Deuteronomy 27

De 27:1-10.

THE

PEOPLE

ARE TO

WRITE THE

LAW UPON

STONES.

2. it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan--"Day" is

often put for "time"; and it was not till some days after the passage

that the following instructions were acted upon.

thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with

plaister--These stones were to be taken in their natural state,

unhewn, and unpolished--the occasion on which they were used not

admitting of long or elaborate preparation; and they were to be daubed

over with paint or whitewash, to render them more conspicuous. Stones

and even rocks are seen in Egypt and the peninsula of Sinai, containing

inscriptions made three thousand years ago, in paint or plaister. By

some similar method those stones may have been inscribed, and it is

most probable that Moses learned the art from the Egyptians.

3. thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law--It might be,

as some think, the Decalogue; but a greater probability is that it was

"the blessings and curses," which comprised in fact an epitome of the

law

(Jos 8:34).

5-10. there shalt thou build an altar . . . of whole stones--The stones

were to be in their natural state, as if a chisel would communicate

pollution to them. The stony pile was to be so large as to contain all

the conditions of the covenant, so elevated as to be visible to the

whole congregation of Israel; and the religious ceremonial performed on

the occasion was to consist: first, of the elementary worship needed

for sinful men; and secondly, of the peace offerings, or lively, social

feasts, that were suited to the happy people whose God was the Lord.

There were thus, the law which condemned, and the typical

expiation--the two great principles of revealed religion.

De 27:11-13.

THE

TRIBES

DIVIDED ON

GERIZIM AND

EBAL.

11-13. These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people . . .

these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse--Those long, rocky ridges

lay in the province of Samaria, and the peaks referred to were near

Shechem (Nablous), rising in steep precipices to the height of about

eight hundred feet and separated by a green, well-watered valley of

about five hundred yards wide. The people of Israel were here divided

into two parts. On mount Gerizim (now Jebel-et-Tur) were stationed the

descendants of Rachel and Leah, the two principal wives of Jacob, and

to them was assigned the most pleasant and honorable office of

pronouncing the benedictions; while on the twin hill of Ebal (now

Imad-el-Deen) were placed the posterity of the two secondary wives,

Zilpah and Bilhah, with those of Reuben, who had lost the primogeniture,

and Zebulun, Leah's youngest son; to them was committed the necessary

but painful duty of pronouncing the maledictions

(see on

Jud 9:7).

The ceremony might have taken place on the lower spurs of the

mountains, where they approach more closely to each other; and the

course observed was as follows: Amid the silent expectations of the

solemn assembly, the priests standing round the ark in the valley

below, said aloud, looking to Gerizim, "Blessed is the man that maketh

not any graven image," when the people ranged on that hill responded in

full simultaneous shouts of "Amen"; then turning round to Ebal, they

cried, "Cursed is the man that maketh any graven image"; to which those

that covered the ridge answered, "Amen." The same course at every pause

was followed with all the blessings and curses (see on

Jos 8:33, 34).

These curses attendant on disobedience to the divine will, which had been

revealed as a law from heaven, be it observed, are given in the form of

a declaration, not a wish, as the words should be rendered,

"Cursed is he," and not, "Cursed be he."