# Mount Ebal

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Mountain in the West Bank

"Ebal" redirects here. For the California high school athletic league, see [East Bay Athletic League](/source/East_Bay_Athletic_League).

Ebal View of Mount Ebal Highest point Elevation 935 m (3,068 ft) Coordinates 32°14′02″N 35°16′24″E / 32.234°N 35.2733°E / 32.234; 35.2733 Geography Ebal Location of Mount Ebal within Palestine Show map of State of Palestine Ebal Location of Nablus within the West Bank, Palestine Show map of the West Bank

**Mount Ebal** ([Hebrew](/source/Hebrew_language): הַר עֵיבָל, [romanized](/source/Romanization_of_Hebrew): *Har ʿĒḇāl*; [Arabic](/source/Arabic_language): جَبَل عَيْبال, [romanized](/source/Romanization_of_Arabic): *Jabal ʿAybāl*) is one of the two mountains near the city of [Nablus](/source/Nablus) ([biblical](/source/Bible) *[Shechem](/source/Shechem)*) in the [West Bank](/source/West_Bank), and forms the northern side of the valley in which Nablus is situated, the southern side being formed by [Mount Gerizim](/source/Mount_Gerizim).[1] The mountain is one of the highest peaks in the West Bank and rises to 935 m (3,068 ft) above [sea level](/source/Sea_level), some 60 m (200 ft) higher than Mount Gerizim.[2] Mount Ebal is approximately 17 km2 (6.6 sq mi) in area,[2] and is composed primarily of limestone.[3] The slopes of the mountain contain several large caverns which were probably originally quarries,[3] and at the base towards the north are several tombs.[4]

View of Mount Ebal from the city of Nablus

## Biblical account

In advance of the [Israelites](/source/Israelites)' entry to the [Promised Land](/source/Promised_Land), [Deuteronomy 11:29](https://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0511.htm#29) records [Moses](/source/Moses)' direction that "when the Lord your God has brought you into the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal".

In the [Masoretic Text](/source/Masoretic_Text) and the [Septuagint](/source/Septuagint) version of [Deuteronomy](/source/Deuteronomy) 27, an instruction is given to build an [altar](/source/Altar_(Bible)) on Mount Ebal, constructed from natural (rather than cut) stones, to place stones there and whiten them with lime,[5][4] to make [peace offerings on the altar](/source/Korban), eat there, and write the words of *this law* on the stone.[6] According to the [Samaritan Pentateuch](/source/Samaritan_Pentateuch) and a [Qumran](/source/Qumran) fragment, this instruction actually concerns [Mount Gerizim](/source/Mount_Gerizim), which the [Samaritans](/source/Samaritan) view as a holy site;[7][8] some scholars believe that the Samaritan version is probably more accurate in this respect, the compilers of the masoretic text and authors of the Septuagint being likely to be biased against the Samaritans.[7] Recent [Dead Sea Scrolls](/source/Dead_Sea_Scrolls) work supports the accuracy of the Samaritan Pentateuch's designation of Mount Gerizim rather than Mount Ebal as the sacred site.[9] A study published in 2018 asserts that the Mt. Gerizim reading is older than that referring to Mt. Ebal, which likely represents a later, polemical revision."[10]

An instruction immediately subsequent to this orders that, once this is done, the Israelites should split into two groups, one to stay on Mount Ebal and pronounce curses, while the other goes to Mount Gerizim and pronounces blessings.[11] The tribes of [Simeon](/source/Tribe_of_Simeon), [Levi](/source/Tribe_of_Levi), [Judah](/source/Tribe_of_Judah), [Issachar](/source/Tribe_of_Issachar), [Joseph](/source/Tribe_of_Joseph) and [Benjamin](/source/Tribe_of_Benjamin) were to be sent to Gerizim, while those of [Reuben](/source/Tribe_of_Reuben), [Gad](/source/Tribe_of_Gad), [Asher](/source/Tribe_of_Asher), [Zebulun](/source/Tribe_of_Zebulun), [Dan](/source/Tribe_of_Dan) and [Naphtali](/source/Tribe_of_Naphtali), were to remain on Ebal.[11] No attempts to explain this division of tribes either by their Biblical [ethnology](/source/Ethnology) or by their geographical distribution have been generally accepted in academic circles.[7]

The text goes on to list twelve curses, which were to be pronounced by the [Levite](/source/Levite) priesthood and answered by the people with *[Amen](/source/Amen)*.[12] These *curses* heavily resemble laws (e.g. *cursed be he who removes his neighbour's landmark*), and they are not followed by a list of blessings described in a similarly liturgical framework; scholars believe that these more likely represent what was written on the stones, and that the later list of six explicit blessings,[13] six near-corresponding explicit curses,[14] were originally in this position in the text.[7] The present position of these explicit blessings and curses, within a larger narrative of promise, and a far larger narrative of threat (respectively), is considered to have been an editorial decision for the post-exilic second version of Deuteronomy (*Dtr2*), to reflect the [deuteronomist](/source/Deuteronomist)'s worldview after the [Babylonian exile](/source/Babylonian_Captivity) had occurred.[7]

In the [Book of Joshua](/source/Book_of_Joshua), after the Battle of [Ai](/source/Ai_(Bible)), Joshua built an altar of unhewn stones there, the Israelites then made peace offerings on it, the *[Law of Moses](/source/Law_of_Moses)* was written onto the stones, and the Israelites split into the two groups specified in Deuteronomy and pronounced blessings and cursings as instructed there.[15] There is some debate between [textual scholars](/source/Textual_criticism) as to whether this incident in Joshua is one account or spliced together two different accounts, where one account refers to Joshua building an altar, and making sacrifices on it, while the other account refers to Joshua placing large stone slabs there that had been whitened with lime and then had the *[Torah](/source/Torah)* inscribed on them.[16] Either way there is general agreement that the sources of Joshua predate Deuteronomy, and hence that the order to build the altar and make the inscription is likely based on these actions in the sources of Joshua, rather than the other way round, possibly to provide an [aetiology](/source/Aetiology) for the site acceptable to the deuteronomist's theology.[17]

Much later in the Book, when Joshua was old and dying, he gathered the people together at [Shechem](/source/Shechem), and gave a farewell speech, and then wrote *these words in the book of the Torah of God, and took a great stone, and set it under the doorpost which is in the sanctuary of the Lord*.[18] Depending on the way in which the sources of Joshua were spliced together, this may just be another version of the earlier narrative of Joshua placing the whitened stones slabs with the *Torah* inscribed on them, and some scholars believe that this narrative may have originally been in an earlier location within the Book of Joshua.[7]

In the Biblical narrative, the *[terebinth](/source/Terebinth)*, seemingly next to the sanctuary, was evidently in existence as early as the time of the [Patriarchs](/source/Biblical_Patriarchs), as [Jacob](/source/Jacob) is described in the [Book of Genesis](/source/Book_of_Genesis) as having buried the [idols](/source/Cult_image) of *strange gods* (belonging to his uncle [Laban](/source/Laban_(Bible))) beneath it.[19] According to a [midrash](/source/Midrash), one of these idols, in the shape of a [dove](/source/Dove), was later recovered by the Samaritans, and used in their worship on Mount Gerizim.[20]

[Tel Aviv](/source/Tel_Aviv), the [Gush Dan](/source/Gush_Dan) metropolitan area and the [Mediterranean Sea](/source/Mediterranean_Sea) as seen from Mount Ebal

## Archaeology

### Mount Ebal site (Northern el-Burnat)

Main article: [Mount Ebal site](/source/Mount_Ebal_site)

In 1980, a structure on Mount Ebal was discovered by Israeli archaeologist [Adam Zertal](/source/Adam_Zertal) during the [Manasseh Hill Country Survey](/source/Manasseh_Hill_Country_Survey).[21] The [University of Haifa](/source/University_of_Haifa) and the [Israel Exploration Society](/source/Israel_Exploration_Society) excavated the structure over eight seasons from 1982 to 1989, and uncovered [scarabs](/source/Scarab_(artifact)), seals, and animal bones dating to the [Iron Age I](/source/Iron_Age_in_Israel) period.[21] Today, most archeologists agree that the structure was a site of an early [Israelite](/source/Israelites) [cultic activity](/source/Place_of_worship).[22] Zertal suggested that the structure was possibly the [altar](/source/Altar) described in the [Book of Joshua](/source/Book_of_Joshua) as where [Joshua](/source/Joshua) built an altar to [Yahweh](/source/Yahweh) and renewed the [Covenant](/source/Mosaic_covenant) in a large ceremony. This identification has been disputed by a number of archaeologists.[23][24]

In February 2021 a portion of the site was destroyed by the [Palestinian Authority](/source/Palestinian_National_Authority) and the stones were ground up and used to pave the road.[25]

The structure on Mount Ebal

### Western sites

The higher part of the mountain, on the west, contains the ruins of massive walls called *Al-Kal'ah*, and east of this, a site called *Kunaisah*.[20]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Photograph of the southern face of the mountain](http://biblicalstudies.info/top10/ebal-from-east-tb.gif)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Sturgis_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Sturgis_2-1) [Matthew Sturgis](/source/Matthew_Sturgis), *It Ain't Necessarily So*, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-7472-4510-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7472-4510-X)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Cheyne_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Cheyne_3-1) Cheyne and Black, *[Encyclopedia Biblica](/source/Encyclopedia_Biblica)*

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Jewish_Encyclopedia_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Jewish_Encyclopedia_4-1) *[Jewish Encyclopedia](/source/Jewish_Encyclopedia)*

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Deuteronomy 27:4–6](https://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0527.htm#4)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Deuteronomy 27:4–8,29](https://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0527.htm#4)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Peake_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Peake_7-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Peake_7-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Peake_7-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Peake_7-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-Peake_7-5) *Peake's Commentary on the Bible*

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Ulrich, Eugene (2015-05-20). [*The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Developmental Composition of the Bible*](https://books.google.com/books?id=riNKCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA221). BRILL. p. 221. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-90-04-29603-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-90-04-29603-9).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Charlesworth, James H. ["The Discovery of an Unknown Dead Sea Scroll: The Original Text of Deuteronomy 27?"](http://blogs.owu.edu/magazine/2012/07/16/the-discovery-of-an-unknown-dead-sea-scroll-the-original-text-of-deuteronomy-27/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20151126051707/http://blogs.owu.edu/magazine/the-discovery-of-an-unknown-dead-sea-scroll-the-original-text-of-deuteronomy-27/) 2015-11-26 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) *OWU Magazine*; 2012/07/16

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Nihan_10-0)** Christophe Nihan; Herve Gonzalez (9 July 2018). ["Competing Attitudes toward Samaria in Chronicles and Second Zechariah"](https://books.google.com/books?id=KotsDwAAQBAJ&dq=Dead+Sea+Scrolls+Samaritan+Pentateuch+Mount+Gerizim+Mount+Ebal+altar&pg=PA98). In Kartvelt, Magnar; Knoppers, Gary N. (eds.). *The Bible, Qumran, and the Samaritans*. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 98. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-3-11-058141-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-3-11-058141-6).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Deu_27_11_13_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Deu_27_11_13_11-1) Deuteronomy 27:11-13

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Deuteronomy 27:15–26

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Deuteronomy 28:3–6

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Deuteronomy 28:16–19

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Joshua 8:31-35

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** *Jewish Encyclopedia*

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** [Richard Elliott Friedman](/source/Richard_Elliott_Friedman), *Who wrote the Bible*; *Jewish Encyclopedia*, *Book of Joshua*, *Deuteronomy*

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** Joshua 24:1-27

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** [Genesis 35:4](http://bible.cc/genesis/35-4.htm)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ReferenceB_20-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ReferenceB_20-1) Jewish Encyclopedia

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_21-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_21-1) Hawkins, Ralph K. (2012). [*The Iron Age I Structure on Mt. Ebal: Excavation and Interpretation*](https://books.google.com/books?id=dzRULwEACAAJ). Eisenbrauns. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-57506-243-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-57506-243-3).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** Killebrew, Ann E. (2005). [*Biblical Peoples and Ethnicity: An Archaeological Study of Egyptians, Canaanites, and Early Israel, 1300-1100 B.C.E.*](https://books.google.com/books?id=VtAmmwapfVAC&pg=PA160) Society of Biblical Lit. p. 160. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-58983-097-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-58983-097-4). ... the consensus today tends to support the cultic interpretation of this early Iron I site, if not the biblical one (see Mazar 1990a, 348–50; Coogan 1987; 1990; Zevit 2001, 196–201).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Ulrich_23-0)** Ulrich, Eugene (14 April 2015). [*The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Developmental Composition of the Bible*](https://books.google.com/books?id=riNKCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA61). BRILL. p. 61. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-90-04-29603-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-90-04-29603-9). Retrieved 14 July 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-24)** Antti Laato (2014). ["The Cult Site on Mount Ebal: A Biblical Tradition Rewritten and Reinterpreted"](https://www.academia.edu/11077633). In Koskenniemi, Erkki; Vos, Jacobus Cornelis de (eds.). *Holy Places and Cult*. Pennsylvania State University Press. p. 55. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-952-12-3046-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-952-12-3046-2). Retrieved 14 July 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-25)** Lazaroff, Tovah (10 February 2021). ["Prophet Joshua's Mount Ebal altar site harmed by Palestinian road work"](https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/joshuas-mount-ebal-altar-site-harmed-by-palestinian-road-work-658521). *[The Jerusalem Post](/source/The_Jerusalem_Post)*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0792-822X](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0792-822X). Retrieved 23 June 2025.

## External links

- [The viewpoint of the archaeologists who excavated the site](https://www.thetorah.com/article/joshuas-altar-on-mount-ebal-israels-holy-site-before-shiloh)

- [University of Haifa site](http://ebal.haifa.ac.il/ebal01.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090408060848/http://ebal.haifa.ac.il/ebal01.html) 2009-04-08 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

- [Franciscan site](https://web.archive.org/web/20060218130953/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/sources/sources042.html)

- [The curses and blessings of Ebal and Gerizim, in isolation, at wikiversity](https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Bible,_English,_King_James,_Documentary_Hypothesis,_Deuteronomist_source,_First_Deuteronomist_Version,_Curse_blessing_pairs)

- [The list of curses for Ebal, in isolation, at wikiversity](https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Bible,_English,_King_James,_Documentary_Hypothesis,_Deuteronomist_source,_First_Deuteronomist_Version,_Mount_Ebal_Curse_List)

- [Photos of Mount Ebal](http://www.pbase.com/rdavid/eival)

Wikiquote has quotations related to ***[Mount Ebal](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:Search/Mount_Ebal)***.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mount Ebal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Ebal) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Ebal?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.