6 You are to make the altar of the Lord your God of uncut stones; offering on it burned offerings to the Lord your God:
And the voice of the Lord came to Moses out of the Tent of meeting, saying, Give these orders to the children of Israel: When anyone of you makes an offering to the Lord, you are to take it from the cattle, from the herd or from the flock. If the offering is a burned offering of the herd, let him give a male without a mark: he is to give it at the door of the Tent of meeting so that he may be pleasing to the Lord. And he is to put his hand on the head of the burned offering and it will be taken for him, to take away his sin. And the ox is to be put to death before the Lord: then Aaron's sons, the priests, are to take the blood and put some of it on and round the altar which is at the door of the Tent of meeting. And the burned offering is to be skinned and cut up into its parts. And Aaron's sons, the priests, are to put fire on the altar and put the wood in order on the fire: And Aaron's sons, the priests, are to put the parts, the head and the fat, in order on the wood which is on the fire on the altar: But its inside parts and its legs are to be washed with water, and it will all be burned on the altar by the priest for a burned offering, an offering made by fire, for a sweet smell to the Lord. And if his offering is of the flock, a burned offering of sheep or goats, let him give a male without a mark. And he is to put it to death on the north side of the altar before the Lord: and Aaron's sons, the priests, are to put some of the blood on and round the altar. And the offering is to be cut into its parts, with its head and its fat; and the priest is to put them in order on the wood which is on the fire on the altar: But the inside parts and the legs are to be washed with water; and the priest will make an offering of all of it, burning it on the altar: it is a burned offering, an offering made by fire, for a sweet smell to the Lord. And if his offering to the Lord is a burned offering of birds, then he is to make his offering of doves or of young pigeons. And the priest is to take it to the altar, and after its head has been twisted off, it is to be burned on the altar, and its blood drained out on the side of the altar: And he is to take away its stomach, with its feathers, and put it down by the east side of the altar, where the burned waste is put: And let it be broken open at the wings, but not cut in two; and let it be burned on the altar by the priest on the wood which is on the fire; it is a burned offering; an offering made by fire for a sweet smell to the Lord.
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Commentary on Deuteronomy 27 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 27
De 27:1-10. The People Are to Write the Law upon Stones.
2. it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan—"Day" is often put for "time"; and it was not till some days after the passage that the following instructions were acted upon.
thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister—These stones were to be taken in their natural state, unhewn, and unpolished—the occasion on which they were used not admitting of long or elaborate preparation; and they were to be daubed over with paint or whitewash, to render them more conspicuous. Stones and even rocks are seen in Egypt and the peninsula of Sinai, containing inscriptions made three thousand years ago, in paint or plaister. By some similar method those stones may have been inscribed, and it is most probable that Moses learned the art from the Egyptians.
3. thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law—It might be, as some think, the Decalogue; but a greater probability is that it was "the blessings and curses," which comprised in fact an epitome of the law (Jos 8:34).
5-10. there shalt thou build an altar … of whole stones—The stones were to be in their natural state, as if a chisel would communicate pollution to them. The stony pile was to be so large as to contain all the conditions of the covenant, so elevated as to be visible to the whole congregation of Israel; and the religious ceremonial performed on the occasion was to consist: first, of the elementary worship needed for sinful men; and secondly, of the peace offerings, or lively, social feasts, that were suited to the happy people whose God was the Lord. There were thus, the law which condemned, and the typical expiation—the two great principles of revealed religion.
De 27:11-13. The Tribes Divided on Gerizim and Ebal.
11-13. These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people … these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse—Those long, rocky ridges lay in the province of Samaria, and the peaks referred to were near Shechem (Nablous), rising in steep precipices to the height of about eight hundred feet and separated by a green, well-watered valley of about five hundred yards wide. The people of Israel were here divided into two parts. On mount Gerizim (now Jebel-et-Tur) were stationed the descendants of Rachel and Leah, the two principal wives of Jacob, and to them was assigned the most pleasant and honorable office of pronouncing the benedictions; while on the twin hill of Ebal (now Imad-el-Deen) were placed the posterity of the two secondary wives, Zilpah and Bilhah, with those of Reuben, who had lost the primogeniture, and Zebulun, Leah's youngest son; to them was committed the necessary but painful duty of pronouncing the maledictions (see on Jud 9:7). The ceremony might have taken place on the lower spurs of the mountains, where they approach more closely to each other; and the course observed was as follows: Amid the silent expectations of the solemn assembly, the priests standing round the ark in the valley below, said aloud, looking to Gerizim, "Blessed is the man that maketh not any graven image," when the people ranged on that hill responded in full simultaneous shouts of "Amen"; then turning round to Ebal, they cried, "Cursed is the man that maketh any graven image"; to which those that covered the ridge answered, "Amen." The same course at every pause was followed with all the blessings and curses (see on Jos 8:33, 34). 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."