Deuteronomy 27:2

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 27:1-10

Here is, I. A general charge to the people to keep God's commandments; for in vain did they know them, unless they would do them. This is pressed upon them, 1. With all authority. Moses with the elders of Israel, the rulers of each tribe (Deut. 27:1), and again, Moses and the priests the Levites (Deut. 27:9); so that the charge is given by Moses who was king in Jeshurun, and by their lords, both spiritual and temporal, in concurrence with him. Lest they should think that it was Moses only, an... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 27:2

And it shall be, on the day when you shall pass over Jordan ,.... Not the precise day exactly, but about that time, a little after they passed that river, as soon as they conveniently could; for it was not till after Ai was destroyed that the following order was put in execution; indeed as soon as they passed over Jordan, they were ordered to take twelve stones, and did; but then they were set up in a different place, and for a different purpose; see Joshua 4:3 , unto the land which the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 27:2

Thou shalt set thee up great stones - How many is not specified, possibly twelve, and possibly only a sufficient number to make a surface large enough to write the blessings and the curses on. Plaster them with plaster - Perhaps the original בשיד אתם ושדת vesadta otham bassid should be translated, Thou shalt cement them with cement, because this was intended to be a durable monument. In similar cases it was customary to set up a single stone, or a heap, rudely put together, where no... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 27:1-8

PART III .— THIRD DISCOURSE OF MOSES . THE COVENANT RENEWED . CHAPTERS 27-30. EXPOSITION Deuteronomy 27:1-26 . INSTRUCTIONS AS TO THE PUBLISHING OF THE LAW IN CANAAN . HAVING set forth the laws and rights of Israel with special reference to the settlement of the people in Canaan, Hoses proceeds to dwell more particularly on the sanctions by which obedience to the Divine institute was enforced. Before entering on these, however, he gives... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 27:1-8

The stones on Ebal. This chapter is significant, as letting in light on the design of the Law, and on the nature of the Jewish covenant. We see from it: 1. That the Law could not give life. 2. That it was not designed to give life. 3. That its real aim was to convince of sin, and so to shut men up to the faith that would afterwards be revealed ( Galatians 3:23 ). Three topics in these verses— I. THE ERECTION OF THE STONES . ( Deuteronomy 27:2 , Deuteronomy... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 27:1-10

Very plainly. These words, "very plainly," suggest three lines of thought. I. THEY SHOW SOMETHING THAT WAS ORDERED TO BE , viz. that the Law of God was to be written very plainly, as the permanent, standard expression of right, to which the people might appeal. It was not to be left to a floating tradition. To no such risks would God expose his teaching. There was no priesthood in Israel which had any monopoly of knowledge. The words were to be so clearly and accurately... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 27:1-10

Safeguards for obedience. The enthusiasm of Moses for God's Law is admirable, and no less admirable is his earnest desire for Israel's prosperity. That self-forgetful zeal for others' good was one main qualification in Moses to be the vehicle of God's revealed will. With singular sagacity, Moses presses into the earliest service, for the promulgation of Divine Law, the people themselves. The very stones of Canaan were to be written over with the substance of the Law, and in this way were... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 27:1-10

Law-abiding people. We have here a direction about writing, upon great stones in Mount Ebal, the words of the Divine Law. Whether this meant only the blessings and curses, as Josephus thinks, or an abstract of Deuteronomy, or only the ten commandments, we cannot tell. But the idea implied is similar to the writing of the Decalogue in stone; it was to render fixed the Law on which the national policy was to rest. In other words, it was a symbolic way of declaring that Israel will be a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 27:2

On the day when ye shall pass over Jordan ; i . e . at the time ; "day" is here used in a wide sense (cf. Genesis 2:4 ; Numbers 3:1 ; 2 Samuel 22:1 ; Ecclesiastes 12:3 ; Isaiah 11:10 , etc.). Thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster, The stones, the number of which is not specified, were to be large, because much was to be inscribed upon them, and they were to be covered with a coating of lime or gypsum ( שִׂיַד ), in order to secure a smooth... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Deuteronomy 27:2

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. read more

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