Ebal and Gerizim
Mountains of Obedience and Covenant Renewal in Joshua 8:30–35
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According to Joshua 7 and 8, the Israelites were defeated by Ai and then defeated Ai. What happened in between those battles was the purging of sin from the covenant community (Josh. 7:16–26).
In the narrative flow, the biblical author tells us that after the victory over Ai, the Israelites went to the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim for a ceremony. This ceremony was a ritual of renewal, of recommitment to the covenant. But the Israelites didn’t come up with this idea on their own. They went to these mountains because Moses had told them to.
In Deuteronomy 11:29, Moses said, “And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.”
Moses doesn’t elaborate on what “setting the blessing” and “setting the curse” on these mountains would involve. Later, Deuteronomy 27:1–13 gives some more information.
Now Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep the whole commandment that I command you today. And on the day you cross over the Jordan to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and plaster them with plaster. And you shall write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over to enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you. And when you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, concerning which I command you today, on Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster. And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. You shall wield no iron tool on them; you shall build an altar to the Lord your God of uncut stones. And you shall offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God, and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and shall eat there, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God. And you shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly.” Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, “Keep silence and hear, O Israel: this day you have become the people of the Lord your God. You shall therefore obey the voice of the Lord your God, keeping his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today.” That day Moses charged the people, saying, “When you have crossed over the Jordan, these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.”
These are lengthy instructions. Basically, the Israelites are to split up and go up the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim and corporately respond (“Amen!”) to the words of the law when the law is read. Half the tribes will gather on Ebal, half the tribes will gather on Gerizim, and in the middle is the valley of Shechem. This geographical setting is a natural amphitheater. On Mount Ebal, an altar will be built and sacrifices will be offered. The Levites will pronounce the blessings and curses (see, for example, Deut. 27:14–26), and the corporate response will be both the acknowledgment of and recommitment to the covenant law.
Joshua 8:30–35 is a scene of covenant renewal, and it’s a scene of obedience. The Israelites, led by Joshua, are obeying what Moses had told them in Deuteronomy 11 and Deuteronomy 27. And given the recent defeat they experienced at the hands of Ai, a scene of covenant renewal is fitting and necessary.
So, in Joshua 8:30–35, the Israelites go the region of Shechem and to the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim. Mount Ebal is north of Mount Gerizim, and the valley of Shechem is between them. There, an altar was built and sacrifices were offered (Josh. 8:30–31). And the Israelites stood in the appropriate places in order to prepare for the reading of the Law of Moses (8:33). After writing a copy of the law (8:32), Joshua read the entirety of its words to the Israelites (8:34–35). In light of the instructions from Deuteronomy 27, we should imply that when the blessings were read, the tribes on Mount Gerizim shouted “Amen!” after each one. And when the curses were read, the tribes on Mount Ebal shouted “Amen!” after each one.
The biblical author says, “There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them” (Josh. 8:35).
The law had now been read. The covenant people had renewed their commitment to the words of God. In light of this covenant renewal, they were to continue their conquest of the land of Canaan.