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Shechem between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim
Shechem was an important location in the land of Israel, which played a significant part in the history of Israel. It was at Shechem where the LORD appeared to Abram and promised him the land. "Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, 'To your offspring I will give this land'. So he built an altar to the LORD who had appeared to him." (Gen 12:6-7).
After meeting with Esau and making an agreement with him, Jacob came to Shechem where he built an altar. "Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram; and he camped before the city. And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, he brought for one hundred pieces of money the plot of land on which he had pitched his tent. There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel (God, the God of Israel) (Gen 33:18-20).
It was at the same piece of land that the Israelites buried the bones of Joseph. "The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the portion of ground that Jacob had brought from the children of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of money; it became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph. (Josh 24:32).
The blessings and cursings
Before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, Moses gave instructions that the blessings and cursings of the covenant should be read aloud on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal.
“The same day Moses charged the people as follows: When you have crossed over the Jordan, these shall stand on Mount Gerizim for the blessing of the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali. Then the Levites shall declare in a loud voice to all the Israelites ...” (Deut 27:11-14).
The blessings were given by the sons of Leah and Rachel, the two wives of Jacob, but without Reuben and Zebulun. The curses were given by the sons of Zilpah and Bilhah, the two maid-servants, plus Reuben and Zebulun.
Then follow the blessings and the cursings (Deut 27:15 28:6), after each all the people shall say, 'Amen'.
These instructions were carried out under the leadership of Joshua.
“All Israel, alien as well as citizen, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark in front of the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD has commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel. And afterward he read all the words of the law, blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law.” (Josh 8:33-34).
We may wonder how it was possible that the whole population of the Israelites, at least 600,000 adult men, could hear this reading of the law without a modern public-address system, and be able to respond with ‘Amen’ to each of the blessings and curses.
An interesting experiment
An experiment was conducted in 1879 by J.W. McGarvey, during his tour of the Holy Land. He describes the way these two mountains face each other with their slopes being about one mile apart, with the Biblical city of Shechem lying between them. This is now the modern town of Nablus in the Palestinian West Bank. On the side of both mountains there is a deep semi-circular recess, which form two natural amphitheatres, where voices can carry for considerable distances. For his experiment, McGarvey stood between the two mountains, in the place where the Levities and the people of Israel would have stood. He said that there would have been enough space there for 600,000 Israelites and their families. One of his two companions climbed halfway up Mount Ebal, and another climbed halfway up Mount Gerizim. Each evidently stood within the two natural amphitheatres, where they could each represent six tribes for the blessing and the curse.
The author read the blessings and the curses, and his two companions responded with, ‘Amen’, as Moses had instructed. The companion on Mount Gerizim could hear the author clearly, and his response could also be heard clearly. The companion on Mount Ebal could hear the voice of the author, but had difficulty distinguishing the words because of trees and terracing on the mountainside, which affected the acoustics. McGarvey suggested that if Joshua had a loud voice, he could have easily been heard by the whole the whole people of Israel, even without the Levites repeating his words.
This experiment shows that God chose the best place in the land to conduct this ceremony of renewal of the covenant, so all the congregation of Israel could hear the words of the law clearly, and agree to them.
The natural amphitheatres do not work so effectively today because of building development during the 20th century, but they still show clearly in photographs and aerial mapping.
The original account
On reaching Shechem we called on Brother El Carey, the only Baptist missionary in Palestine. I had a letter of introduction to him, given me by a Baptist preacher from London whom I met at Naples.
He received us very cordially, explained to us his missionary labours, and, being a native of the place, though educated in England, he was full of the local information for which we were in search. We especially wanted to learn the best way to reach Aenon, the locality of which was definitely fixed by Lieutenant Conder, but which our dragoman had never visited. He gave us the desired information, and the next morning, leaving our tents pitched at Shechem, we made an excursion to that interesting spot.
Our route took us back through the valley, and we resolved that while passing between the two mountains of Ebal and Gerizim, in the still morning air, we would try the experiment of reading the blessings and curses.
It will be remembered by the reader that, in compliance with directions given before the death of Moses, Joshua assembled all the people on these two mountains, stationing six tribes on one, and six opposite to them on the other, and he stood between and read to them all the blessings and curses of the law. It has been urged by some sceptics that it was impossible for Joshua to read so as to be heard by six hundred thousand persons. It is a sufficient answer to this to show that while Joshua read, the Levites were directed to repeat the words 'with a loud voice', and that it was an easy matter to station them at such points that their repetitions, like those of officers along the line of a marching army, could carry the words to the utmost limits of the multitude.
But it is interesting to know that the spot chosen by God for this reading is a vast natural amphitheatre, in which the human voice can be heard to a surprising distance. About halfway between Shechem and the mouth of the valley in which it stands there is a deep, semi-circular recess in the face of Mount Ebal, and a corresponding one precisely opposite to it in Mount Gerizim. No man with his eyes open can ride along the valley without being struck with this singular formation. As soon as I saw it I recognized it as the place of Joshua's reading. It has been asserted repeatedly by travellers that, although two men stationed on the opposite slopes of these two mountains are a mile apart, they can read so as to be heard by each other.
We preferred to try the experiment in stricter accordance with Joshua's example; so I took a position, Bible in hand, in the middle of the valley, while Brother Taylor and Frank, to represent six tribes, climbed halfway up the slope of Mount Gerizim; and Brother Earl, to represent the other six tribes, took a similar position on Mount Ebal. I read, and they were to pronounce the amen after each curse or blessing.
Brother Taylor heard me distinctly, and I could hear his response. But Brother Earl, though he could hear my voice, could not distinguish the words. This was owing to the fact that some terrace-walls on the side of the mountain prevented him from ascending high enough, and the trees between me and him interrupted the passage of the sound. The experiment makes it perfectly obvious that if Joshua had a strong voice, which I have not, he could have been heard by his audience without the assistance of the Levites.
As to the space included in the two amphitheatres, I think it ample to accommodate the six hundred thousand men, though of this I cannot be certain. If more space was required, the aid of the Levites was indispensable.
Lands of the Bible J. W. McGarvey, originally published in 1880, pages 506-8
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