Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 27:12
These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin:
Verse 12. These shall stand upon Mount Gerizim to bless the people] Instead of upon Mount, c., we may translate by, as the particle al is sometimes used for we do not find that the tribes did stand on either mount, for in Jos 8:33, when this direction was reduced to practice, we find the people did not stand on the mountains, but over against them on the plain. See the observations at the end of this chapter. See Clarke on De 27:26.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Object. In Jos 8:33, they stood over against Mount Gerizim.
Answ.
1. Both are true; they who stood upon the one mount, stood over against the other.
2. These words may be rendered beside or near to (as the Hebrew al oft signifies) Mount Gerizim, which might be over against it. To bless the people; whence it appears that the blessings also were pronounced as well as the curses, though they be not here mentioned. See Jos 8:33.
Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin were the children of the free-women, Leah and Rachel, to show both the dignity of the blessings above the curses, and that the blessings belong only to those as are evangelically such, as this is expounded and applied, Gal 4:22, &c., even to those that receive the Spirit of adoption and liberty. Joseph is here put for both his sons and tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, which are here reckoned as one tribe, because Levi is here numbered; but when Levi is omitted, as it is where the division of the land is made, there Manasseh and Ephraim pass for two tribes.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
These shall stand upon Mount Gerizim to bless the people,
widen ye are come over Jordan,…. Which was a mountain in Samaria opposite to Mount Ebal, a valley of a furlong broad lay between them y; and, according to Hillerus z, had its name from being broken off from that, they being, as it should seem, originally one mountain, and now two tops of the same; so Burchard; but others think it signifies the mountain of the mowers or cutters down a; that is, of grass or corn, being a very fruitful one; and Benjamin of Tudela says b, that in his time, on Mount Gerizim were fountains and orchards; and being such a fertile mountain, it was very proper to bless upon. Mr. Maundrel c, a late traveller in those parts, says,
“though neither of the mountains have much to boast of as to their pleasantness, yet as one passes between them, Gerizim seems to discover a somewhat more verdant fruitful aspect than Ebal; the reason of which may be, because fronting towards the north it is sheltered from the heat of the sun by its own shade; whereas Ebal looking southward, and receiving the sun that comes directly upon it, must by consequence be rendered more scorched and unfruitful.”
Josephus d says, that Gerizim was on the right hand, and Ebal on the left; which may serve to strengthen the observation of Ainsworth, in allusion hereunto, that in the last judgment those on the right hand will be pronounced blessed, and those on the left hand cursed:
Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin: these appointed for blessing were children of the mistress, or free woman, as Aben Ezra and many others have observed; the four first were the sons of Leah, and the two last the sons of Rachel, and therefore employed in the most honourable and desirable service: and who so proper to pronounce or receive the blessing as the children of the free woman, of Jerusalem above, which is free, the mother of us all that are born again, and are made free by the Son of God, and are free indeed, and are entitled to all the blessings of grace and glory?
y Vid. Maundrel’s Journey from Aleppo, &c. p. 59, 62. z Onomastic. Sacr. p. 168. a Reland. Dissert. de Monte Gerizim. p. 128. b Itinerar. p. 40. c Journey from Aleppo, &c. p. 61. Edit. 7. d Antiqu. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 44.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
12, 13. To bless to curse With the erection of the stones on which the law was written the people, in their collective capacity as a nation, were to ratify the solemn covenant. The six tribes that were to stand on Gerizim and respond Amen to the blessings were descendants of the sons of Jacob’s wives, Rachel and Leah. But Reuben, the firstborn of Leah, and Zebulun, her youngest son, were represented, together with the four sons of the handmaids of Rachel and Leah, on Ebal, where the solemn Amen to the curses was to be uttered. Comp. Jos 8:33.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ver. 12. Upon mount Gerizzim By mount Gerizzim. To bless the people, that is, by saying Amen when they heard the blessings pronounced by the priests. See ver. 14, 15. The priests seem clearly to have stood round about the ark, placed near the altar in the valley between the two mountains; and, in pronouncing the benedictions, turned towards mount Gerizzim, where stood six of the tribes; and, in pronouncing the curses, towards mount Ebal, where stood the other six; as will appear more plainly from the following scheme of Dr. Parry’s:
West
ARK
Priests. Priests. the the Levites. Levites.
South Simeon. Reuben. North
GERIZIM Levi. Gad. Judah. Asher Issachar. Zebulun.
Joseph. Dan. Benjamin. Naphtali. Strangers. Strangers. East EBAL
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Simeon. For order of tribes see App-45.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
upon mount Gerizim: Mount Gerizim and mount Ebal being only separated by a narrow valley, not above a furlong broad, what was spoken with a loud voice on the one might be heard on the other (see note on Jdg 9:7). It is probable, however, that the particle al should be rendered by, as it frequently signifies; for when this direction was reduced to practice – Jos 8:33, it seems that the people did not stand on the mountains, but over against them in the plain. But the Talmud says, that six tribes went up on each, while the priest and Levites and the ark remained beneath. Deu 11:26-29, Jos 8:33, Jos 8:34, Jdg 9:7
Simeon: Gen 29:33-35, Gen 30:18, Gen 30:24, Gen 35:18
Reciprocal: Deu 11:29 – put the blessing Psa 114:2 – General Joh 4:20 – fathers
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
EBAL AND GERIZIM
Gerizim to bless Ebal to curse.
Deu 27:12-13
I. Our redemption is by an act of Gods mighty grace and strength.We cannot add to it or detract from it, we must simply accept it. But our enjoyment of the land of blessedness is dependent on our obedience. The milk and honey of that land will only flow for those who not only write the laws out plainly, but who obey and do all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. There must be the altar and whole stones for burnt offering, setting forth our entire surrender, and there must be the feeding on the peace-offering for satisfaction and strength. What a marvellous moment that is in the history of the soul, when it first awakes to realise that it has become the Lords, not only by the purchase of His blood, but of its own choice. There is at first the deep silence, and then the intense listening for the voice of the Lord, and then the diligent obedience.
II. In every heart there are the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim, which echo back the blessings and curses of conscience. Conscience is the judgment seat of God, the great white throne in miniature. But there is no likelihood of the consecrated heart infringing any of the commands of God with which it is familiar, because it is armed with a jealous fear, and is kept by the grace of the Holy Ghost. However, it is well to bring our consciences to the test of Gods truth, as a chronometer to be synchronised by Greenwich time, that we may not unknowingly be contravening our Fathers will.
Illustration
(1) Only the curses are mentioned here. Is the reasonthat those who are under the law are under the curse; that sinners can never win blessing by their obedience; that we must wait for Christ to come and sit on the Mount of Beatitudes, pronouncing His blessings? It is well for us to test ourselves by these enumerated items. We may be yielding to more evil than we realise; and it is well solemnly to ask ourselves whether we are incurring Gods displeasure by walking carelessly in any of these respects. We may not be exposed to Gods curse, which expended itself on our Substitute, but we may be losing our peace and power.
Almost beneath the shadow of Gerizim (this mountainJoh 4:20) Jesus sat, over fourteen centuries afterwards, on Jacobs well, talking with the woman of Samaria.
(2) Charles Kingsley says: God does not curse thee; thou hast cursed thyself. God will not go out of His way to punish thee; thou hast gone out of His way, and thereby thou art punishing thyself. Just as by abusing thy body thou bringest a curse upon it, so by abusing thy soul. God does not break His laws to punish drunkenness or gluttony. The laws themselves punish. Every fresh wrong deed, and wrong thought, and wrong desire of thine, sets thee more and more out of tune with those immutable and eternal laws of the moral universe, which have their root in the absolute and necessary character of God Himself.
(3) Jehovah was the God of a lofty morality. He made His will known through His laws. All law, civil as well as religious, was divinely ordained. To break any law, therefore, was not a crime against man, but a sin against God. He was at work in the daily life of His people, and at every moment they had access to Him through the priestly oracle. The Mosaic precepts breathed a spirit of true piety and humanity far transcending anything found in other ancient religious codes. Certain distinctive features, then, belong to the religion founded by Moses, and mark it off from pagan religions. By Israel God is known not merely as powerful, but as ready to help; as the one and only God, and therefore known not as a mere local deity, like the Canaanitish Baals; as the holy and righteous Judge; as the spiritual God, who cannot be worshipped by images. In actual practice, however, the ancient Israelites fell far short of realising the religious ideal set before them by Moses, and seldom offered a pure and undivided homage to Jehovah.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Deu 27:12. Upon mount Gerizim The original words may be rendered beside or near to mount Gerizim. There were in Canaan two mountains that lay near together, with a valley between, the one called Gerizim, the other Ebal. On the sides of these which faced each other, all the tribes were to be drawn up, six on a side, so that in the valley they came near each other, so near that the priests standing between them might be heard by them that were next them on both sides. Then one of the priests, or perhaps more, at some distance from each other, pronounced with a loud voice one of the curses following. And all the people who stood on the foot and side of mount Ebal (those further off taking the signal from those who were nearer) said, Amen! Then the contrary blessing was pronounced, Blessed is he that doth so or so: to which all who stood on the foot and side of mount Gerizim said, Amen! Simeon, Levi, &c. All these were the children of the free-women, Leah and Rachel, to show both the dignity of the blessings above the curses, and that the blessings belong only to those who are evangelically free, as this is expounded and applied, Gal 4:22, even to those that receive the Spirit of adoption and liberty. Joseph is here put for both his sons and tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, which are reckoned as one tribe, because Levi is here numbered; but when Levi is omitted, as it is where the division of the land is made, there Manasseh and Ephraim pass for two tribes.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
27:12 These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and {f} Joseph, and Benjamin:
(f) Meaning, Ephraim and Manasseh.