---
title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Deuteronomy 27"
description: "CHAPTER 27   :-. 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"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/deuteronomy/27"
---

CHAPTER 27

. 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 ([Joshua 8:34](../../../kjv/joshua/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.
. 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 ). 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 ). 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."

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/deuteronomy/27#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/images/missing.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/images/missing.jpg","width":640,"height":370,"caption":"Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Deuteronomy 27"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/deuteronomy/27#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/deuteronomy/27","name":"Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Deuteronomy 27","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/deuteronomy/27#primaryimage"},"datePublished":null,"dateModified":null,"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"CHAPTER 27   :-. THE PEOPLE\nARE TO WRITE\nTHE LAW UPON\nSTONES. 2. it shall be on the day when ye\nshall pass over Jordan—\"Day\" is often put for \"time\";\nand","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/deuteronomy/27#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/deuteronomy/27"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/deuteronomy/27#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries","name":"Commentaries"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible","name":"Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/deuteronomy","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/deuteronomy","name":"Deuteronomy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/deuteronomy/27","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/deuteronomy/27","name":"27"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]}
```