The first reference to Ebal in Scripture is where Moses gives the charge to the Israelites regarding the reading of the Law in solemn assembly upon their entrance into Canaan—` Thou shalt put the blessing upon Mount Gerizim and the curse upon Mount Ebal' (lleut. xi. 29). The position of the mountains is then defined : ' Are they not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell in the champaign over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh ?' This passage is not very de finite, and has given rise to considerable difference of opinion. It has been thought that the Ebal and Gerizim here referred to must have been situated ' in the Arabah opposite Gilgal,' as it is in Hebrew SaSan ;Inv:. So Eusebius and Jerome affirm. The latter says, Sunt miter)) jux ta Hierichum duo montes vicini contra se invicem respicientes, e quibus unus Garizim, alter Gebal dicitur. Porrt> Samaritan arbitrantur hos duos montes juxta Neapolim esse, sed vehementer er rant ; plurimum enim inter se distant, nec possunt invicem benedicentium seu maledicentium inter se audiri votes, quad Scriptura commemorat ' (Ono mast. s. v. Gebal). The latter arguments regarding the distance of the mountains from each other are of no weight, as the tribes were ranged, not on the summits, but on the lower slopes ; and that Ebal and Gerizim are actually meant is proved by the last clause of the verse, where it is said they are ' beside the plains (or terebinths, V6ti) of Moreh ;' which we know, from Gen. xii. 6, was at Shechem. The mention of Gilgal and Ara bah is connected with the whole territory of the Canaanitcs, and not with the immediate situation of these mountains. It is farther argued that in Josh. viii. 3o-33, where the fulfilment of the com mand is narrated, there is no reference to any journey of the people from Gilgal, where they had established their camp, to Shechem. This is true ; but then it must be remembered that only the leading events are detailed.
The selection of this spot for one of the most solemn assemblies of the Israelites was not with out a reason. When Abraham first entered Canaan he encamped on the plain of Moreh, and there the Lord appeared to him, and he built an altar (Gen. xii. 6, sq.) When Jacob returned from Haran, this also was his first resting-place in Canaan ; and here he bought a parcel of a field and erected an altar, and called it ElElohe-Israel (xxxiii. 18•2o). It is not strange, therefore, that the same spot should have been selected for the first great national assembly of the Israelites, and the renewal of their covenant with the Lord, on their taking possession of the land. The exact scene was doubtless near the
mouth of the vale of Shechem, immediately be low the highest peaks of both mountains. The vale is here about 200 yards wide ; and the roots of the mountains, though steep, are not precipi tous. The ark, with the attendant priests and Levites, was placed in the centre of the vale. Six tribes were ranged along the lower slopes of Ebal on the one side, and six along the corresponding slopes of Gerizim upon the other. Every indivi dual of that vast assemblage could thus both hear and see all that passed. Each command was read with a loud voice' by the Levites, with its an nexed blessing and curse ; to the blessing the tribes ranged on Gerizim responded Amen ;' and to the curse the tribes ranged on Ebal responded Amen.' The whole scene must have been singu larly grand and impressive (Deut. xxvii. I1, sq.) Moses also commanded the Israelites to 'set up great stones ' on Mount Ebal, and plaster them with plaster ; and write upon them all the words of this law ;' and also to build an altar there, and offer burnt-offerings (Deut. xxvii. 1, sq.) Joshua (viii. 30) relates how the command was obeyed ; and it seems from his words that the altar was not on the summit of the mount, but at the place of the assembly. In this passage the Samaritan Pentateuch reads Gerizim instead of Ebal. All critics of eminence, with the exception of Kenni cott, regard this as a corruption of the Sacred text ; and when it is considered that the invariable reading in Hebrew MSS. and ancient versions, both in this passage and the corresponding one in Josh. viii. 3o, is Ebal,' it seems strange that any scholar would for a moment doubt its correctness. Kennicott takes an opposite view, maintaining the integrity of the Samaritan reading, and arguing the point at great length ; but his arguments are neither sound nor pertinent (Dissertations on the Hebrew Text, 11. 20, sq.) The Samaritans had a strong reason for corrupting the text, seeing that Gerizim was their sanctuary ; and they desired to make it not merely the mountain of blessing, but the place of the altar and the inscribed Law.
In addition to the works above referred to, the reader may consult with advantage, Ritter, Palds tina :Ina Syrien ; Olin, Travels in the Holy Land ; Handbook for Syria and Palestine; Wilson, Lands of the Bible. —J. L. P.