Ebal, Mount

Narrator: Chris Genthree
 •  1 min. read  •  grade level: 9
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Mountain in Ephraim from which were proclaimed the curses that would fall upon Israel if they disobeyed the Lord. Great stones covered with plaster, on which the law was written, were set up on this mount. Thus the law and the curse were associated with the same mountain (Deut. 11:2929And it shall come to pass, when the Lord thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal. (Deuteronomy 11:29); Deut. 27:4, 134Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster. (Deuteronomy 27:4)
13And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. (Deuteronomy 27:13)
); but along with these Joshua also erected an altar unto the Lord God of Israel, before the blessings on Gerizim and the curses on Ebal were rehearsed (Josh. 8:30, 3330Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in mount Ebal, (Joshua 8:30)
33And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. (Joshua 8:33)
). Parties of travelers often separate themselves, some going up mount Ebal, and others on mount Gerizim, and prove that the congregation in the valley could hear the voice from both mountains. Mount Ebal is now called Jebel Eslamiyeh, 32° 14' N, 35° 16' E. Its highest point is 3077 feet. See map of SAMARIA.