Deuteronomy 27:12
in Deuteronomy 27“When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are passed over the Jordan: Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin.
KJV
These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin:
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This verse in Deuteronomy 27
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThese shall stand upon Mount Gerizim to bless the people - Instead of upon Mount, etc., we may translate by, as the particle על al is sometimes used; for we do not find that the tribes did stand on either mount, for in Jos 8:33, when this direction was reduced to practice, we find the people did not stand on the mountains, but over against them on the plain. See the observations at the end of this chapter, Deu 27:26 (note).
This site's exposition
And Moses charged the people
on Deuteronomy 27:11-13
Six tribes stand on Gerizim to bless and six on Ebal to curse, and Albert Barnes points out that the division follows the mothers. Every tribe on the blessing side descends from Leah or Rachel, and all four tribes born to the handmaids Bilhah and Zilpah stand on the cursing side, joined by Reuben and Zebulun. Adam Clarke reads the preposition as by rather than upon, since Joshua 8:33, where the ceremony is carried out, has the people standing over against the two mountains. Matthew Henry marks what the chapter does next, that twelve curses are written out in full and the blessings are left unwritten.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Joseph is here put for both his sons and tribes Manasseh and Ephraim, which are reckoned as one tribe, because Levi is here numbered; but when Levi is omitted, as it is where the division of the land is made, there Manasseh and Ephraim pass for two tribes.
on Deuteronomy 27:12-13
The curses are here expressed, but not the blessings; for as many as were under the law were under the curse, but it was a honour reserved for Christ to bless us, and so to do that for us which the law could not do, in that it was weak. In Christ's sermon upon the mount, which was the true Mount Gerizim, we have blessings only, Matt. v. 3 , &c.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
on Deuteronomy 27:11-13
These curses attendant on disobedience to the divine will, which had been revealed as a law from heaven, be it observed, are given in the form of a declaration, not a wish, as the words should be rendered, "Cursed is he," and not, "Cursed be he."
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֵ֠לֶּה | ʾeleh | these [tribes] | H428 → | 746 times |
| יַֽעַמְד֞וּ | yaamdu | they will stand | H5975 → | 521 times |
| לְבָרֵ֤ךְ | levarekh | to bless | H1288 → | 330 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָעָם֙ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַ֣ר | har | [the] mountain of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| גְּרִזִ֔ים | gerizim | Gerizim | H1630 → | |
| בְּעָבְרְכֶ֖ם | beaverekhem | when have passed over you | H5674 → | 556 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן | haiyarden | the Jordan | H3383 → | 182 times |
| שִׁמְעוֹן֙ | shimon | Simeon | H8095 → | |
| וְלֵוִ֣י | velevi | and Levi | H3878 → | 59 times |
| וִֽיהוּדָ֔ה | vihudah | and Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וְיִשָּׂשכָ֖ר | veyisoshkhar | and Issachar | H3485 → | |
| וְיוֹסֵ֥ף | veyosef | and Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| וּבִנְיָמִֽן׃ | uvinyamin | and Benjamin | H1144 → |
אֵ֠לֶּהthese [tribes]
ʾelehH428 →746 times
יַֽעַמְד֞וּthey will stand
yaamduH5975 →521 times
לְבָרֵ֤ךְto bless
levarekhH1288 →330 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָעָם֙the people
haamH5971 →1873 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַ֣ר[the] mountain of
harH2022 →546 times
גְּרִזִ֔יםGerizim
gerizimH1630 →
בְּעָבְרְכֶ֖םwhen have passed over you
beaverekhemH5674 →556 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ןthe Jordan
haiyardenH3383 →182 times
שִׁמְעוֹן֙Simeon
shimonH8095 →
וְלֵוִ֣יand Levi
veleviH3878 →59 times
וִֽיהוּדָ֔הand Judah
vihudahH3063 →819 times
וְיִשָּׂשכָ֖רand Issachar
veyisoshkharH3485 →
וְיוֹסֵ֥ףand Joseph
veyosefH3130 →213 times
וּבִנְיָמִֽן׃and Benjamin
uvinyaminH1144 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 30:24She named him Joseph, and said, “May the LORD add to me another son.”
it leads to
- Genesis 49:22–26
Joseph is a fruitful vine—a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall.
- Genesis 35:24
The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
- Genesis 37:2
This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought their father…
- Revelation 7:8
from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, and from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.
- Genesis 49:22–26
Through
Judges 9:7When this was reported to Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim, raised his voice, and cried out: “Listen to me, O leaders of Shechem, and may God listen to you.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 11:29
When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.
- Proverbs 28:9
Whoever turns his ear away from hearing the law, even his prayer is detestable.
- Isaiah 1:15
When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
- John 4:20
Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one must worship is in Jerusalem.”
- Deuteronomy 11:29
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PersonPatriarchsJosephThe rejected-then-exalted son — Genesis's great Christ-type; preserver of his family and of Egypt; the bridge into Exodus.
- PersonNew TestamentSimeonA righteous and devout man of Jerusalem on whom the Holy Spirit rested, promised he would not die before seeing the Lord's Christ.…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.