# Exodus 34.14 **Book:** [Exodus](/codex/exodus/) ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 12. Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: 13. but ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and ye shall cut down their Asherim > > **14. (for thou shalt worship no other god: for Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God);** > > 15. lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot after their gods, and sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee and thou eat of his sacrifice; 16. and thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters play the harlot after their gods, and make thy sons play the harlot after their gods. (Exodus 34:12-16, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 12. Be careful, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be for a snare in the middle of you: 13. but you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and you shall cut down their Asherah poles; > > **14. for you shall worship no other god: for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.** > > 15. “Don’t make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, lest they play the prostitute after their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, and one call you and you eat of his sacrifice; 16. and you take of their daughters to your sons, and their daughters play the prostitute after their gods, and make your sons play the prostitute after their gods. (Exodus 34:12-16, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 12. Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: 13. But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: images: Heb. statues > > **14. For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:** > > 15. Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; 16. And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods. (Exodus 34:12-16, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 12. take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitant of the land into which thou art going, lest it become a snare in thy midst; 13. for their altars ye break down, and their standing pillars ye shiver, and its shrines ye cut down; > > **14. for ye do not bow yourselves to another god, for Jehovah, whose name [is] Zealous, is a zealous God.** > > 15. 'Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitant of the land, and they have gone a-whoring after their gods, and have sacrificed to their gods, and [one] hath called to thee, and thou hast eaten of his sacrifice, 16. and thou hast taken of their daughters to thy sons, and their daughters have gone a-whoring after their gods, and have caused thy sons to go a-whoring after their gods; (Exodus 34:12-16, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** YHWH addressing Moses on Mount Sinai, in the covenant-renewal after the Golden Calf (Ex 32-34) - **Audience:** Moses as covenant-mediator; through Moses, the whole assembly of Israel - **Location:** Mount Sinai - **Time period:** the wilderness era, c. 1446 BC (early-date) or c. 1260 BC (late-date) ## Theological reading Exodus 34:14 is the most structurally important divine self-naming in the [*qana*](/codex/h7065-qana/)-cluster of texts. YHWH does not merely *describe* Himself as *qanna* (jealous); He identifies *Qanna* as one of His **names** (*shem*), *"whose name is Jealous"*. The naming sits in the covenant-renewal immediately after the Golden Calf episode (Ex 32-33), which functions as the canonical *paradigm* of covenant-adultery: Israel's just-ratified covenant violation through a metal substitute, the divine *qana*-response, the mediation by Moses, the partial sanction and renewed covenant. The grammar of the verse fuses two propositions: God's name *is* Jealous, and God *is* a jealous God, the attribute is not occasional or reactive but identity-defining. This naming grounds the entire OT divine-jealousy doctrine and shapes the apologetic equivocation-defeater (see [H7065 - qana](/codex/h7065-qana/) §"Apologetic deployment"): the biblical *qana* applied to God is *always* covenantal-protective-zeal in the marriage-covenant frame, never the insecure-envious-jealousy the New Atheist polemic projects onto it. ## Key words - [H7065 - qana](/codex/h7065-qana/), *qana* (Strong's H7065). The verbal root behind *qanna* (the adjective applied to God). - [H7068 - qinah](/codex/h7068-qinah/), *qinʾah* (Strong's H7068). The cognate noun; companion lexicon entry. ## See also - [Exodus](/codex/exodus/) - [Exodus 20.5](/codex/exodus-20-5/), the Decalogue *qanna* statement - [Deuteronomy 4.24](/codex/deuteronomy-4-24/), the consuming-fire parallel - [Idolatry](/codex/idolatry/) ## Quoted in **Arguments and defeaters:** - [Divine Jealousy Is Covenantal Zeal (Defeater)](/codex/divine-jealousy-is-covenantal-zeal-defeater/) **Concepts:** - [Idolatry](/codex/idolatry/) **Lexicon:** - [H7065 - qana](/codex/h7065-qana/) - [H7068 - qinah](/codex/h7068-qinah/) **Passages:** - [1 Kings 19.14](/codex/1-kings-19-14/) - [Joel 2.18](/codex/joel-2-18/) - [Zechariah 1.14](/codex/zechariah-1-14/) ## Why these four translations ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance. The four: - **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition. - **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English. - **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base. - **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff. See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.