Joshua 8:32

32 There, with the Israelites looking on, Joshua made on the stones a copy of the Law which Moses had written.

Joshua 8:32 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 8:32

And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of
Moses
Not upon the stones of which the altar was made, though some have so thought; but upon other stones erected in the form of a pillar, and plastered over, ( Deuteronomy 27:4 ) ; which copy of the law was not the whole book of Deuteronomy, as some, at least only an abstract of the laws in it; but rather the decalogue, as Abarbinel; or the blessings and curses later read, as Ben Gersom:

which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel:
they being witness of it, that he did what was enjoined.

Joshua 8:32 In-Context

30 Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel.

31 He made it according to the instructions that Moses, the Lord's servant, had given the Israelites, as it says in the Law of Moses: "an altar made of stones which have not been cut with iron tools." On it they offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord, and they also presented their fellowship offerings.

32 There, with the Israelites looking on, Joshua made on the stones a copy of the Law which Moses had written.

33 The Israelites, with their leaders, officers, and judges, as well as the foreigners among them, stood on two sides of the Lord's Covenant Box, facing the levitical priests who carried it. Half of the people stood with their backs to Mount Gerizim and the other half with their backs to Mount Ebal. The Lord's servant Moses had commanded them to do this when the time came for them to receive the blessing.

34 Joshua then read aloud the whole Law, including the blessings and the curses, just as they are written in the book of the Law.

Footnotes

• [a]. the stones; [or] stones.