Deuteronomy 27:5
in Deuteronomy 27Moreover, you are to build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. You must not use any iron tool on them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there shalt thou build an altar unto Jehovah thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt lift up no iron tool upon them.
KJV
And there shalt thou build an altar unto the Lord thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 27
Commentary
4 notes on this verseIt was once counted a glory for the altar that no axe had been lifted upon it, no stonecutter's tool seen or heard. The higher meaning was that whatever was consecrated to God should be natural and free from artifice.
This site's exposition
Moreover, you are to build there an altar to the LORD your God
on Deuteronomy 27:5-7
The altar rule is the one at Exodus 20:25, uncut stones with no iron tool, since a tool used on the stone defiles it. Joshua 8:30-31 records this altar on Ebal.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And there shall thou build an altar to the Lord thy God,.... On the same mountain, though not of the same stones. Jarchi's note is,"after that (the setting up of the plastered stones) thou shalt bring from thence (from Jordan) others, and build of them an altar on Mount Ebal;''but Josephus (t) places this altar not on Mount Ebal, but between that and Gerizim.
Christ, our altar, is a stone cut out of the mountain without hands ( Dan. ii. 34, 35 ), and therefore refused by the builders, as having no form or comeliness, but accepted of God the Father, and made the head of the corner.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבָנִ֤יתָ | uvanita | and you will build | H1129 → | 376 times |
| שָּׁם֙ | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| מִזְבֵּ֔חַ | mizbeach | an altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| לַיהוָ֖ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| מִזְבַּ֣ח | mizbach | an altar of | H4196 → | 401 times |
| אֲבָנִ֔ים | ʾavanim | stones | H68 → | 273 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָנִ֥יף | tanif | you will wield | H5130 → | |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בַּרְזֶֽל׃ | barzel | iron | H1270 → | 76 times |
וּבָנִ֤יתָand you will build
uvanitaH1129 →376 times
שָּׁם֙there
shamH8033 →834 times
מִזְבֵּ֔חַan altar
mizbeachH4196 →401 times
לַיהוָ֖הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
מִזְבַּ֣חan altar of
mizbachH4196 →401 times
אֲבָנִ֔יםstones
ʾavanimH68 →273 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תָנִ֥יףyou will wield
tanifH5130 →
עֲלֵיהֶ֖םon them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
בַּרְזֶֽל׃iron
barzelH1270 →76 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 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
Exodus 20:25Now if you make an altar of stones for Me, you must not build it with stones shaped by tools; for if you use a chisel on it, you will defile it.
it leads to
- Joshua 8:31
just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of uncut stones on…
- Deuteronomy 27:5–6
Moreover, you are to build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. You must not use any iron tool on them.
- Joshua 8:31
Through
Exodus 24:4And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Early the next morning he got up and built an altar at the base of the mountain, along with twelve pillars for the twelve…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 31:9
So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel.
- Genesis 28:18
Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone that he had placed under his head, and he set it up as a pillar. He poured oil on top of it,
- Revelation 21:14
The wall of the city had twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
- Galatians 2:9
And recognizing the grace that I had been given, James, Cephas, and John—those reputed to be pillars—gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles, and…
- Joshua 4:8–9
Thus the Israelites did as Joshua had commanded them. They took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each tribe of Israel, just as the LORD had told Joshua; and…
- Deuteronomy 31:9
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Gregory of Nazianzus, ORATION 18.10; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.