Deuteronomy 11:29

“And it shall come to pass, when the Lord thy God hath bought thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, etc.] Which is often observed, as being near at hand; and when and where many things were to be done, which could not be done in the place and circumstances they now were, particularly what follows: that thou shall put the blessing on Mount Gerizim, and the curse upon Mount Ebal; that is, pronounce the one on one mountain, and the other on the other mountain, or at least towards them, or over against them. The Targum of Jonathan is “ye shall set six tribes on Mount Gerizim, and six tribes on Mount Ebal; ((<052712>Deuteronomy 27:12,13)) blessing they shall turn their faces against…”

“Thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim - literally, thou shalt give, i. e., “give” utterance to it. On the ceremony see Deuteronomy 27:14 ff. Mount Gerizim, barren like Ebal, was probably selected as the hill of benediction because it was the southernmost of the two, the south being the region, according to Hebrew ideas, of light, and so of life and blessing. The situation of the mountains is described more accurately in Deuteronomy 11:30. The words “by the way where the sun goeth down,” should run, beyond the road of the west; i. e., on the further side of the main track which ran from Syria and Damascus to Jerusalem and Egypt through the center of Palestine. This is called “the way…”

“Put - Heb. Thou shalt give, that is, speak or pronounce, or cause to be pronounced. So the word to give is used, Deu 13:1-2; Job 36:3; Pro 9:9. This is, more particularly expressed, Deu 27:12-13. Deuteronomy 11:30”

“11:29 Mount Gerizim is a prominent hill lying just west of Shechem. In later times, the Samaritans built a temple there (cp. John 4:20). • Mount Ebal is across the valley from Mount Gerizim, to the east of Shechem.”

“put the blessing: Deu 27:12-26; Jos 8:30-35 Gerizim: Gerizim and Ebal, mountains west of Jordan, and in the tribe of Ephraim, are opposite, or parallel to each other, extending from east to west; mount Gerizim being on the south, and mount Ebal on the north. They are separated by the beautiful valley in which Shechem or Nablous is situated, which is only about 200 paces in width. Both mountains are much alike in length, height, and figure; being about a league in length, in the form of a semicircle, and so steep, on the side of Shechem, that there is scarcely any shelving. their altitude appeared to Mr. Buckingham nearly equal, not exceeding 700 or 800 feet from the level of the valley,…”