Lives of Scripture

The mountain facing Mount Gerizim across the valley at Shechem. Before Israel entered Canaan, Moses commanded that once they crossed the Jordan, the blessings of the covenant were to be announced from Gerizim and the curses from Ebal, and that an altar of uncut stones be built on Ebal, with the words of the Law written plainly on large plastered stones (Deuteronomy 11:29; 27:1-13). Joshua carried this out after the victory at Ai: he built the altar, offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, wrote a copy of the Law on the stones, and read every word of it aloud to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women, the children, and the foreigners living among them, with half the people standing in front of each mountain (Joshua 8:30-35).