Charles Ellicott Commentary Deuteronomy 27:1-4

"And Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandment which I command you this day. And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over the Jordan unto the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster: and thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over; that thou mayest go in unto the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, as Jehovah, the God of thy fathers, hath promised thee. And it shall be, when ye are passed over the Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster." — Deuteronomy 27:1-4 (ASV)

Moses with the elders. —Here they are joined in exhortation for the first time in this book.

Keep. —Literally, to keep. Possibly we are intended to connect the two verses. In order to keep them, you are to write them.

Deuteronomy 27:2–4

THE DECALOGUE TO BE WRITTEN ON MOUNT EBAL.

Set ... up great stones, and plaister them with plaister. —The idea is to make a smooth surface on which the Law could be inscribed. The word “Plaister” appears only here and in Isaiah 33:12; Amos 2:2. In both those places, it is translated as “lime.”

Thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in. —Again, it is evident that the “going in” to the land and the “passing over” Jordan are not identical. The “Law of God” was to be set up in the heart of the country as soon as Israel had entered it, in order that they might complete the conquest of it. It is abundantly clear that Israel’s title to Canaan depended on their maintaining the Law of Jehovah as the law of the land.

For the fulfillment of this precept, see Joshua 8:32-35. The words of this verse are an additional reason for the view taken in the Note on that passage, that the Law was set up on Ebal immediately after the capture of Ai, without waiting for the completion of the conquest (as some suppose).