commanded the people that day: 27:12 “The following tribes 97 must stand to bless the people on Mount Gerizim when you cross the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 27:13 And these other tribes must stand for the curse on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
27:14 “The Levites will call out to every Israelite 98 with a loud voice: 27:15 ‘Cursed is the one 99 who makes a carved or metal image – something abhorrent 100 to the Lord, the work of the craftsman 101 – and sets it up in a secret place.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 102 27:16 ‘Cursed 103 is the one who disrespects 104 his father and mother.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:17 ‘Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor’s boundary marker.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:18 ‘Cursed is the one who misleads a blind person on the road.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:19 ‘Cursed is the one who perverts justice for the resident foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:20 ‘Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with 105 his father’s former wife, 106 for he dishonors his father.’ 107 Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:21 ‘Cursed is the one who commits bestiality.’ 108 Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:22 ‘Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his sister, the daughter of either his father or mother.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:23 ‘Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his mother-in-law.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:24 ‘Cursed is the one who kills 109 his neighbor in private.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:25 ‘Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:26 ‘Cursed is the one who refuses to keep the words of this law.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
[24:1] 1 tn Heb “nakedness of a thing.” The Hebrew phrase עֶרְוַת דָּבָר (’ervat davar) refers here to some gross sexual impropriety (see note on “indecent” in Deut 23:14). Though the term usually has to do only with indecent exposure of the genitals, it can also include such behavior as adultery (cf. Lev 18:6-18; 20:11, 17, 20-21; Ezek 22:10; 23:29; Hos 2:10).
[24:3] 3 tn Heb “hates.” See note on the word “other” in Deut 21:15.
[24:3] 4 tn Heb “writes her a document of divorce.”
[24:4] 5 tn Heb “to return to take her to be his wife.”
[24:4] 6 sn The issue here is not divorce and its grounds per se but prohibition of remarriage to a mate whom one has previously divorced.
[24:4] 7 tn Heb “cause the land to sin” (so KJV, ASV).
[24:5] 8 tn Heb “go out with.”
[24:5] 9 tc For the MT’s reading Piel שִׂמַּח (simmakh, “bring joy to”), the Syriac and others read שָׂמַח (samakh, “enjoy”).
[24:6] 10 sn Taking millstones as security on a loan would amount to taking the owner’s own life in pledge, since the millstones were the owner’s means of earning a living and supporting his family.
[24:7] 11 tn Heb “from his brothers, from the sons of Israel.” The terms “brothers” and “sons of Israel” are in apposition; the second defines the first more specifically.
[24:7] 12 tn Or “and enslaves him.”
[24:7] 13 tn Heb “that thief.”
[24:7] 14 tn Heb “burn.” See note on the word “purge” in Deut 19:19.
[24:8] 15 tn Heb “to watch carefully and to do.”
[24:9] 16 sn What the
[24:10] 17 tn Heb “his pledge.” This refers to something offered as pledge of repayment, i.e., as security for the debt.
[24:11] 18 tn Heb “his pledge.”
[24:12] 19 tn Heb “may not lie down in his pledge.” What is in view is the use of clothing as guarantee for the repayment of loans, a matter already addressed elsewhere (Deut 23:19-20; 24:6; cf. Exod 22:25-26; Lev 25:35-37). Cf. NAB “you shall not sleep in the mantle he gives as a pledge”; NRSV “in the garment given you as the pledge.”
[24:13] 20 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation seeks to reflect with “by all means.”
[24:13] 21 tn Or “righteous” (so NIV, NLT).
[24:14] 22 tn Heb “your brothers,” but not limited only to actual siblings; cf. NASB “your (+ own NAB) countrymen.”
[24:14] 23 tn Heb “who are in your land in your gates.” The word “living” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:16] 24 tn Heb “sons” (so NASB; twice in this verse). Many English versions, including the KJV, read “children” here.
[24:19] 25 tn Heb “in the field.”
[24:19] 26 tn Heb “of your hands.” This law was later applied in the story of Ruth who, as a poor widow, was allowed by generous Boaz to glean in his fields (Ruth 2:1-13).
[24:20] 27 tn Heb “knock down after you.”
[24:21] 28 tn Heb “glean after you.”
[25:1] 30 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the judges) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:1] 31 tn Heb “declare to be just”; KJV, NASB “justify the righteous”; NAB, NIV “acquitting the innocent.”
[25:1] 32 tn Heb “declare to be evil”; NIV “condemning the guilty (+ party NAB).”
[25:2] 33 tn Heb “and it will be.”
[25:2] 34 tn Heb “if the evil one is a son of smiting.”
[25:2] 35 tn Heb “according to his wickedness, by number.”
[25:3] 36 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the judge) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:3] 37 tn Heb “Forty blows he may strike him”; however, since the judge is to witness the punishment (v. 2) it is unlikely the judge himself administered it.
[25:3] 38 tn Heb “your brothers” but not limited only to an actual sibling; cf. NAB) “your kinsman”; NRSV, NLT “your neighbor.”
[25:4] 39 tn Heb “an.” By implication this is one’s own animal.
[25:5] 40 tn Heb “take her as wife”; NRSV “taking her in marriage.”
[25:5] 41 sn This is the so-called “levirate” custom (from the Latin term levir, “brother-in-law”), an ancient provision whereby a man who died without male descendants to carry on his name could have a son by proxy, that is, through a surviving brother who would marry his widow and whose first son would then be attributed to the brother who had died. This is the only reference to this practice in an OT legal text but it is illustrated in the story of Judah and his sons (Gen 38) and possibly in the account of Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 2:8; 3:12; 4:6).
[25:6] 42 tn Heb “and it will be that.”
[25:6] 43 tn Heb “the firstborn.” This refers to the oldest male child.
[25:7] 44 tn Heb “want to take his sister-in-law, then his sister in law.” In the second instance the pronoun (“she”) has been used in the translation to avoid redundancy.
[25:9] 45 sn The removal of the sandal was likely symbolic of the relinquishment by the man of any claim to his dead brother’s estate since the sandal was associated with the soil or land (cf. Ruth 4:7-8). Spitting in the face was a sign of utmost disgust or disdain, an emotion the rejected widow would feel toward her uncooperative brother-in-law (cf. Num 12:14; Lev 15:8). See W. Bailey, NIDOTTE 2:544.
[25:9] 46 tn Heb “build the house of his brother”; TEV “refuses to give his brother a descendant”; NLT “refuses to raise up a son for his brother.”
[25:10] 47 tn Heb “called,” i.e., “known as.”
[25:10] 49 tn Cf. NIV, NCV “The Family of the Unsandaled.”
[25:11] 50 tn Heb “a man and his brother.”
[25:11] 51 tn Heb “shameful parts.” Besides the inherent indelicacy of what she has done, the woman has also threatened the progenitive capacity of the injured man. The level of specificity given this term in modern translations varies: “private parts” (NAB, NIV, CEV); “genitals” (NASB, NRSV, TEV); “sex organs” (NCV); “testicles” (NLT).
[25:13] 52 tn Heb “a stone and a stone.” The repetition of the singular noun here expresses diversity, as the following phrase indicates. See IBHS 116 §7.2.3c.
[25:13] 53 tn Heb “a large and a small,” but since the issue is the weight, “a heavy and a light one” conveys the idea better in English.
[25:14] 54 tn Heb “an ephah and an ephah.” An ephah refers to a unit of dry measure roughly equivalent to five U.S. gallons (just under 20 liters). On the repetition of the term to indicate diversity, see IBHS 116 §7.2.3c.
[25:15] 55 tn Or “just”; Heb “righteous.”
[25:16] 56 tn The Hebrew term translated here “abhorrent” (תּוֹעֵבָה, to’evah) speaks of attitudes and/or behaviors so vile as to be reprehensible to a holy God. See note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.
[25:17] 57 tn Heb “what Amalek” (so NAB, NRSV). Here the individual ancestor, the namesake of the tribe, is cited as representative of the entire tribe at the time Israel was entering Canaan. Consistent with this, singular pronouns are used in v. 18 and the singular name appears again in v. 19. Since readers unfamiliar with the tribe of Amalekites might think this refers to an individual, the term “Amalekites” and the corresponding plural pronouns have been used throughout these verses (cf. NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
[25:18] 58 sn See Exod 17:8-16.
[25:19] 59 tn Heb “ the
[25:19] 60 tn The Hebrew text includes “to possess it.”
[25:19] 61 tn Or “from beneath the sky.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
[25:19] 62 sn This command is fulfilled in 1 Sam 15:1-33.
[26:1] 63 tn Heb “and it will come to pass that.”
[26:2] 64 tn Heb “the
[26:2] 65 sn The place where he chooses to locate his name. This is a circumlocution for the central sanctuary, first the tabernacle and later the Jerusalem temple. See Deut 12:1-14 and especially the note on the word “you” in v. 14.
[26:3] 66 tc For the MT reading “your God,” certain LXX
[26:3] 67 tc The Syriac adds “your God” to complete the usual formula.
[26:3] 68 tn Heb “swore on oath.”
[26:3] 69 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 7, 15).
[26:5] 71 tn Though the Hebrew term אָבַד (’avad) generally means “to perish” or the like (HALOT 2-3 s.v.; BDB 1-2 s.v.; cf. KJV “a Syrian ready to perish”), a meaning “to go astray” or “to be lost” is also attested. The ambivalence in the Hebrew text is reflected in the versions where LXX Vaticanus reads ἀπέβαλεν (apebalen, “lose”) for a possibly metathesized reading found in Alexandrinus, Ambrosianus, ἀπέλαβεν (apelaben, “receive”); others attest κατέλειπεν (kateleipen, “leave, abandon”). “Wandering” seems to suit best the contrast with the sedentary life Israel would enjoy in Canaan (v. 9) and is the meaning followed by many English versions.
[26:5] 72 sn A wandering Aramean. This is a reference to Jacob whose mother Rebekah was an Aramean (Gen 24:10; 25:20, 26) and who himself lived in Aram for at least twenty years (Gen 31:41-42).
[26:5] 74 tn Heb “sojourned there few in number.” The words “with a household” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.
[26:7] 75 tn Heb “the
[26:8] 76 tn Heb “by a powerful hand and an extended arm.” These are anthropomorphisms designed to convey God’s tremendously great power in rescuing Israel from their Egyptian bondage. They are preserved literally in many English versions (cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[26:10] 77 tn Heb “the
[26:11] 78 tn Or “household” (so NASB, NIV, NLT); Heb “house” (so KJV, NRSV).
[26:12] 79 tn Heb includes “the tithes of.” This has not been included in the translation to avoid redundancy.
[26:12] 80 tn The terms “Levite, resident foreigner, orphan, and widow” are collective singulars in the Hebrew text (also in v. 13).
[26:13] 82 tn Heb “the sacred thing.” The term הַקֹּדֶשׁ (haqqodesh) likely refers to an offering normally set apart for the
[26:13] 83 tn Heb “according to all your commandment that you commanded me.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[26:14] 84 sn These practices suggest overtones of pagan ritual, all of which the confessor denies having undertaken. In Canaan they were connected with fertility practices associated with harvest time. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC), 335-36.
[26:14] 85 tn Heb “the
[26:16] 86 tn Or “mind and being”; cf. NCV “with your whole being”; TEV “obey them faithfully with all your heart.”
[26:19] 87 tn Heb “so that.” Verses 18-19 are one sentence in the Hebrew text, but the translation divides it into three sentences for stylistic reasons. The first clause in verse 19 gives a result of the preceding clause. When Israel keeps God’s law, God will bless them with fame and honor (cf. NAB “he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory”; NLT “And if you do, he will make you greater than any other nation”).
[26:19] 88 tn Heb “for praise and for a name and for glory.”
[26:19] 89 tn Heb “and to be.” A new sentence was started here for stylistic reasons.
[27:1] 90 tn Heb “the whole commandment.” See note at 5:31.
[27:1] 91 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today” (likewise in v. 10).
[27:2] 92 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[27:2] 93 tn Heb “plaster” (so KJV, ASV; likewise in v. 4). In the translation “cover” has been used for stylistic reasons.
[27:4] 95 tc Smr reads “Mount Gerizim” for the MT reading “Mount Ebal” to justify the location of the Samaritan temple there in the postexilic period. This reading is patently self-serving and does not reflect the original. In the NT when the Samaritan woman of Sychar referred to “this mountain” as the place of worship for her community she obviously had Gerizim in mind (cf. John 4:20).
[27:10] 96 tn Heb “listen to the voice of the
[27:12] 97 tn The word “tribes” has been supplied here and in the following verse in the translation for clarity.
[27:14] 98 tn Heb “Israelite man.”
[27:15] 99 tn Heb “man,” but in a generic sense here.
[27:15] 100 tn The Hebrew term translated here “abhorrent” (תּוֹעֵבָה, to’evah) speaks of attitudes and/or behaviors so vile as to be reprehensible to a holy God. See note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.
[27:15] 101 tn Heb “craftsman’s hands.”
[27:15] 102 tn Or “So be it!” The term is an affirmation expressing agreement with the words of the Levites.
[27:16] 103 tn The Levites speak again at this point; throughout this pericope the Levites pronounce the curse and the people respond with “Amen.”
[27:16] 104 tn The Hebrew term קָלָה (qalah) means to treat with disdain or lack of due respect (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “dishonors”; NLT “despises”). It is the opposite of כָּבֵד (kaved, “to be heavy,” that is, to treat with reverence and proper deference). To treat a parent lightly is to dishonor him or her and thus violate the fifth commandment (Deut 5:16; cf. Exod 21:17).
[27:20] 105 tn Heb “who lies with” (so NASB, NRSV); also in vv. 22, 23. This is a Hebrew idiom for having sexual relations (cf. NIV “who sleeps with”; NLT “who has sexual intercourse with”).
[27:20] 106 tn See note at Deut 22:30.
[27:20] 107 tn Heb “he uncovers his father’s skirt” (NASB similar). See note at Deut 22:30.
[27:21] 108 tn Heb “lies with any animal” (so NASB, NRSV). “To lie with” is a Hebrew euphemism for having sexual relations with someone (or in this case, some animal).
