He wrote there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote, in the presence of the children of Israel.
Mt. Ebal is the northern of the two mountains with an elevation of about 3,085 feet, and Mt. Gerizim is the southern at 2,890 feet. The order of events the writer recorded here varies slightly from the order Moses gave in Deuteronomy. Probably the order here represents what actually took place. This ceremony established Yahweh as "the God of Israel" (Joshua 8:30) in the sight of the Canaanites as well as the Israelites. It amounted to Israel’s declaration of dependence. The people offered burnt and peace offerings on Mt. Sinai when God first gave the Law to Israel. Their offering again here recalled the former incident and shows that this ceremony constituted a covenant renewal. [Note: See Adam Zertal, "Has Joshua’s Altar Been Found on Mt. Ebal?" Biblical Archaeology Review 11:1 (January-February 1985):26-42; Aharon Kempinski, "Joshua’s Altar-An Iron Age I Watchtower," Biblical Archaeology Review 12:1 (January-February 1986):42, 44-49; Adam Zertal, "How Can Kempinski Be So Wrong!" Biblical Archaeology Review 12:1 (January-February 1986):43, 49-53; Hershel Shanks, "Two Early Israelite Cult Sites Now Questioned," Biblical Archaeology Review 14:1 (January-February 1988):48-52; and Milt Machlin, "Joshua and the Archaeologist," Reader’s Digest 137:821 (September 1990):135-40.] 