John Calvin Commentary Deuteronomy 11:29

"And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt set the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal." — Deuteronomy 11:29 (ASV)

And it shall come to pass, when the Lord. I have recently expounded a similar passage, which, although it comes later in the order observed by Moses, yet, since it presents the matter more clearly, I have not hesitated for the sake of clarity to put first.

I said that God’s intention was, while appointing the Israelites to proclaim their own condemnation, to place them under a more solemn obligation to keep the Law. If He had Himself declared His will through the Levites only, they should indeed have been seriously affected and have listened with reverence to both the blessings and the curses. However, when each of them testifies with his own mouth what the Levites dictated by God’s command, the introduction of this assent as a solemn ratification,²⁰⁵ was more effective in awakening their zeal and attention.

A more fitting time, however, for this solemn declaration was after they had entered the promised land, rather than if it had been made in the plain of Moab. For the sight of the land contributed to its confirmation, as if they had been brought into court to make a covenant with God.

These²⁰⁶ two mountains are situated opposite each other, so that the two divisions of the people could easily stand to bless and to curse, allowing them to jointly affirm the promises and threats of God.

²⁰⁵ The Latin word used by C. is a legal one, . is a legal one, ratihabitio, explained by Du Cange by “, explained by Du Cange by “confirmatio, occurring more than once in the Digest, and in more modern writers.” — Adelung’s Gloss. Man., , occurring more than once in the Digest, and in more modern writers.” — Adelung’s Gloss. Man., in voce..

²⁰⁶ “Ebal and Gerizim are two closely adjoining mountains, separated by a narrow valley, about a furlong in breadth, in which stands the town of Naplous, the ancient Shechem. This beautiful valley, covered with olive woods and corn fields, has Mount Gerizim on the south, and Mount Ebal on the north. The two mountains are, according to Buckingham, nearly equal in altitude, neither of them exceeding seven or eight hundred feet above the level of the valley, but much more above the level of the sea, as the whole country here is considerably elevated.” — Illustrated Comment on Deuteronomy 27:4..