All Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges, stood on this side of the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, as well the foreigner as the native; half of them in front of Mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of Mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of Yahweh had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel.
Having now cleared the way, Joshua led his people to Shechem, about thirty kilometres farther on. God had earlier instructed the people through Moses that, as soon as possible after entry into Canaan, they were to go to Shechem to promise their obedience to the covenant. First of all Joshua built an altar, on which the people offered sacrifices that expressed dedication and fellowship. Joshua also wrote the law of God on plastered stones, which he set up in Shechem to remind the people of the rule of life that God laid down for them in their new land (30-32; Deuteronomy 27:1-8).