Deuteronomy 11:29

Deuteronomy 11:29-30 . Put — Hebrew, Thou shalt give; that is, speak, or pronounce, or cause to be pronounced. This is more particularly expressed Deuteronomy 27:12-13 . Over against — Looking toward Gilgal, though at some considerable distance from it. Beside the plains of Moreh — This was one of the first places that Abraham came to in Canaan. So that in sending them thither to hear the blessing and the curse, they were reminded of the promise made to Abram in that very place, Genesis 12:6-7 .

(29) The blessing . . . and the curse . . . —The Targum of Onkelos says, “Those that bless,” and “those that curse.” (See Deuteronomy 27:12-13 , and Note. [1] ) [1] The other Targums say, “When they bless they shall turn their faces towards Mount Gerizim; and when they curse they shall turn their faces towards Mount Ebal.” This confirms the antiquity of the view taken in the Talmud.

Verses 29, 30. - (Cf. Deuteronomy 27:11 .) Thou shalt put the blessing ; thou shalt give ( נָתַתָּה ), i . e . give forth, utter, announce, proclaim (cf. Genesis 49:21 ; Job 1:22 [gave, i . e . uttered impiety to God]; Psalm 50:20 , gavest, didst utter, slandered. The two mountains named stand opposite to each other, with a valley between, about two hundred yards broad at the widest part, in which stood the town of Shechem, now Nablus. They were selected for the purpose mentioned, doubtless, because of their relative position, and probably also because they stand in the center of the land both from north to south, and from east to west. It has been suggested that Ebal was appointed for the uttering of the curse, and Gerizim for the uttering of the blessing, because the former was barren and rugged, the latter fertile and smooth; but this is not borne out by the actual appearance of the two bills, both being equally barren-looking, though neither is wholly destitute of culture and vegetation. That Gerizim was selected for the blessing because of its position on the south side of the valley "towards the region of light," while Ebal was appointed for the curse because it was on the north side, can be regarded only as an ingenious fancy.

In ver. 30, the position of the two mountains is defined as on the other side of Jordan , i . e . on the side opposite to where the Israelites then were, the western side; and as by the way - rather, behind the way - where the sun goeth down ; i . e . the road of the west, the great road which passed through the west-Jordan country, and which is still the main route from south to north in Palestine (Ritter, 4:293, etc.; Robinson, 3:127), passing Nablus and the two menu-rains on the east, so that they are behind it. Which dwell in the Champaign ; in the 'Arabah (see Deuteronomy 1:1 ), "mentioned here as that portion of the land on the west of the Jordan which lay stretched out before the eyes of the Israelites, who were encamped in the steppes of Moab" (Keil). Over against Gilgal ; i . e . not the Gilgal mentioned in Joshua 4:19 , which was east of Jericho ( hod . Jiljulia), nor the Gilgal of Joshua 12:23 (probably the modern Jiljulieh, in the plain of Sharon), but the Gilgal of Joshua 9:6 ; Joshua 10:6 ; and 2 Kings 2:1 ( hod . Jiljilia), to the north of Bethel, from which there is "a very extensive prospect over the great lower plain, and also over the sea" (Robinson, 'Bib. Res,' 3:138); so that the mountains by Nablus may be very well described as "over against it." Beside the plains of Moreh ; for "plains" read oaks (cf. Genesis 12:6 ; Genesis 35:4 ). Deuteronomy 11:29

Thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim - literally, thou shalt give, i. e., "give" utterance to it. On the ceremony see Deuteronomy 27:14 ff. Mount Gerizim, barren like Ebal, was probably selected as the hill of benediction because it was the southernmost of the two, the south being the region, according to Hebrew ideas, of light, and so of life and blessing. The situation of the mountains is described more accurately in Deuteronomy 11:30. The words "by the way where the sun goeth down," should run, beyond the road of the west; i. e., on the further side of the main track which ran from Syria and Damascus to Jerusalem and Egypt through the center of Palestine. This is called "the way of the west" in contrast to the ether main route from Damascus to the south which passed through the district east of Jordan. The further specifications "Gilgal" and "the plains (rather, the oaks, compare Genesis 12:6 note) of Moreh," are added to define more particularly the section of Canaanites intended. This Gilgal is perhaps to be found in Jiljilia, a large village about twelve miles south of Gerizim.

29–30 . A return to the Sg. form of address, with phrases peculiar to that form (see Deuteronomy 6:10 , Deuteronomy 7:1 ). Whether it is original here, or dependent on Deuteronomy 27:12 f. (cp. Joshua 8:33 f.), is doubtful. 29 . shall bring thee unto the land , etc.] Song of Solomon 7:1 , q.v.the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal ] The two most prominent hills on the Western Range, whether seen from the Mediterranean or from the E. of Jordan, on either side of what is not only the natural centre of Western Palestine, but the part most open to approach from E. Palestine. See the present writer’s HGHL , ch. vi., and pp. 335 ff. Gerizim lies to the S., or, according to Semitic orientation, the right hand and lucky quarter of the heavens; ‘Ebal on the N., the left or sinister quarter. But the visitor to the locality will also be struck by the sympathy between our verse and the contrasted aspects of the two hills as they face each other: the N. face of Gerizim, the mount of blessing, is the more fertile; the opposite face of ‘Ebal, the mount of curse, much the more bare. 30 . A geographical gloss similar to those in Deuteronomy 1:2 , and in chs. 2, 3, and introduced by are they not , as Deuteronomy 3:11 . beyond Jordan ] True to the speaker’s position on the E. of Jordan, so Deuteronomy 3:20 ; Deuteronomy 3:25 .

Contrast, as untrue to the speaker’s position, Deuteronomy 3:8 (part of Moses’speech), Deuteronomy 1:1 ; Deuteronomy 1:5 , Deuteronomy 4:46-47 ; Deuteronomy 4:49 (all titles), and Deuteronomy 4:41 (a historical fragment). behind the way of the going down of the sun ] Of doubtful meaning. Behind is, of course, west of (according to the orientation alluded to above). But what is the way ? It has been understood by most as the great road traversing Western Palestine from N. to S., to the immediate west of which the two mountains lie (Dillm., who quotes Ritter, Erdkunde von Asien , xvi. 658 f. = Geog. of Pal . iv. 293 ff., Driver, Marti). Steuern. proposes, by the addition of one letter, to read west of it , i.e. the Jordan, and to translate the rest in the direction of the sunsetting ; cp. the LXX ὀπίσω ὁδὸν (not ὁδοῦ ) δυσμῶν ἡλίου ‘behind (it) towards the sunset.’ Such redundance is not uncharacteristic of the deuteronomic editors. in the land of the Canaanites ] Not D’s usual name for the inhabitants of the land; see on Deuteronomy 1:7 . which dwell in the Arabah ] See on Deuteronomy 1:1 : the Jordan valley, not relevant to the position of ‘Ebal and Gerizim. The whole clause is very probably a still later addition, especially as the following clause connects naturally with that position. So, too, the Massoretic punctuation of the text implies. over against Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh ] The Gilgal , i.e. stone-circle.