Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus (Exodus 23:33) gives a final warning before the conquest: Thou shalt not let them dwell in thy land, lest they cause thee to err, and to sin before Me, when thou dost worship their idols; for they will be a stumbling-block to thee.
The Word “Stumbling-Block”
The Targum's image is precise. A stumbling-block — mokesh in Hebrew — is a snare, the kind of small hidden obstacle that trips a walker before he sees it. Not a wall. Not a mountain. A thing low to the ground, easily overlooked, easily fatal.
That is the Torah's diagnosis of religious coexistence with idolaters in the Land. The danger is not primarily theological debate. It is cultural proximity. Over generations, your children grow up watching their children. The idols become familiar furniture. The feasts look attractive. The theology slides in without being debated.
The Shape of Failure
The history of Israel tragically confirms the warning. The Canaanite peoples were not fully driven out. Shrines remained. Intermarriage occurred. By the time of the judges, Baal-worship had penetrated Israel's own towns (Judges 2:11-13). The Torah's caution was not paranoia — it was prophecy.
The Takeaway
Some threats are too subtle to fight in the moment they arrive. They must be prevented at the border. The Torah knows the human heart bends toward whatever it sees daily. It asks Israel to curate its daily surroundings accordingly.