Joshua 8:32

32 And there Joshua wrote on the stones [a] copy of the law of Moses, which he had written, in the presence of the {Israelites}.

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 an altar on Mount Ebal for Yahweh the God of Israel,

31 as Moses Yahweh's servant commanded the {Israelites}, as [it is] written in the scroll of the law of Moses: "an altar of unhewn stones [on] which no one has {wielded} an iron implement." And they offered burnt offerings on it and sacrificed fellowship offerings.

32 And there Joshua wrote on the stones [a] copy of the law of Moses, which he had written, in the presence of the {Israelites}.

33 Then all Israel, {foreigner as well as native}, with the elders, officials, and judges stood {on either side} of the ark before the priests and the Levites, who carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. Half of them [stood] in front of Mount Gerizim, and the other half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses Yahweh's servant had commanded before to bless the people of Israel.

34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and the curses, according to all that was written in the scroll of the law.

Footnotes

• [a]. That is, Moses
• [b]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"