they also resorted to a ruse, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks on their donkeys, and wine-skins, old and torn and bound up,
The people gathered at the mountains Gerizim and Ebal, on either side of Shechem, to collectively declare their loyalty to the covenant. The six tribes who gathered at Mt Gerizim answered ‘Amen’ as the blessings of the law were read. The six tribes who gathered at Mt Ebal answered ‘Amen’ as the curses for disobedience were read (33-35; cf. Deuteronomy 27:11-14).