The Fallible Synthetic Study Bible — Deuteronomy 27:1

✦ Public-domain source — quoted & attributed⚙ AI synthesis — generated, verify

Deuteronomy 27:1–10 — The Altar on Mount Ebal. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

Moses with the elders. —Here joined in exhortation for the first time in this book. Keep. —Literally, to keep. Possibly we are intended to connect the two verses. In order to keep them, ye shall write them.

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

keep all the commandments which I command you this day; not in his own name, as being the supreme legislator, but in the name of the Lord, whom they had avouched to be their God and King, from whom he had received them.

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

The command in Deuteronomy 27:1 to keep the whole law (שׁמר, inf. abs. for the imperative, as in Exodus 13:3 , etc.), with which the instructions that follow are introduced, indicates at the very outset the purpose for which the law written upon stones was to be set up in Canaan, namely, as a public testimony that the Israelites who were entering into Canaan possessed in the law their rule and source of life.

On the grammar of שָׁמֹר as infinitive absolute standing for the imperative.

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

Moses called the council together, and summoned the body of the people to attend them at the tabernacle; where, after an earnest exhortation to observe what he had already said, and was now about to prescribe to them, he directs them, the first opportunity they had after their arrival in the land of promise, to renew their covenant with God in a solemn manner.

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Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706

In the Old Testament the words of the law are written, with the curse annexed; which would overcome us with horror, if we had not, in the New Testament, an altar erected close by, which gives consolation.

Henry reads the whole unit's structure — law inscribed, altar built beside it — as the Old-Testament shape of the gospel; a figural ✦ reading the synthesis records as commentary, not as a verbal link.

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Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Keep all the commandments I am giving you today.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

mō·šeh wə·ziq·nê yiś·rā·’êl ’eṯ- way·ṣaw hā·‘ām lê·mōr šā·mōr ’eṯ- kāl- ham·miṣ·wāh ’ă·šer ’ā·nō·ḵî mə·ṣaw·weh ’eṯ·ḵem hay·yō·wm

Word by word16 · parsed

מֹשֶׁה֙mō·šehThen MosesH4872

√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular

וְזִקְנֵ֣יwə·ziq·nêand the eldersH2205

√ zâqên — oldConjunctive wawAdjectivemasculine plural construct

wə·ziq·nê (H2205) — “and the elders.” Ellicott marks this as the first time in Deuteronomy that Moses is “joined in exhortation” with the elders. Keil & Delitzsch reads it functionally: the elders are named “because the latter had to see to the execution of it after Moses' death.” The charge is built to outlive the speaker.

יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לyiś·rā·’êlof IsraelH3478

√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

וַיְצַ֤וway·ṣawcommandedH6680

√ tsâvâh — (intensively) to constitute, enjoinConjunctive wawVerbPielConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

way·ṣaw (H6680), Piel — the intensive stem, “to constitute, enjoin.” Not mere saying but binding; the same stem governs the whole covenant-charge of Deuteronomy.

הָעָ֖םhā·‘āmthe peopleH5971

√ ʻam — a people (as a congregated unit)ArticleNounmasculine singular

לֵאמֹ֑רlê·mōr. . .H559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct

שָׁמֹר֙šā·mōrKeepH8104

√ shâmar — properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), iVerbQalInfinitive absolute

šā·mōr (H8104) — the root shâmar means “properly, to hedge about (as with thorns).” To keep the law is to fence it round, to guard it as one guards a vineyard; the infinitive absolute lends it the force of an abiding rule rather than a single act.

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

כָּל־kāl-allH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

הַמִּצְוָ֔הham·miṣ·wāhthe commandmentsH4687

√ mitsvâh — a command, whether human or divine (collectively, the Law)ArticleNounfeminine singular

ham·miṣ·wāh (H4687) — “the commandment,” singular. The Pulpit Commentary takes it as “all that up to this time I have enjoined upon you … the entire Law as given by Moses.” The whole is named as one.

אֲשֶׁ֧ר’ă·šerH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

אָנֹכִ֛י’ā·nō·ḵîIH595

√ ʼânôkîy — IPronounfirst person common singular

’ā·nō·ḵî (H595) — the emphatic “I.” Gill is careful that Moses speaks “not in his own name, as being the supreme legislator, but in the name of the Lord.” The first-person pronoun carries a borrowed authority.

מְצַוֶּ֥הmə·ṣaw·weham givingH6680

√ tsâvâh — (intensively) to constitute, enjoinVerbPielParticiplemasculine singular

אֶתְכֶ֖ם’eṯ·ḵemyouH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markersecond person masculine plural

הַיּֽוֹם׃hay·yō·wmtodayH3117

√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)ArticleNounmasculine singular

hay·yō·wm (H3117) — “today.” Benson insists the word “signifies not the space of one day, but refers to the whole time of their abode in the plains of Moab.” Deuteronomy's recurring “this day” is the perpetual present of covenant.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-commanded Moses and-the-elders of-Israel the-people, saying: Keep (infinitive-absolute) all the-commandment which I am-commanding you today.

Where the English smooths the original

שָׁמֹר֙ BSB's imperative “Keep” renders šā·mōr (H8104), an infinitive absolute, not a finite command. Keil & Delitzsch flag it: šmr, “inf. abs. for the imperative, as in Exodus 13:3.” The bare verbal noun stands like a heading nailed over the whole chapter — “Keeping … all the commandment” — before any single statute is named.
הַמִּצְוָ֔ה BSB pluralizes to “the commandments,” but ham·miṣ·wāh (H4687) is grammatically singular and articular — “the commandment.” Cambridge notes the Samaritan and LXX read the verb as plural, but the Hebrew gathers the entire law into one undivided obligation, a single covenant duty.
וַיְצַ֤ו The root tsâvâh (H6680) is the same word that returns as the participle mə·ṣaw·weh later in the verse — “commanded … am commanding.” English uses two different stems; the Hebrew binds the act and its content with one verb, framing Moses' charge as itself a commanding-into-being.

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

The stones to be set up were to be covered with lime, or gypsum (whether sid signifies lime or gypsum cannot be determined), and all the words of the law were to be written upon them. The writing, therefore, was not to be cut into the stones and then covered with lime (as J. D. Mich., Ros.), but to be inscribed upon the plaistered stones, as was the custom in Egypt, where the walls of buildings, and even monumental stones, which they were about to paint with figures and hieroglyphics, were first of all covered with a coating of lime or gypsum, and then the figures painted upon this (see the testimonies of Minutoli, Heeren, Prokesch in Hengstenberg's Dissertations, i. 433, and Egypt and the Books of Moses, p. 90). The object of this writing was not to hand down the law in this manner to posterity without alteration, but, as has already been stated, simply to set forth a public acknowledgement of the law on the part of the people

On שִׂיד H7875 — whether lime or gypsum cannot be determined; the writing was upon the plaster, not cut and then covered.

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Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

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.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

and plaister them with plaister ] A whitewash of lime or chalk, as a background for the writing in black or another colour. The practice was Egyptian, and in Egypt the climate was not hostile to the result. But such writing would not survive the winters of Palestine, where not even inscriptions engraved in limestone, but only those in basalt have endured. It is possible therefore that we have here a very ancient fragment incorporated in D.

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Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

The stones here named are not those of which the altar Deuteronomy 27:5 was to be built, but are to serve as a separate monument witnessing to the fact that the people took possession of the land by virtue of the Law inscribed on them and with an acknowledgment of its obligations.

Barnes keeps the inscribed monument-stones distinct from the altar-stones of v. 5 — the distinction Cambridge says Joshua 8:30 f. later 'confused.'

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And on the day you cross the Jordan into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, set up large stones and coat them with plaster.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·hā·yāh bay·yō·wm ’ă·šer ta·‘aḇ·rū ’eṯ- hay·yar·dên ’el- hā·’ā·reṣ ’ă·šer- Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā nō·ṯên lāḵ wa·hă·qê·mō·ṯā lə·ḵā gə·ḏō·lō·wṯ ’ă·ḇā·nîm wə·śaḏ·tā ’ō·ṯām baś·śîḏ

Word by word20 · parsed

וְהָיָ֗הwə·hā·yāhAndH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular

בַּיּוֹם֮bay·yō·wmon the dayH3117

bay·yō·wm (H3117) — “on the day.” The interpretive fault-line of the verse: Pulpit and Keil read it broadly (“day is here used in a wide sense”), Cambridge narrowly. The synthesis cannot decide it; the Hebrew genuinely underdetermines the timing.

אֲשֶׁ֣ר’ă·šerH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

תַּעַבְר֣וּta·‘aḇ·rūyou crossH5674

√ ʻâbar — to cross overVerbQalImperfectsecond person masculine plural

ta·‘aḇ·rū (H5674) — “you cross over,” from ʻâbar. The crossing-verb of the Jordan, threaded through verses 2, 3, and 4; it is the hinge between wilderness and inheritance.

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

הַיַּרְדֵּן֒hay·yar·dênthe JordanH3383

√ Yardên — Jarden, the principal river of PalestineArticleNounproperfeminine singular

אֶל־’el-intoH413

√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition

הָאָ֕רֶץhā·’ā·reṣthe landH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)ArticleNounfeminine singular

אֲשֶׁר־’ă·šer-thatH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

יְהוָ֥הYah·wehthe LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵāyour GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular

נֹתֵ֣ןnō·ṯênis givingH5414

√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular

לָ֑ךְlāḵyou

Prepositionsecond person masculine singular

וַהֲקֵמֹתָ֤wa·hă·qê·mō·ṯāset upH6965

√ qûwm — to rise (in various applications, literal, figurative, intensive and causative)Conjunctive wawVerbHifilConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular

wa·hă·qê·mō·ṯā (H6965), Hiphil — “you shall set up / cause to stand.” The verb for raising a memorial, a pillar, a covenant. These are not scattered stones but a standing monument.

לְךָ֙lə·ḵā

Prepositionsecond person masculine singular

גְּדֹל֔וֹתgə·ḏō·lō·wṯlargeH1419

√ gâdôwl — great (in any sense)Adjectivefeminine plural

gə·ḏō·lō·wṯ (H1419) — “great.” Pulpit explains the size functionally: “large, because much was to be inscribed upon them.” The greatness serves the writing.

אֲבָנִ֣ים’ă·ḇā·nîmstonesH68

√ ʼeben — a stoneNounfeminine plural

וְשַׂדְתָּ֥wə·śaḏ·tāand coatH7874

√ sîyd — to plasterConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular

wə·śaḏ·tā (H7874), the verb sîyd, “to plaster” — paired with its cognate noun baś·śîḏ (H7875). Hebrew writes “you shall plaster them with plaster,” a figura etymologica the English necessarily loses.

אֹתָ֖ם’ō·ṯāmthemH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person masculine plural

בַּשִּֽׂיד׃baś·śîḏwith plasterH7875

√ sîyd — lime (as boiling when slacked)Preposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine singular

baś·śîḏ (H7875) — the rare noun. Cambridge: “A whitewash of lime or chalk, as a background for the writing in black or another colour. The practice was Egyptian.” A monument built for legibility.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-it-shall-be on-the-day when you-cross over the-Jordan into the-land which Yahweh your-God [is] giving to-you, then-you-shall-set-up for-yourself great stones and-you-shall-coat them with-the-plaster.

Where the English smooths the original

בַּיּוֹם֮ BSB smooths to “on the day you cross,” reading bay·yō·wm (H3117) loosely. The commentators split sharply: Poole and Keil take “day” as “time” (the act came days later, after Ai); Cambridge counters that the Hebrew idiom “implies the very day on which they were crossing, and not (vaguely) the time.” The single Hebrew word holds a tension English cannot show.
וַהֲקֵמֹתָ֤ BSB's “set up” renders wa·hă·qê·mō·ṯā (H6965), a Hiphil of qûwm, “to cause to rise / stand.” The same root, in the same causative stem (tā·qî·mū), governs verse 4. English flattens a raising-up that the Hebrew makes deliberate and erect — these stones are made to stand.
בַּשִּֽׂיד BSB's “plaster” renders baś·śîḏ (H7875), a strikingly rare word. Ellicott notes it occurs “only here and in Isaiah 33:12; Amos 2:2,” where it is rendered “lime.” Whether lime or gypsum cannot be fixed (Keil); the point is a smooth white field for writing, not the chemistry.

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Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

All the words of this law - i. e. all the laws revealed from God to the people by Moses, regarded by the Jews as 613 (compare Numbers 15:38 note). The exhibition of laws in this manner on stones, pillars, or tables, was familiar to the ancients. The laws were probably graven in the stone ("very plainly," Deuteronomy 27:8 is by some rendered "scoop it out well"), as are for the most part the Egyptian hieroglyphics, the "plaister" being afterward added to protect the inscription from the weather.

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Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

The law properly so called, i.e. the sum and substance of the precepts or laws of Moses, especially such as were moral and general, as may be guessed from the following part of the chapter, where the curses pronounced against all that confirm not all the words of this law to do them are particularly applied unto the transgressors of moral laws only

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

In the clause, "that thou mayest come into the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee," etc., the coming involves the permanent possession of the land. Not only the treading or conquest of Canaan, but the maintenance of the conquered land as a permanent hereditary possession, was promised to Israel; but it would only permanently rejoice in the fulfilment of this promise, if it set up the law of its God in the land, and observed it.

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Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599

God would have his law set up in the borders of the land of Canaan, that all that looked on it might know that the land was dedicated to his service.

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Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

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).

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Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·ḵā·ṯaḇ·tā ‘ă·lê·hen kāl- diḇ·rê haz·zōṯ hat·tō·w·rāh ’eṯ- bə·‘ā·ḇə·re·ḵā lə·ma·‘an ’ă·šer tā·ḇō ’el- hā·’ā·reṣ ’ăšer- Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā nō·ṯên lə·ḵā ’e·reṣ zā·ḇaṯ ḥā·lāḇ ū·ḏə·ḇaš ka·’ă·šer Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·hê- ’ă·ḇō·ṯe·ḵā lāḵ dib·ber

Word by word28 · parsed

וְכָתַבְתָּ֣wə·ḵā·ṯaḇ·tāWriteH3789

√ kâthab — to grave, by implication, to write (describe, inscribe, prescribe, subscribe)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular

עֲלֵיהֶ֗ן‘ă·lê·henon themH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPrepositionthird person feminine plural

כָּל־kāl-allH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

kāl- (H3605) — “all.” The scope-word that drives the whole debate of the verse: all the words of which law?

דִּבְרֵ֛יdiḇ·rêthe wordsH1697

√ dâbâr — a wordNounmasculine plural construct

הַזֹּ֖אתhaz·zōṯof thisH2063

√ zôʼth — this (often used adverb)ArticlePronounfeminine singular

הַתּוֹרָ֥הhat·tō·w·rāhlawH8451

√ tôwrâh — a precept or statute, especially the Decalogue or PentateuchArticleNounfeminine singular

hat·tō·w·rāh (H8451) — “the law,” Torah, “a precept or statute, especially the Decalogue or Pentateuch.” Keil rules against both the minimal (curses only) and the maximal (whole Pentateuch with narratives): the intent is “simply the legal part of it — the commandments, statutes, and rights of the Thorah.” Whether all 613 or their kernel “cannot be decided, and is of no importance to the matter in hand.”

אֶֽת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

בְּעָבְרֶ֑ךָbə·‘ā·ḇə·re·ḵāwhen you have crossed overH5674

√ ʻâbar — to cross overPreposition-bVerbQalInfinitive constructsecond person masculine singular

לְמַ֡עַןlə·ma·‘antoH4616

√ maʻan — properly, heed, iConjunction

אֲשֶׁר֩’ă·šerH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

תָּבֹ֨אtā·ḇōenterH935

√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)VerbQalImperfectsecond person masculine singular

tā·ḇō (H935), bôwʼ — “enter.” Keil: the coming “involves the permanent possession of the land,” not mere conquest but abiding inheritance, conditioned on setting up the law.

אֶל־’el-. . .H413

√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition

הָאָ֜רֶץhā·’ā·reṣthe landH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)ArticleNounfeminine singular

אֲ‍ֽשֶׁר־’ăšer-thatH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

יְהוָ֥הYah·wehthe LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

אֱלֹהֶ֣יךָ׀’ĕ·lō·he·ḵāyour GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular

נֹתֵ֣ןnō·ṯênis givingH5414

√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular

לְךָ֗lə·ḵāyou

Prepositionsecond person masculine singular

אֶ֣רֶץ’e·reṣa landH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)Nounfeminine singular

זָבַ֤תzā·ḇaṯflowingH2100

√ zûwb — to flow freely (as water), iVerbQalParticiplefeminine singular construct

zā·ḇaṯ (H2100), zûwb — “flowing.” A participle: the land is forever flowing milk and honey, the standing formula of promise (cf. Exodus 3:8).

חָלָב֙ḥā·lāḇwith milkH2461

√ châlâb — milk (as the richness of kine)Nounmasculine singular

ḥā·lāḇ (H2461) — “milk,” the richness of the herds; with ū·ḏə·ḇaš (H1706, honey) it forms the ancient idiom of abundance threaded across Deuteronomy.

וּדְבַ֔שׁū·ḏə·ḇašand honeyH1706

√ dᵉbash — honey (from its stickiness)Conjunctive wawNounmasculine singular

כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רka·’ă·šerjust asH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPreposition-kPronounrelative

יְהוָ֥הYah·wehthe LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

אֱלֹהֵֽי־’ĕ·lō·hê-the GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural construct

אֲבֹתֶ֖יךָ’ă·ḇō·ṯe·ḵāof your fathersH1

√ ʼâb — father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote applicationNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular

לָֽךְ׃lāḵ

Prepositionsecond person masculine singular

דִּבֶּ֛רdib·berhas promised youH1696

√ dâbar — perhaps properly, to arrangeVerbPielPerfectthird person masculine singular

dib·ber (H1696), Piel perfect — “spoke / promised.” Gill anchors it: “as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee; Exodus 3:8.” The inscription rests on a prior spoken word.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-you-shall-write on-them all the-words of-the-law this, when-you-cross-over, so-that you-may-enter into the-land which Yahweh your-God [is] giving to-you, a-land flowing milk and-honey, just-as Yahweh God-of your-fathers promised to-you.

Where the English smooths the original

וְכָתַבְתָּ֣ BSB's “Write” renders wə·ḵā·ṯaḇ·tā (H3789), whose root kâthab means “to grave, by implication, to write (inscribe, prescribe).” Barnes weighs whether the words were graven into the stone or painted upon the plaster; the verb itself permits both. The act is inscription, with the permanence that implies.
דִּבְרֵ֛י BSB “the words” renders diḇ·rê (H1697, dâbâr), construct of “word/matter/thing.” Combined with hat·tō·w·rāh it is “all the words of this Torah” — and the commentators dispute fiercely how much that comprehends (the Decalogue? the curses? the whole legal corpus of 613?). The phrase is broad on purpose.
דִּבֶּ֛ר BSB renders the final verb “has promised you,” but dib·ber (H1696) is simply “spoke” — the Piel of dâbar, the same root as diḇ·rê (“the words”) earlier in the verse. The land Israel writes God's words into is the land God's word gave them; English breaks a link the Hebrew makes by repetition.

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Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

In mount Ebal - Compare the marginal references. The Samaritan Pentateuch and Version read here Gerizim instead of Ebal; but the original text was probably, as nearly all modern authorities hold, altered in order to lend a show of scriptural sanction to the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim. The erection of the altar, the offering thereon burnt-offerings and peace-offerings Deuteronomy 27:6-7 , the publication of the Law in writing, form altogether a solemn renewal of the covenant on the entrance of the people into the promised land, and recall the ceremonies observed on the original grant of the covenant at Sinai

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Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

Mount Ebal; the mount of cursing. Here the law is written, to signify that a curse was due to the violators of it, and that no man could expect justification or blessing from the works of the law, by the sentence whereof all men are justly accursed, as being all guilty of the transgression of it in one kind and deuce or other. Here the sacrifices are to be offered, to show that there is no way to be delivered from this curse but by the blood of Christ

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

The spot selected for the setting up of the stones with the law written upon it, as well as for the altar and the offering of sacrifice, was Ebal, the mountain upon which the curses were to be proclaimed; not Gerizim, which was appointed for the publication of the blessings, for the very same reason for which only the curses to be proclaimed are given in Deuteronomy 27:14 . and not the blessings

On the deliberate choice of the curse-mountain for both law and altar.

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And when you have crossed the Jordan, you are to set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I am commanding you today, and you are to coat them with plaster.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·hā·yāh bə·‘ā·ḇə·rə·ḵem ’eṯ- hay·yar·dên tā·qî·mū ’eṯ- hā·’êl·leh hā·’ă·ḇā·nîm bə·har ‘ê·ḇāl ’ă·šer ’ā·nō·ḵî mə·ṣaw·weh ’eṯ·ḵem hay·yō·wm wə·śaḏ·tā ’ō·w·ṯām baś·śîḏ

Word by word18 · parsed

וְהָיָה֮wə·hā·yāhAndH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular

בְּעָבְרְכֶ֣םbə·‘ā·ḇə·rə·ḵemwhen you have crossedH5674

√ ʻâbar — to cross overPreposition-bVerbQalInfinitive constructsecond person masculine plural

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

הַיַּרְדֵּן֒hay·yar·dênthe JordanH3383

√ Yardên — Jarden, the principal river of PalestineArticleNounproperfeminine singular

תָּקִ֜ימוּtā·qî·mūyou are to set upH6965

√ qûwm — to rise (in various applications, literal, figurative, intensive and causative)VerbHifilImperfectsecond person masculine plural

tā·qî·mū (H6965), Hiphil imperfect plural — “you (pl.) shall set up.” The plural here against the singular of v. 2 is one of the seams Cambridge reads as evidence of compilation; the synthesis records the seam without resolving its source-critical history.

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

הָאֵ֗לֶּהhā·’êl·lehtheseH428

√ ʼêl-leh — these or thoseArticlePronouncommon plural

הָאֲבָנִ֣יםhā·’ă·ḇā·nîmstonesH68

√ ʼeben — a stoneArticleNounfeminine plural

בְּהַ֣רbə·haron MountH2022

√ har — a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figuratively)Preposition-bNounmasculine singular construct

bə·har (H2022), har — “on the mount.” The setting is fixed and public, a height visible to the assembled nation (cf. v. 5–7).

עֵיבָ֑ל‘ê·ḇālEbalH5858

√ ʻÊybâl — Ebal, a mountain of PalestineNounproperfeminine singular

‘ê·ḇāl (H5858), Ebal — Barnes glosses it “the mount of barrenness … the mount of cursing,” a rare proper noun (only 8 verses in the whole canon). That the law and the altar both stand on the curse-mountain, not the blessing-mountain, is the theological crux the commentators seize.

אֲשֶׁ֨ר’ă·šerasH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

אָנֹכִ֜י’ā·nō·ḵîIH595

√ ʼânôkîy — IPronounfirst person common singular

מְצַוֶּ֥הmə·ṣaw·weham commanding you todayH6680

√ tsâvâh — (intensively) to constitute, enjoinVerbPielParticiplemasculine singular

mə·ṣaw·weh (H6680), Piel participle — “[am] commanding,” the same root that opened the chapter at v. 1. Moses' authority is restated at the moment the site is named.

אֶתְכֶ֛ם’eṯ·ḵemH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markersecond person masculine plural

הַיּ֖וֹםhay·yō·wmH3117

וְשַׂדְתָּ֥wə·śaḏ·tāand you are to coatH7874

√ sîyd — to plasterConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular

wə·śaḏ·tā (H7874) — “and you shall plaster.” Keil notes this repeats v. 2 exactly; the doublet is deliberate framing, not redundancy.

אוֹתָ֖ם’ō·w·ṯāmthemH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person masculine plural

’ō·w·ṯām (H853) — the object marker with suffix, “them,” binding the plastering back to the same stones throughout.

בַּשִּֽׂיד׃baś·śîḏwith plasterH7875

√ sîyd — lime (as boiling when slacked)Preposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-it-shall-be when-you-cross over the-Jordan, you-shall-set-up these the-stones, which I [am] commanding you today, on-Mount Ebal, and-you-shall-coat them with-plaster.

Where the English smooths the original

עֵיבָ֑ל BSB reads “Mount Ebal” — ‘ê·ḇāl (H5858) — but here the textual variant is the issue, not the translation. The Samaritan Pentateuch substitutes Gerizim, the Samaritan holy mountain. Barnes, Gill, and Keil all judge the Samaritan reading “an arbitrary alteration” to sanction the Samaritan temple; “all the ancient versions, as well as all the Hebrew manuscripts, support the received text” (Pulpit).
תָּקִ֜ימוּ BSB's “you are to set up” renders tā·qî·mū (H6965), a Hiphil imperfect plural — addressed to the many — where verse 2 used the same root in the singular (wa·hă·qê·mō·ṯā). The shift between “thou” and “ye” runs through the chapter; Cambridge calls the text “uncertain,” warning that “we can infer nothing from the changes between the Sg. and Pl. forms.”
הָאֵ֗לֶּה BSB's “these stones” renders hā·’êl·leh (H428) + hā·’ă·ḇā·nîm, the demonstrative tying these stones back to verse 2's “great stones.” The repetition is what Keil calls “a repetition in the earliest form of historical writing among the Hebrews” — the same command restated as the narrative moves from general to specific.

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Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

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

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Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599

thou shalt not lift up any {c} iron tool upon them. (c) The altar should not be curiously wrought, because it would continue but for a time: for God would have only one altar in Judah.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

no iron ] Exodus 20:25 , tool ( ḥéreb ), which would have polluted the altar. The later D’s substitution of iron is striking.

On the change from Exodus' חֶרֶב (sword) to Deuteronomy's בַּרְזֶל (iron).

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

Besides the monumental stones, an altar of whole stones, on which no tool had passed (cf. Exodus 20:22 ) was to be erected, and burnt offerings and peace offerings were to be presented as at the establishment of the covenant at Sinai, followed by the statutory festive entertainment (cf. Exodus 24:5 ).

The whole rite as a re-enactment of the Sinai covenant-ratification of Exodus 24:5 — burnt and peace offerings, then a covenant meal.

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

An altar of stones. —Rashi propounds the theory that these stones were taken from Jordan. But there is nothing to countenance this theory in the words of the text.

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Moreover, you are to build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. You must not use any iron tool on them.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

ū·ḇā·nî·ṯā šām miz·bê·aḥ Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā miz·baḥ ’ă·ḇā·nîm lō- ṯā·nîp̄ bar·zel ‘ă·lê·hem

Word by word11 · parsed

וּבָנִ֤יתָū·ḇā·nî·ṯāMoreover, you are to buildH1129

√ bânâh — to build (literally and figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular

ū·ḇā·nî·ṯā (H1129), bânâh — “and you shall build.” The altar-building verb, shared verbatim with Joshua 8:30, where the command is carried out.

שָּׁם֙šāmthereH8033

√ shâm — there (transferring to time) thenAdverb

מִזְבֵּ֔חַmiz·bê·aḥan altarH4196

√ mizbêach — an altarNounmasculine singular

miz·bê·aḥ (H4196) — “an altar,” the place of sacrifice. Its presence beside the inscribed law is, for the commentators, the whole point: word and offering set side by side.

לַיהוָ֖הYah·wehto the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular

אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵāyour GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular

מִזְבַּ֣חmiz·baḥan altar ofH4196

√ mizbêach — an altarNounmasculine singular construct

אֲבָנִ֔ים’ă·ḇā·nîmstonesH68

√ ʼeben — a stoneNounfeminine plural

לֹא־lō-You must notH3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle

lō- (H3808) — the absolute negative, “not.” A flat prohibition: no iron, no exception.

תָנִ֥יףṯā·nîp̄useH5130

√ nûwph — to quiver (iVerbHifilImperfectsecond person masculine singular

ṯā·nîp̄ (H5130), Hiphil of nûwph — “to wave / brandish / lift up.” The choice of this swinging verb (rather than a plain “apply”) is what makes the prohibition feel like a guarded threshold.

בַּרְזֶֽל׃bar·zelany iron toolH1270

√ barzel — iron (as cutting)Nounmasculine singular

bar·zel (H1270) — “iron.” The Geneva note reads the unworked altar theologically: “The altar should not be curiously wrought, because it would continue but for a time.” Plainness as a sign of impermanence and of one true altar.

עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם‘ă·lê·hemon themH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPrepositionthird person masculine plural

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-you-shall-build there an-altar to-Yahweh your-God, an-altar-of stones; not you-shall-wield iron upon-them.

Where the English smooths the original

תָנִ֥יף BSB's “use” (any iron tool) renders ṯā·nîp̄ (H5130), nûwph — literally “to wave, brandish, lift up.” The verb is the one used of waving a wave-offering or brandishing a weapon; the prohibition is vivid — no iron is even to be swung over these stones. JFB catches the force: “as if a chisel would communicate pollution to them.”
מִזְבֵּ֔חַ BSB “an altar” renders miz·bê·aḥ (H4196), from zâbach, “to slaughter in sacrifice” — the altar is literally a place-of-slaughter. The same noun repeats immediately as construct (miz·baḥ ’ă·ḇā·nîm, “altar-of stones”); the doubling weights the word.
בַּרְזֶֽל BSB expands bar·zel (H1270, “iron, as cutting”) to “any iron tool.” Cambridge notes the older law in Exodus 20:25 forbade a sword (ḥéreb); “the later D's substitution of iron is striking.” The single word iron stands for the whole world of human craft kept off the altar.

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

Burnt offerings. —The idea of these is the dedication of man’s life to God.

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

Whole stones — Rough, not hewn, nor polished, whereby all manner of imagery was avoided. Shalt offer burnt-offerings thereon — In order to ratify their covenant with God, as they did at Horeb. By the law written on the stones God spake to them; by the altar and sacrifices upon it they spake to God, and thus was communion kept up between them and God.

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

Thou shall build the altar of the Lord thy God of whole stones,.... And of such Joshua did build it, Joshua 8:31 , and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the Lord thy God; and very likely sin offerings too; for these frequently went together, the one to make atonement for sin, and the other as a gift, and by way of thankfulness for the acceptance of the former; and both typical of Christ, the true sacrifice, and the antitype of all the legal sacrifices.

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Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

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.

JFB reads the paired rite — burnt-offering then peace-offering — as 'the two great principles of revealed religion': the law that condemns and the typical expiation set side by side.

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You shall build the altar of the LORD your God with uncut stones and offer upon it burnt offerings to the LORD your God.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

tiḇ·neh ’eṯ- miz·baḥ Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā šə·lê·mō·wṯ ’ă·ḇā·nîm wə·ha·‘ă·lî·ṯā ‘ā·lāw ‘ō·w·lōṯ Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā

Word by word12 · parsed

תִּבְנֶ֔הtiḇ·nehYou shall buildH1129

√ bânâh — to build (literally and figuratively)VerbQalImperfectsecond person masculine singular

tiḇ·neh (H1129), bânâh — “you shall build.” Gill notes the fulfilment: “of such Joshua did build it, Joshua 8:31.” The command and its execution share the verb.

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

מִזְבַּ֖חmiz·baḥthe altarH4196

√ mizbêach — an altarNounmasculine singular construct

יְהוָ֣הYah·wehof the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵāyour GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular

שְׁלֵמוֹת֙šə·lê·mō·wṯwith uncutH8003

√ shâlêm — complete (literally or figuratively)Adjectivefeminine plural

šə·lê·mō·wṯ (H8003) — “whole / complete.” Benson: “Rough, not hewn, nor polished, whereby all manner of imagery was avoided.” The completeness is the absence of human shaping — the stone as God made it.

אֲבָנִ֤ים’ă·ḇā·nîmstonesH68

√ ʼeben — a stoneNounfeminine plural

וְהַעֲלִ֤יתָwə·ha·‘ă·lî·ṯāand offerH5927

√ ʻâlâh — to ascend, intransitively (be high) or actively (mount)Conjunctive wawVerbHifilConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular

wə·ha·‘ă·lî·ṯā (H5927) — “and you shall cause to ascend.” Benson reads the altar as the answering voice of the covenant: “By the law written on the stones God spake to them; by the altar and sacrifices upon it they spake to God.”

עָלָיו֙‘ā·lāwupon itH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPrepositionthird person masculine singular

עוֹלֹ֔ת‘ō·w·lōṯburnt offeringsH5930

√ ʻôlâh — a step or (collectively, stairs, as ascending)Nounfeminine plural

‘ō·w·lōṯ (H5930) — “burnt offerings.” Ellicott: “The idea of these is the dedication of man's life to God.” The whole victim ascends; nothing is held back.

לַיהוָ֖הYah·wehto the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular

אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃’ĕ·lō·he·ḵāyour GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

[Of] whole stones you-shall-build the-altar-of Yahweh your-God, and-you-shall-offer-up upon-it burnt-offerings to-Yahweh your-God.

Where the English smooths the original

שְׁלֵמוֹת֙ BSB's “uncut” renders šə·lê·mō·wṯ (H8003), but the root is shâlêm — “complete, whole, at peace, intact.” The stones are not merely unhewn but whole, the very word-family of shalom; and the same root names the peace-offerings (šə·lā·mîm) of the next verse. The wholeness of the stone and the peace of the offering share one Hebrew word.
וְהַעֲלִ֤יתָ BSB's “offer” renders wə·ha·‘ă·lî·ṯā (H5927), ʻâlâh, literally “cause to go up / ascend.” The burnt-offering is made to rise; and its noun ‘ō·w·lōṯ (“burnt offerings”) is from the same root — the ascending offering. English “offer” hides the upward motion at the heart of the rite.
עוֹלֹ֔ת BSB “burnt offerings” renders ‘ō·w·lōṯ (H5930), ʻôlâh — the whole burnt-offering, consumed entirely, “the dedication of man's life to God” (Ellicott). Named together with the peace-offerings of v. 7, the two cover the full grammar of worship: total surrender, then shared communion.

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

Peace offerings —i.e., offerings for health, salvation, or deliverance already granted. On this occasion, the passage of Jordan, and the arrival of Israel in the heart of the country, would be good ground for thanksgiving before God. And shalt eat there, and rejoice. -The peace offerings were the only kind of which the worshipper and his family might partake. They were, therefore, the natural accompaniment of rejoicing and thanksgiving.

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

this being in Ebal, where the curses were pronounced, shows that Christ, by the offering up of himself for the sins of his people, has made atonement for them, and thereby has delivered them from the curse of the law, being made a curse for them; all which is matter of joy and gladness to them.

Gill draws the joy of the peace-offering on the curse-mountain toward Galatians 3:13 — a figural reading the synthesis records as ✦ human commentary, not as a verbal link.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

peace offerings ] Heb. shelamîm , rather offerings in fulfilment of laws and vows; not elsewhere in Deut. and here representing the zebaḥîm , EVV. sacrifices , of Deuteronomy 12:6 , etc.; as the vb. here conjoined with it shows.

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There you are to sacrifice your peace offerings, eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the LORD your God.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

šām wə·zā·ḇaḥ·tā šə·lā·mîm wə·’ā·ḵal·tā wə·śā·maḥ·tā lip̄·nê Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā

Word by word8 · parsed

שָּׁ֑םšāmThereH8033

√ shâm — there (transferring to time) thenAdverb

וְזָבַחְתָּ֥wə·zā·ḇaḥ·tāyou are to sacrificeH2076

√ zâbach — to slaughter an animal (usually in sacrifice)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular

wə·zā·ḇaḥ·tā (H2076), zâbach — “you shall sacrifice / slaughter,” the verb cognate with mizbêach (altar) of v. 5–6. The place-of-slaughter receives its slaughtering.

שְׁלָמִ֖יםšə·lā·mîm[your] peace offeringsH8002

√ shelem — properly, requital, iNounmasculine plural

šə·lā·mîm (H8002) — “peace offerings.” JFB: “lively, social feasts, that were suited to the happy people whose God was the Lord.” The covenant ends not in dread but in a shared meal.

וְאָכַ֣לְתָּwə·’ā·ḵal·tāeating themH398

√ ʼâkal — to eat (literally or figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular

wə·’ā·ḵal·tā (H398) — “and you shall eat.” Ellicott: “The peace offerings were the only kind of which the worshipper and his family might partake.” The one sacrifice that becomes a table.

וְשָׂ֣מַחְתָּ֔wə·śā·maḥ·tāand rejoicingH8055

√ sâmach — probably to brighten up, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular

wə·śā·maḥ·tā (H8055) — “and you shall rejoice.” A commanded gladness; in Deuteronomy joy before God is itself an act of obedience.

לִפְנֵ֖יlip̄·nêin the presenceH6440

√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Preposition-lNouncommon plural construct

lip̄·nê (H6440), pânîym — “before the face of.” The covenant feast is held in God's sight, the curse-mountain turned, for a moment, into a banqueting place.

יְהוָ֥הYah·wehof the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃’ĕ·lō·he·ḵāyour GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-you-shall-sacrifice there peace-offerings, and-you-shall-eat, and-you-shall-rejoice before the-face-of Yahweh your-God.

Where the English smooths the original

שְׁלָמִ֖ים BSB's “peace offerings” renders šə·lā·mîm (H8002), shelem — “properly, requital.” Cambridge reads them “rather offerings in fulfilment of laws and vows,” the only sacrifice the worshipper himself ate. The root is shalom: these are peace-offerings, communion-offerings, the same stem as the whole (šə·lê·mō·wṯ) stones of v. 6.
וְשָׂ֣מַחְתָּ֔ BSB folds wə·śā·maḥ·tā (H8055) into the participle “rejoicing,” but it is a finite verb in a chain of three — “and you shall sacrifice … and you shall eat … and you shall rejoice.” sâmach is “to brighten up.” Joy is commanded in the same mood as the sacrifice; gladness is liturgy, not afterthought.
לִפְנֵ֖י BSB's “in the presence of” renders lip̄·nê (H6440), literally “to/before the face of” — from pânîym, “face.” The meal is eaten before God's face; the idiom is more intimate than “presence,” a feast in the sight of the One whose law has just been raised in stone.

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

Very plainly. —See on Deuteronomy 1:5 . Rashi says, “In seventy ( .e., in all) languages.” There is also an idea in the Talmud that when spoken from Sinai, the Law was spoken (or heard) in all languages at the same time. It is a strange refraction of the truth indicated at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given. Men spake in every tongue the wonderful works of God.

Ellicott's Pentecost link is a homiletic ✦ analogy, not a verbal connection in the Hebrew.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

very plainly ] Expressed in Heb. by two infinitives used adverbially. On that one of them which is rendered plainly, ba’er , see on Deuteronomy 1:5 . The other, meaning thoroughly or exceedingly , occurs in Deuteronomy 9:21 .

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

The injunction to write the Law on the stones is repeated, with the addition that it was to be done very plainly (LXX., σαφῶς σφόδρα : Vulgate, plane et lucide ), which shows that the main purpose of setting up the stones was that the Law might be easily known by the people (cf. Habakkuk 2:2 ).

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Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

We must note too the fact that Deuteronomy 27:15 ff set out verbatim the curses only, the blessings being omitted. The law because of man's sinfulness brings on him first and chiefly a curse: compare Deuteronomy 31:16-17 ; Galatians 3:10 .

Barnes notes that the following ceremony (vv. 15 ff.) records the curses only, not the blessings, and reads that asymmetry toward Galatians 3:10 — a figural ✦ link, not a verbal one in the Hebrew.

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And you shall write distinctly upon these stones all the words of this law.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·ḵā·ṯaḇ·tā ba·’êr hê·ṭêḇ ‘al- hā·’ă·ḇā·nîm ’eṯ- kāl- diḇ·rê haz·zōṯ hat·tō·w·rāh

Word by word10 · parsed

וְכָתַבְתָּ֣wə·ḵā·ṯaḇ·tāAnd you shall writeH3789

√ kâthab — to grave, by implication, to write (describe, inscribe, prescribe, subscribe)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular

wə·ḵā·ṯaḇ·tā (H3789), kâthab — “and you shall write,” repeating the command of v. 3. The inscription brackets the whole altar-passage: write (v. 3) … build and offer (v. 5–7) … write (v. 8).

בַּאֵ֥רba·’êrdistinctlyH874

√ bâʼar — to digVerbPielInfinitive absolute

ba·’êr (H874) — “plainly / expound.” The Pulpit Commentary links it to its purpose: “the main purpose of setting up the stones was that the Law might be easily known by the people (cf. Habakkuk 2:2).” Plain writing so that all may run and read.

הֵיטֵֽב׃סhê·ṭêḇ. . .H3190

√ yâṭab — to be (causative) make well, literally (sound, beautiful) or figuratively (happy, successful, right)VerbHifilInfinitive absolute

hê·ṭêḇ (H3190), Hiphil of yâṭab — “well, thoroughly.” The second of the paired infinitives; the doubling intensifies — written very plainly. The LXX renders the pair σαφῶς σφόδρα, the Vulgate plane et lucide.

עַל־‘al-uponH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

הָאֲבָנִ֗יםhā·’ă·ḇā·nîmthese stonesH68

√ ʼeben — a stoneArticleNounfeminine plural

hā·’ă·ḇā·nîm (H68) — “the stones.” Cambridge is careful: “Not the stones of the altar (6 f.), with which Joshua 8:30 f. has confused them.” The inscribed stones and the altar stones are, in the text, distinct.

אֶֽת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

כָּל־kāl-allH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

דִּבְרֵ֛יdiḇ·rêthe wordsH1697

√ dâbâr — a wordNounmasculine plural construct

הַזֹּ֖אתhaz·zōṯof thisH2063

√ zôʼth — this (often used adverb)ArticlePronounfeminine singular

הַתּוֹרָ֥הhat·tō·w·rāhlawH8451

√ tôwrâh — a precept or statute, especially the Decalogue or PentateuchArticleNounfeminine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-you-shall-write upon the-stones all the-words-of the-law this distinctly, thoroughly.

Where the English smooths the original

בַּאֵ֥ר BSB's “distinctly” renders ba·’êr (H874), an infinitive absolute used adverbially — from a root meaning “to dig,” hence “to make plain, expound clearly.” Cambridge: it is one of “two infinitives used adverbially.” The same word governs Deuteronomy 1:5, where Moses “began to expound this law.” Clarity is commanded as strictly as the writing itself.
הֵיטֵֽב BSB has no separate word for this — it is folded into “distinctly.” But hê·ṭêḇ (H3190), yâṭab, is a second infinitive absolute: “thoroughly, exceedingly, well.” Cambridge: “meaning thoroughly or exceedingly.” Hebrew stacks two adverbial infinitives — plainly and well — where English keeps only one. The law is to be written not just legibly but excellently.
הַתּוֹרָ֥ה BSB “this law” renders hat·tō·w·rāh (H8451), Torah — the same noun as v. 3. The command to inscribe “all the words of this law” is repeated here, last in the sequence; Keil reads the placement as emphasis: “mentioned last, as being the most important,” not as chronological order.

The Voices✦ 5 public domain

Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

Take heed. —A word used nowhere else in the Old Testament. This day thou art become the people. —“Every day His commandments shall be before thine eyes, as though thou hadst that day entered into covenant with Him.” It would seem that the passage of Jordan, which is the thing in view here, pledged Israel more completely to God’s Law than even the covenant at Sinai did.

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

The words of Moses which follow in Deuteronomy 27:9 and Deuteronomy 27:10 , "Be silent, and hearken, O Israel; To-day thou hast become the people of the Lord thy God," show the significance of the act enjoined; although primarily they simply summon the Israelites to listen attentively to the still further commands. When Israel renewed the covenant with the Lord, by solemnly setting up the law in Canaan, it became thereby the nation of God

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

Take heed ; literally, Be silent ; LXX., σιώπα , with silent attention listen (cf. Zechariah 2:13 ).

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

Keep silence ] The Heb. vb. only here; in Ar. the root, sakata = to be quiet or mute. hearken, O Israel ] Deuteronomy 5:1 . this day thou art become the people , etc.] Cp. Deuteronomy 26:18 .

On הַסְכֵּת as a hapax legomenon — the verb occurs nowhere else in the OT; Cambridge reaches to the Arabic cognate sakata ('to be quiet') for its sense.

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

The priests spake unto all Israel — They assisted Moses in pressing the people to attend duly to the meaning and design of this solemnity. Thou art become the people of the Lord — By thy solemn renewing of thy covenant with him.

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Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel: “Be silent, O Israel, and listen! This day you have become the people of the LORD your God.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

mō·šeh hal·wî·yim wə·hak·kō·hă·nîm way·ḏab·bêr ’el kāl- yiś·rā·’êl lê·mōr has·kêṯ yiś·rā·’êl ū·šə·ma‘ haz·zeh hay·yō·wm nih·yê·ṯā lə·‘ām Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā

Word by word17 · parsed

מֹשֶׁה֙mō·šehThen MosesH4872

√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular

הַלְוִיִּ֔םhal·wî·yimand the LeviticalH3881

√ Lêvîyîy — a Levite or descendant of LeviArticleNounpropermasculine plural

hal·wî·yim (H3881) — “the Levites.” The shift from elders (v. 1) to Levitical priests (v. 9) frames the two halves of the charge: the elders to execute, the priests to superintend.

וְהַכֹּהֲנִ֣יםwə·hak·kō·hă·nîmpriestsH3548

√ kôhên — literally one officiating, a priestConjunctive waw, ArticleNounmasculine plural

וַיְדַבֵּ֤רway·ḏab·bêrspokeH1696

√ dâbar — perhaps properly, to arrangeConjunctive wawVerbPielConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

way·ḏab·bêr (H1696), Piel — “and he spoke.” The same speaking-root threaded from v. 3's dib·ber; the human word now carries the divine charge to the assembled nation.

אֶ֥ל’eltoH413

√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition

כָּל־kāl-allH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לyiś·rā·’êlIsraelH3478

√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular

לֵאמֹ֑רlê·mōr. . .H559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct

הַסְכֵּ֤ת׀has·kêṯBe silentH5535

√ çâkath — by implication, to observe quietlyVerbHifilImperativemasculine singular

has·kêṯ (H5535) — the once-only verb “be silent.” Pulpit glosses it “with silent attention listen (cf. Zechariah 2:13).” A hush demanded before the most solemn declaration.

יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לyiś·rā·’êlO IsraelH3478

√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular

וּשְׁמַע֙ū·šə·ma‘and listenH8085

√ shâmaʻ — to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etcConjunctive wawVerbQalImperativemasculine singular

ū·šə·ma‘ (H8085), shâmaʻ — “and hear,” the Shema-verb, “to hear intelligently … with implication of obedience.” Silence is for the sake of hearing; hearing is for the sake of doing (v. 10).

הַזֶּה֙haz·zehThisH2088

√ zeh — the masculine demonstrative pronoun, this or thatArticlePronounmasculine singular

הַיּ֤וֹםhay·yō·wmdayH3117

נִהְיֵ֣יתָֽnih·yê·ṯāyou have becomeH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbNifalPerfectsecond person masculine singular

nih·yê·ṯā (H1961), Niphal perfect — “you have become.” Gill: not that they were not God's people before, but “now in a very formal and solemn manner they were avouched and declared by him to be his people.” A status ratified, not invented.

לְעָ֔םlə·‘āmthe peopleH5971

√ ʻam — a people (as a congregated unit)Preposition-lNounmasculine singular

לַיהוָ֖הYah·wehof the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular

אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃’ĕ·lō·he·ḵāyour GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-spoke Moses and-the-Levitical the-priests to all Israel, saying: Be-silent and-hear, O-Israel; this the-day you-have-become a-people to-Yahweh your-God.

Where the English smooths the original

הַסְכֵּ֤ת BSB's “Be silent” renders has·kêṯ (H5535), a hapax — Cambridge: “The Heb. vb. only here.” Ellicott: “A word used nowhere else in the Old Testament.” The Arabic cognate root means “to be quiet or mute.” The summons that opens the covenant-making is a word used once in all Scripture — a unique call to a unique silence.
נִהְיֵ֣יתָֽ BSB's “you have become” renders nih·yê·ṯā (H1961), a Niphal of hâyâh — “you have been brought into being / come to be.” The passive stem matters: Israel does not make itself God's people; it is made so. Keil: “To-day thou hast become the people of the Lord thy God.”
הַלְוִיִּ֔ם BSB “the Levitical priests” renders hal·wî·yim wə·hak·kō·hă·nîm — “the Levites, the priests.” Where v. 1 paired Moses with the elders, v. 9 pairs him with the priests. Keil reads the swap deliberately: the priests appear here “because it was their special duty to superintend the fulfilment of the commands of God.”

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the Lord thy God,.... In whatsoever he directs in his word, and by his prophets, and especially by his Son, eminently called the Word of the Lord: and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day

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Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599

Thou {e} shalt therefore obey the voice of the LORD thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day. (e) This condition has bound you to it, that if you will be his people, you must keep his laws.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

obey the voice ] Deuteronomy 26:17 : hearken to his voice . do his commandments and his statutes ] Deuteronomy 4:40 , Deuteronomy 6:2 , Deuteronomy 10:13 (all with keep instead of do )

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Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706

The end of the gospel ministry is, and the end of preachers ought to be, to make the word of God as plain as possible.

Henry carries the 'write it plainly' charge of v. 8 forward into the preaching task — the word made legible so it may be heard and obeyed (v. 10).

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You shall therefore obey the voice of the LORD your God and follow His commandments and statutes I am giving you today.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·šā·ma‘·tā bə·qō·wl Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā wə·‘ā·śî·ṯā ’eṯ- miṣ·w·ṯå̄w wə·’eṯ- ḥuq·qāw ’ă·šer ’ā·nō·ḵî mə·ṣaw·wə·ḵā hay·yō·wm

Word by word13 · parsed

וְשָׁ֣מַעְתָּ֔wə·šā·ma‘·tāYou shall therefore obeyH8085

√ shâmaʻ — to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etcConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular

wə·šā·ma‘·tā (H8085) — “you shall hear/obey,” closing the inclusio opened by ū·šə·ma‘ in v. 9. Hearing and obeying are one act in Hebrew.

בְּק֖וֹלbə·qō·wlthe voiceH6963

√ qôwl — a voice or soundPreposition-bNounmasculine singular construct

יְהוָ֣הYah·wehof the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵāyour GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular

וְעָשִׂ֤יתָwə·‘ā·śî·ṯāand followH6213

√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular

wə·‘ā·śî·ṯā (H6213), ʻâsâh — “and you shall do.” Gill: “In whatsoever he directs in his word, and by his prophets, and especially by his Son, eminently called the Word of the Lord.”

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

מִצְוֺתָו֙miṣ·w·ṯå̄wHis commandmentsH4687

√ mitsvâh — a command, whether human or divine (collectively, the Law)Nounfeminine plural constructthird person masculine singular

miṣ·w·ṯå̄w (H4687) — “His commandments,” the same noun (mitsvâh) that opened the unit at v. 1, now suffixed His. What began as “the commandment I command” ends as “His commandments.”

וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker

חֻקָּ֔יוḥuq·qāwand statutesH2706

√ chôq — an enactmentNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine singular

ḥuq·qāw (H2706), chôq — “His statutes,” the engraved-decree. Geneva binds the verse to the covenant: “if you will be his people, you must keep his laws.”

אֲשֶׁ֛ר’ă·šerH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

אָנֹכִ֥י’ā·nō·ḵîIH595

√ ʼânôkîy — IPronounfirst person common singular

מְצַוְּךָ֖mə·ṣaw·wə·ḵāam giving you todayH6680

√ tsâvâh — (intensively) to constitute, enjoinVerbPielParticiplemasculine singular constructsecond person masculine singular

mə·ṣaw·wə·ḵā (H6680) — “commanding you,” the Piel participle that has tolled through the whole unit (vv. 1, 4, 10). The chapter is held together by this one verb of charge.

הַיּֽוֹם׃סhay·yō·wm. . .H3117

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-you-shall-obey the-voice-of Yahweh your-God, and-you-shall-do his-commandments and his-statutes which I [am] commanding-you today.

Where the English smooths the original

וְשָׁ֣מַעְתָּ֔ BSB's “obey” renders wə·šā·ma‘·tā (H8085) — but it is the same verb as “hear” in v. 9 (shâmaʻ). To hear the voice of the LORD is to obey it; the Hebrew makes no separate word for obedience. Cambridge ties it back: “Deuteronomy 26:17: hearken to his voice.”
וְעָשִׂ֤יתָ BSB's “follow” renders wə·‘ā·śî·ṯā (H6213), ʻâsâh — “to do, make.” Cambridge notes the parallels normally read “keep” (shâmar), but here it is do: “do his commandments and his statutes.” Hearing issues in doing — the chapter that opened with šā·mōr (“keep”) closes with ‘ā·śî·ṯā (“do”).
חֻקָּ֔יו BSB's “statutes” renders ḥuq·qāw (H2706), chôq — “an enactment,” from a root meaning “to engrave / inscribe.” The word for statute is itself a word for something cut in — fitting for a chapter whose whole concern is the law inscribed in stone.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The law in stone — a kingdom's title-deed — 27:1–4, 8

The unit opens with a charge framed by a verb hung like a banner over everything that follows: šā·mōr (H8104), an infinitive absolute — “Keeping all the commandment.” Keil & Delitzsch fixes the grammar (“inf. abs. for the imperative, as in Exodus 13:3”) and reads its purpose: the law set up in stone is “a public testimony that the Israelites … possessed in the law their rule and source of life.” Ellicott presses the connection between the two opening verses — “in order to keep them, ye shall write them” — and draws the political conclusion: “Israel's title to Canaan was dependent upon their maintaining the Law of Jehovah as the law of the land.” The stones are coated baś·śîḏ (H7875), a word Ellicott notes occurs “only here and in Isaiah 33:12; Amos 2:2,” where it means “lime” — a smooth white field for writing, Egyptian in technique (Cambridge, JFB). What is to be written? “All the words of this law,” hat·tō·w·rāh — and the commentators range from the Decalogue (Ellicott) to the curses (per Josephus) to the whole legal kernel; Keil's measured verdict is that the dispute over whether all 613 commandments or their essence were inscribed “cannot be decided, and is of no importance to the matter in hand.”

ii. The unhewn altar — word and offering side by side — 27:5–7

Beside the inscribed stones rises an altar (miz·bê·aḥ, H4196) of whole stones — šə·lê·mō·wṯ (H8003), the very root of shalom — on which “not you shall wield iron” (ṯā·nîp̄, H5130, “to brandish”). Cambridge marks the verbal history: the older law of Exodus 20:25 forbade a sword, and “the later D's substitution of iron is striking.” JFB reads the prohibition figurally — the stones natural, “as if a chisel would communicate pollution to them” — and finds in the whole rite the “two great principles of revealed religion … the law which condemned, and the typical expiation.” Benson catches the dialogue most beautifully: “By the law written on the stones God spake to them; by the altar and sacrifices upon it they spake to God, and thus was communion kept up.” The sequence runs from total surrender (the ‘ō·w·lōṯ, ascending burnt-offerings, “the dedication of man's life to God,” Ellicott) to shared communion (the šə·lā·mîm, the only sacrifice the worshipper ate), ending in commanded gladness: wə·śā·maḥ·tā, “and you shall rejoice … before the face of the LORD.”

iii. Why Ebal, the curse-mountain — 27:4, with 27:13

The text fixes the site as ‘ê·ḇāl (H5858) — a rare proper noun (8 verses in the whole canon), the mount Barnes glosses “the mount of barrenness … the mount of cursing.” The companion ceremony (27:12–13) assigns Gerizim to blessing, Ebal to curse — yet the law and the altar both stand on Ebal. Keil asks why and answers with the Berleburger Bible: “to show how the law and economy of the Old Testament would denounce the curse which rests upon the whole human race because of sin, to awaken a desire for the Messiah, who was to take away the curse.” Poole says it plainly: the law is written on Ebal “to signify that a curse was due to the violators of it, and that no man could expect justification … by the works of the law.” (The Samaritan Pentateuch reads Gerizim here; Barnes, Gill, Keil and Pulpit all judge it “an arbitrary alteration” serving the Samaritan temple — see the apparatus.)

iv. Plainly, and very — the law made legible — 27:8

Verse 8 repeats the command to write, adding two adverbial infinitives: ba·’êr (H874, “plainly, expound”) and hê·ṭêḇ (H3190, “thoroughly, well”). Cambridge: “two infinitives used adverbially.” The first is a rare verb — bâʼar stands in only three verses in all of Scripture, and its two companions are pointed: Deuteronomy 1:5, where Moses “began to expound this law,” and Habakkuk 2:2, “make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.” The book that opened with Moses expounding the Torah now ends this charge by commanding it inscribed plainly; the prophet will later reach for the same scarce word. The Pulpit Commentary draws the purpose: “the main purpose of setting up the stones was that the Law might be easily known by the people (cf. Habakkuk 2:2).” The law is not hidden in a sanctuary but published on a whitewashed monument plainly and well, so that all may read.

v. This day you have become a people — 27:9–10

Now Moses is joined not by the elders (v. 1) but by “the Levitical priests” — a swap Keil reads deliberately (the priests “to superintend the fulfilment of the commands of God”). The charge opens with a word used once in all the Old Testament: has·kêṯ (H5535), “Be silent” (Ellicott: “A word used nowhere else”; Cambridge: “The Heb. vb. only here”). Then a Niphal — a passive — nih·yê·ṯā (H1961): “this day you have become a people to the LORD.” Gill is careful: they were God's people before; “now in a very formal and solemn manner they were avouched and declared … his peculiar people.” The unit closes by binding hearing to doing — the same verb shâmaʻ meaning both hear and obey — and the chapter that opened with šā·mōr (keep) ends with ‘ā·śî·ṯā (do): the law heard, the law done.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

Reading the unit under Sola Scriptura — by Scripture's own internal witness, not by any tradition's gloss — the most arresting fact is the one Barnes, Poole, Keil and the Pulpit Commentary all circle but the text states flatly: the law and the altar both stand on Ebal, the mountain of the curse, never on Gerizim, the mountain of the blessing. The blessing is spoken from one height; but the place where the law is graven in stone, and the place where blood is shed and a meal is eaten before the face of the LORD, is the cursed ground. Scripture does not here explain the choice — it simply makes it. Yet the structure preaches: where the written law would condemn, an altar of whole (šə·lê·mō·wṯ, peace-rooted) stones is raised right beside it, and the day ends not in dread but in commanded rejoicing. The same Hebrew root binds the unhewn stones (whole) to the offering eaten in fellowship (peace). The unit will not let the curse stand without an altar next to it. That is the text's own arrangement, and it is enough to test every later reading against — including the New Testament's that the curse-mountain finds its answer in One “made a curse for us.”

On Ebal the law is graven where the curse falls — and an altar of whole stones is built within reach of it. (an interpretive line, not Scripture)

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The rare word "plaster" — only three verses in Scripture verbal / quotation — confirmed

The noun sîyd (H7875), “plaster / lime,” with which the stones are coated (v. 2, 4), is one of the rarest words in the Hebrew Bible. Ellicott names its entire range: “only here and in Isaiah 33:12; Amos 2:2.” The Verifier confirms the lexeme occurs in just 4 verses canon-wide — a genuinely rare shared word. In Isaiah and Amos it appears in oracles of judgment (peoples “burned to lime”), so the same material that here forms a clean white field for God's written law there marks the calcining of the wicked. The link is lexical and rare, not a quotation of one passage by another.

Isaiah 33:12 · Amos 2:1

basis: shared rare lexeme H7875 sîyd (occurs in only 4 verses canon-wide; Verifier: low-frequency Hebrew↔Hebrew verbal link)

The altar built and the law written on Ebal — fulfilled in Joshua structural / thematic — confirmed

The commands of this unit — build (bânâh, H1129) an altar (mizbêach, H4196) of stones (ʼeben, H68) on Ebal (ʻÊybâl, H5858), and write (kâthab, H3789) on them the law (tôwrâh, H8451) — are carried out almost word-for-word in Joshua 8:30–35. Ellicott cross-references it directly: “For the fulfilment of this precept, see Joshua 8:32-35.” The Verifier records the altar-command sharing ʻÊybâl + bânâh + mizbêach with Joshua 8:30, the writing-command sharing kâthab + tôwrâh + ʼeben with Joshua 8:31–32, and — tellingly — Joshua 8:33 reuniting the very cast of this unit: Moses' two sets of partners reappear, the elders (zâqên, H2205, of v. 1) and the Levites (Lêvîyîy, H3881) and priests (kôhên, H3548, of v. 9), standing on either side of the ark at Ebal. Because the shared lexemes are common ones (each in 200–340+ verses), this is a structural fulfilment-link, not a rare-word quotation — but it is an unusually dense and deliberate one.

Joshua 8:30 · Joshua 8:31 · Joshua 8:33

basis: shared lexemes H5858 ʻÊybâl, H1129 bânâh, H4196 mizbêach (Josh 8:30); H3789 kâthab, H8451 tôwrâh, H68 ʼeben (Josh 8:31); H2205 zâqên + H3881 Lêvîyîy + H3548 kôhên (Josh 8:33, reuniting the elders of v. 1 and the Levitical priests of v. 9). Common lexemes → structural fulfilment, not verbal quotation.

Ebal, the mountain named twice in this chapter verbal / quotation — confirmed

The proper noun ʻÊybâl (H5858) ties this altar-command (v. 4) to the blessing-and-curse ceremony later in the same chapter (v. 13), where Ebal is assigned to the curse, and back to Deuteronomy 11:29, where the two mountains were first paired. Ebal is a strikingly rare name — only 8 verses in the whole canon, several of them genealogies (1 Chronicles 1; Genesis 36). The Verifier confirms the shared lexeme; within the legal ceremony its repetition is verbal and pointed.

Deuteronomy 27:13 · Deuteronomy 11:29

basis: shared rare proper noun H5858 ʻÊybâl (in only 8 vv canon-wide) carries the verbal tier; H2022 har (freq 486) co-occurs but is common and does not itself establish the link. Verifier-confirmed Hebrew↔Hebrew, within the same ceremony

The unhewn altar — the older law of Exodus 20:25 structural / thematic — confirmed

The prohibition “not you shall wield iron” (nûwph over the ʼeben of the mizbêach you bânâh) restates the altar-law of Exodus 20:25 (“If you make an altar of stones, do not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you profane it”). Cambridge marks the one verbal change: Exodus forbids a sword (ḥéreb), Deuteronomy forbids iron (barzel) — “the later D's substitution of iron is striking.” The Verifier confirms the shared lexemes nûwph, ʼeben, mizbêach, bânâh; the link is a restatement of one statute, structural rather than a fresh quotation.

Exodus 20:25

basis: shared lexemes H5130 nûwph, H68 ʼeben, H4196 mizbêach, H1129 bânâh (Verifier); a restatement of the altar-law with D's lexical change חֶרֶב→בַּרְזֶל

"A land flowing with milk and honey" — the standing promise-formula structural / thematic — confirmed

Verse 3's “a land flowing (zûwb, H2100) with milk (châlâb, H2461) and honey (dᵉbash, H1706)” is the fixed covenant idiom of the promised inheritance, recurring across Deuteronomy 6:3; 11:9 and into the prophets at Jeremiah 11:5, and tracing back to the burning-bush oath. Gill anchors it there: “as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee; Exodus 3:8.” The Verifier shares all three lexemes — each moderately uncommon (41/44/54 verses) and almost always co-occurring — and on that ground labels the link verbal. The synthesis under-claims it deliberately: this is a stock formula repeated some twenty times across the Pentateuch and prophets, not one passage quoting another, so it is tiered a recurring thematic refrain rather than a quotation.

Deuteronomy 6:3 · Deuteronomy 11:9 · Jeremiah 11:5

basis: shared lexemes H2100 zûwb, H2461 châlâb, H1706 dᵉbash (Verifier labels the triad 'verbal' on rarity 41/44/54 vv). Editorially downgraded to thematic: this is a fixed promise-formula recurring ~20× canon-wide, not a one-to-one quotation.

"Make it plain" — the rare verb shared with Deuteronomy 1:5 and Habakkuk 2:2 verbal / quotation — confirmed

The doubled charge to write “very plainly” (ba·’êr, H874, v. 8) hangs on a strikingly rare verb: bâʼar occurs in only three verses in the whole Hebrew Bible. The other two are Deuteronomy 1:5, where Moses “began to expound (bêʼêr) this law (tôwrâh),” and Habakkuk 2:2, “Write (kâthab) the vision and make it plain (bâʼar) on tablets, that he may run who reads it.” The same hand that opened Deuteronomy expounding the Torah now commands it inscribed plainly on stone; the prophet later borrows the very word for the writing of God's word so that it can be run-and-read. Cambridge and Ellicott both cross-reference Deuteronomy 1:5 here; the Pulpit Commentary cites Habakkuk 2:2. The Verifier confirms the shared lexeme is genuinely low-frequency (3 verses canon-wide) — a rare verbal link, not merely a thematic one.

Deuteronomy 1:5 · Habakkuk 2:2

basis: shared rare lexeme H874 bâʼar ("make plain / expound"), in only 3 verses canon-wide (Deut 1:5; 27:8; Hab 2:2); Verifier: low-frequency Hebrew↔Hebrew verbal link. Deut 1:5 also shares H8451 tôwrâh; Hab 2:2 also shares H3789 kâthab.

No iron on God's stones — the unhewn altar and Solomon's silent temple structural / thematic — confirmed

The prohibition that no iron (barzel, H1270) be wielded over the altar-stones (v. 5) reappears as a governing principle at the building of the temple itself: 1 Kings 6:7, “The house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron (barzel) heard in the house, while it was in building.” Both texts keep the cutting-tool off the stones that bear God's worship — the altar and then the sanctuary built (bânâh, H1129) of stone (ʼeben, H68). The Verifier records the shared lexemes barzel, ʼeben, bânâh; because these are common words and 1 Kings makes no quotation-claim, the link is the shared motif — human iron silenced where God is worshipped — not a verbal quotation.

1 Kings 6:7

basis: shared lexemes H1270 barzel, H68 ʼeben, H1129 bânâh (Verifier; all common, freq 70/239/344). A shared motif — no iron tool on the stones of God's worship — tiered structural, not verbal quotation.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

Christ the unhewn cornerstone — the altar no iron touched ancient/widely-held

Matthew Henry reads the altar of whole, unhewn stones (šə·lê·mō·wṯ, H8003; no barzel wielded) toward Christ: “Christ, our Altar, is a stone cut out of the mountain without hands, refused by the builders, as having no form or comeliness, but accepted of God the Father, and made the Head of the corner.” The figure draws together Daniel 2's stone cut without hands and Psalm 118's rejected stone. Gill reads the same way — the altar “of rough unhewn stones was a type of him in his human nature … no iron tool being to be lifted up on them, may signify that nothing of man's is to be added to the sacrifice and satisfaction of Christ.” This is an ancient and widely-held typology of the unworked altar-stone.

Deuteronomy 27:5 · Deuteronomy 27:6

The law on the curse-mountain, and One made a curse ancient/widely-held

That the written law and the sacrificial altar both stand on Ebal, the curse-mountain, is read by Poole, Benson and Gill toward Galatians 3:13. Poole: the law is on Ebal “to signify that a curse was due to the violators of it … and that there is no way to be delivered from this curse but by the blood of Christ … and by Christ's being made a curse for us, Galatians 3:13.” Gill: the joy of the peace-offering on the curse-mountain shows “that Christ, by the offering up of himself … has delivered them from the curse of the law, being made a curse for them.” This is a cross-Testament figural reading (Greek↔Hebrew): the Verifier finds no shared original-language lexeme, so it cannot be a verbal link — it is typological, argued from the structure (law + altar on the curse-mountain), and it is the ancient and widely-held Reformation reading.

Deuteronomy 27:4 · Deuteronomy 27:7

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
Keil & Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1860s)
Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Ebal vs. Gerizim (v. 4). The Samaritan Pentateuch reads Gerizim where the Masoretic Text and all other ancient versions read Ebal. Barnes, Gill, Keil (citing Gesenius and Verschuir) and the Pulpit Commentary judge the Samaritan reading “an arbitrary alteration” introduced to favor the Samaritan temple on Gerizim; the synthesis follows the received text (BSB) while recording that this is a genuine, disputed textual variant, not a settled point.

Source-critical seams. The Cambridge Bible reads vv. 1–10 as “a compilation from different sources,” treating 27:2–3 and 27:4, 8 as doublets and noting the shifting singular/plural address (“thou”/“ye”) and the swap of elders (v. 1) for Levitical priests (v. 9). The synthesis records these seams as the commentators describe them; it takes no position on the documentary hypotheses (D, E, the Steuernagel analysis) underlying them, which lie outside what the sourced parses establish.

What was written (vv. 3, 8). The phrase “all the words of this law” is read variously as the Decalogue (Ellicott), the curses (per Josephus), or the whole legal kernel (Keil, Pulpit). The Hebrew (kāl diḇrê hat·tō·w·rāh) does not specify, and no inscribed stones survive; Cambridge notes such plaster-writing “would not survive the winters of Palestine.” The synthesis records the range without claiming to resolve it.

Galatians 3:13 (christ). The link from Ebal's curse to Christ “made a curse for us” is a typological, cross-Testament reading (Greek↔Hebrew) and shares no Strong's lexeme with this unit; per the rules it is tiered typological/argued, never “verbal.” It is recorded as the ancient Reformation reading, to be tested, not asserted as a lexical fact.

Two tier decisions (threads). The charge to write “very plainly” (bâʼar, H874, v. 8) was upgraded to a verbal link: the Verifier shows the root occurs in only three verses canon-wide (Deuteronomy 1:5; 27:8; Habakkuk 2:2) — a genuinely rare shared lexeme, which the commentators themselves cross-reference. Conversely, “a land flowing with milk and honey” (v. 3) was downgraded to thematic though the Verifier's rarity-test labels its lexeme-triad verbal: it is a fixed promise-formula recurring some twenty times across the canon, not one passage quoting another, and the synthesis prefers to under-claim. The 1 Kings 6:7 motif-link (no iron on God's stones) rests on common lexemes and is tiered structural.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)