Bible Places: Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal (Part One)

Location

The mountains designated as Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal are situated opposite each other in the central region of Israel in what is designated unofficially as Palestinian territory. Situated between the two mountains is the modern city of Nablus, which is the site of the Biblical city of Shechem. Shechem was also the first place Abraham stopped in Canaan. (cf. Gen 12:5-6). Gerizim and Ebal, after the conquest of Canaan, were found in the tribal allotment of Manasseh, which is in the Hill Country of Manasseh. This area was part of the northern kingdom of Israel during the period of the divided kingdom. In the New Testament, it was part of the region of Samaria. 

Geographical Significance

The mountains of Ebal and Gerizim are significant in their size. Pfeiffer adds, “ The mountains, 3084 and 2890 feet high, afford a vantage point from which the whole of Palestine can be viewed” (Pfeiffer, 31). These mountains are certainly a feature of Central Manasseh, which has proved to be a prominent location through the centuries. A high vantage point of the entire area would certainly be advantageous for those who would wish to see great views and for military tacticians. Wright mentions, 

In terms of topography, the southern and northern ends of Central Manasseh are marked by prominent mountains. On the south, the twin peaks of Gerizim and Ebal dominate the skyline. The 360-degree view from the top of Mt. Ebal cannot be rivaled. Because the summit of Ebal is now crowned by an Israeli army base, the view is restricted today to military eyes only. Fortunately, Gerizim is nearly as fine. (Wright, 156). 

The pass that lies between the two mountains remains a prominent location. God recognized this as He commanded Moses and Joshua concerning the blessings and the curses of the law. 

Old Testament History

From a geographical standpoint, one must consider the acoustics between these two mountains. J.W. McGarvey, when he visited the land of Palestine in the eighteenth century and tested the reading of the blessings and curses of the law, explains, 

But is it interesting to know that the spot chosen by God is a vast natural amphitheater, in which the human voice can be heard to a surprising distance. It has been asserted with by travelers that although two men stand stationed on the opposite slopes of these two mountains are a mile apart, they can read so as to be heard by each other. We preferred to try the experiment, in stricter accordance with Joshua’s example; so I took a position, Bible in hand, in the middle of the valley, while brothers Taylor and Frank, to represent the six tribes, climbed halfway up the slope of Mount Gerizim; and brother Earl, to represent the other six tribes, took a similar position on Mount Ebal. I read, and they were to pronounce the amen after each curse or blessing. Brother Taylor heard me distinctly, and I could hear his response. But brother Earl though he could hear my voice, could not distinguish the words. This was owing to the fact that some terrace walls on the side of the mountain prevented him from ascending enough, and the trees between me and him interrupted the passage of the sound. The experiment makes it perfectly obvious that if Joshua had a strong voice, -which I have not,-he could have been heard by his audience without the assistance of the Levites. As the space included in the two amphitheaters, I think it ample to accommodate the six hundred thousand men with their families, though of this I cannot be certain. (McGarvey, 507-508)

So with this in mind, Deuteronomy 11:29 reads, “And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt set the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal.”  Also Deuteronomy 27:11-14, 

And Moses charged the people the same day, saying, These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are passed over the Jordan: Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin. And these shall stand upon mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. And the Levites shall answer, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice, The command was given to Moses and then carried out by Joshua and the people of Israel. 

This command was given to Moses and carried out by Joshua later, as is written in Joshua 8:33-35,

And all Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges, stood on this side of the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, that bare the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, as well the sojourner as the home-born; half of them in front of mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of Jehovah had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel. And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law. There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners that were among them. 

Intertestamental History

Going into the latter period of the Old Testament, Mount Gerizim had significance again as the half-Israelite Samaritans would center their faith around this mountain. Tenney comments, “After the Israelites, returning from Babylonian exile, refused to let the mixed races of Samaria help rebuild Jerusalem (Ezra 4:1-4; Nehemiah 2:9-1; 13:28), the Samaritans built themselves a temple on Mt. Gerizim” (Tenney, 308-309). This temple would be controversial, certainly, as time progressed. After the Hasmoneans seized control of Palestine in the intertestamental period, the Maccabean, John Hyrcanus, destroyed the Samaritan temple.

Volume 2 will cover a significant New Testament event at this location.

Works Cited: 

McGarvey, J. W. Lands of the Bible.  Gospel Advocate, 1966.

Pfeiffer, Charles F., et al. Baker’s Bible Atlas. Baker Book House, 2003.

Tenney, Merrill C. The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary. Zondervan Publishing House, 1977.

Wright, Paul H. Holman Illustrated Guide to Biblical Geography: Reading the Land. B&H Publishing Group, 2020.