This is the view taken by Eusebius {Onomasticm, s. V. Pf/iriX). He does not quote the passage in Dent., but seems to be led to Iiis ojiinion rather by the diffi- III.— B
culty of the mountains at Shechem being too far apart to admit of the blessings and cursings being heard, and also by his desire to contradict the Samaritans; add to this that he speaks from no personal knowledge, but simply from hearsay (Xgytrai), as to the existence of two such hills in the Jordan valley. The notice of Eusebius is merely translated b}' Jerome, with a shade more of animosity to the Samaritans (vehementer er^ rani), and expression of difficulty as to the distance, but without any additional information. Procopius and Epiphanius also followed Eusebius, but their mis- takes have been disposed of by Reland (Palast. p. 503- 4 ; Miscell. p. 129-133).
With regard to the passage in Deut., it will per- haps assume a different aspect on examination. (1.) Moses is represented as speaking from the east side of Jordan, before anj'thing was known of the country on the west, beyond the exaggerated reports of the spies, and when everj-thing there was wrapped in mysterj', and localities and distances had not assumed their due proportions. (2.) A closer rendering of the verse is as follows : " Are they not on the other side the Jordan, beyond (D'^'nnS, the word rendered ' the backside of the desert' in Exod. iii, 1) the way of the sunset, in the land of the Canaanite who dwells in the Arabah over against Gilgal, near the terebinths of Moreh.'" If this rendering is correct, a great part of the diffi- culty has disappeared. Gilgal no longer marks the site of Ebal and Gerizim, .but of the dwelling of the Canaanites, who were, it is true, the first to encounter the Israelites on the other side of the river, in their native lowlands, but who, we have it actually on rec- ord, were both in the time of Abraham (Gen. xii, G) and of the conquest (Josh, xvii, 18) located about She- chem. The word now rendered " beyond" is not rep- resented at all in the A. V., and it certainly throws the locality much further back ; and, lastl}-, there is the striking landmark of the trees of Moreh, which were standing by Shechem when Abraham first enter- ed the land, and whose name prol)ably survived in Morthia, or Mamortha, a name of Shechem found on coins of the Koman period (Reland, Miscell. p. 137 sq.). See Gilgal.
In accordance with this is the addition in the Sa- maritan Pentateuch, after the words "the terebinths of Moreh," at the end of Deut. xi, 30, of the words "over against Shechem." This addition is the more credible because there is not, as in the case noticed afterAvards, anj' apparent motive for it. If this inter- pretation be accepted, the next verse (31) gains a fresh force : " For ya shall pass over Jordan [not only to meet the Canaanites immediately on the other side, but] to go in to possess the land [the whole of the country, even the heart of 4t, where these mounts are situated (glancing back to ver. 29)], the land which Jehovah your God giveth you; and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein." It may also be asked whether the significance of the whole solemn ceremonial of the blessing and cursing is not missed if we understand it as taking place directly a footing had been obtained on the outskirts of the country, and not as acted in the heart of the conquered land, in its most prominent natural position, and close to its oldest city — Shechem,
This is evidentl}' tlie view taken by Josephus. His statement {Ant. v, 1, 19) is that it took place after the subjugation of the country and the establishment of the tabernacle at Shiloh. Ha has no misgivings as to the situation of the mountains. They were at She- chem (fTTf 'S.iKij.uov), and from thence, after the cere- monv, the people returned to Shiloh.
The narrative of Joshua is more puzzling. But even with regard to this something maj' be said. It will at once be perceived that the book contains no ac- count of the conquest of the centre of the country, of those portions which were afterwards the mountain of Ephraini, Esdraelon, or Galilee. We lose Joshua at
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Gilgal, after the conquest of the south, to find him again suddenly at the waters of IMerom in the extreme north (x, 4li; xi, 7). Of his intermediate proceedings the only record that seems to have escaped is the frag- ment contained in viii, 30-35. Nor should it be over- looked that some doubt is thrown on this in Josli. viii, 30-35, by its omission in both the Vat. and Alex. MSS. of the Sept.
The distance of Ebal and Gerizim from each other is not such a stumbling-block to us as it was to Euse- bius ; though it is difficult to understand how he and Jerome should have been ignorant of the distance to ■whicli the voice will travel in the clear elastic atmos- phere of the East. Stanley has given some instances of this {Sinai and Pal. p. 13) ; others equally remark- able have been observed by those long resident in the neighborhood, who state that a voice can be heard without difficulty across the vallej' separating the two spots in question (see also Bonar, p. 371).