Joshua 8:31 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Joshua 8:31
As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings.
a servant · noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD
יְהוָ֜הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
commanded
צִוָּה֩tzi.Vah
H6680
(intensively) to constitute · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
children
בְּנֵ֣יbe.Nei
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
written
כַּכָּתוּב֙ka.ka.Tuv
H3789
to grave · preposition with the article + verb, qal passive participle, masculine singular absolute
book
בְּסֵ֙פֶר֙be.Se.fer
H5612
properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
law
תּוֹרַ֣תto.Rat
H8451
a precept or statute · noun, common feminine singular construct
Moses
מֹשֶׁ֔הmo.Sheh
H4872
Mosheh · proper noun, a man's name
altar
מִזְבַּח֙miz.Bach
H4196
an altar · noun, common masculine singular construct
whole
שְׁלֵמ֔וֹתshe.le.Mot
H8003
complete (literally or figuratively) · adjective, feminine plural absolute
stones
אֲבָנִ֣ים'a.va.Nim
H68
a stone · noun, common feminine plural absolute
up
הֵנִ֥יףhe.Nif
H5130
to quiver (i.e. vibrate up and down · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
iron
בַּרְזֶ֑לbar.Zel
H1270
iron (as cutting) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
offered
וַיַּעֲל֨וּvai.ya.'a.Lu
H5927
to ascend · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
offerings
עֹלוֹת֙'o.lOt
H5930
a step or (collectively · noun, common feminine plural absolute
LORD
לַֽיהוָ֔הla.Yah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · preposition + proper noun, a title
sacrificed
וַֽיִּזְבְּח֖וּvai.yiz.be.Chu
H2076
to slaughter an animal (usually in sacrifice) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
offerings
שְׁלָמִֽיםshe.la.Mim
H8002
properly · noun, common masculine plural absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Deuteronomy 27:5-7 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.
Exodus 20:24-25 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine ox…
Exodus 18:12 And Jethro, Moses’ father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread w…
Exodus 24:5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.
Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do accord…
Joshua 8:34-35 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law.
1 Kings 18:31-32 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Isra…
2 Kings 14:6 But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the LORD comman…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Joshua 8:30–end
This religious solemnity of which we have here an account comes in somewhat surprisingly in the midst of the history of the wars of Canaan. After the taking of Jericho and Ai, we should have expected that the next news would be of their taking possession of the country, the pushing on of their victories in other cities, and the carrying of the war into the bowels of the nation, now that they had made themselves masters of these frontier towns. But here a scene opens of quite another nature; the camp of Israel is drawn out into the field, not to engage the enemy, but to offer sacrifice, to hear the law read, and to say Amen to the blessings and the curses. Some think this was not done till af…
an altar of whole stones--according to the instructions given to Moses (Exo 20:25; Deu 27:5).
over which no man hath lifted up any iron--that is, iron tool. The reason for this was that every altar of the true God ought properly to have been built of earth (Exo 20:24); and if it was constructed of stone, rough, unhewn stones were to be employed that it might retain both the appearance and nature of earth, since every bloody sacrifice was connected with sin and death, by which man, the creature of earth, is brought to earth again [KEIL].
they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings--This had been done when the covenant was established (Exo 24:5); and…
Then Joshua built an altar - This was done in obedience to the express command of God, Deu 27:4-8 (note).
John Gill on Joshua 8:31
As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses,.... Deuteronomy 27:5,
an altar of whole stones, on which no man hath lift up any iron; See Gill on Exodus 20:25; see Gill on Deuteronomy 27:5, and; see Gill on Deuteronomy 27:6,
and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings; by way of thanksgiving for the good land they were introduced into, and this was what they were ordered to do by Moses, Deuteronomy 27:6.
The Church Fathers
But observe what praise is ascribed to those very stones of the altar. "Just as," it says, "the lawgiver Moses said, that the altar should be built of whole stones, on which no iron has been laid." Who do you think are these "whole stones"? The conscience of each one knows who is whole, who is uncorrupted, unpolluted, unstained in flesh and in spirit, who is that one on whom "no iron has been laid," that is, who has not received "the flaming darts of the evil one" of concupiscence, but has "quenched" them with "the shield of faith" and driven them back; or who is that one who has never received the iron of strife, the iron of war, the iron of quarrels, but has always been peaceable, always quiet and gentle, formed by the humility of Christ. These, then, are the "living stones" from which Jesus our Lord "built an altar of whole stones, on which no iron has been laid," that he might offer upon them "whole burnt offerings and a sacrifice of salvation." I think that perhaps such "whole" and uncontaminated stones as these may be the holy apostles, all together making one altar because of their unanimity and concord. For thus they are reported all together, unanimously "praying" and opening their mouth to have "said": "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all." These, then, who were able unanimously, with one voice and one spirit, to pray, are perhaps themselves worthy, who ought all together to "build one altar," upon which Jesus may offer "a sacrifice" to the Father. Yet let us too try to give diligence, "that we may all say the same thing," "unanimous, of one mind, doing nothing through contention or through vainglory," but "remaining in one perception and in the same judgment," if perhaps we too may be made stones fit for the altar. For Jesus our Lord does not desert us, but although we, devoting ourselves to prayer, "know not what we should pray for as we ought, yet the Spirit himself intercedes for us with unspeakable groanings." "Now the Lord is a Spirit." If, then, the "Spirit" aids our prayers and offers them to the Father, the God of all, with "groanings" which we cannot express, it is certain that he also carefully requires of us the construction of an altar.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Deuteronomy — In all the Hebrew manuscripts the Pentateuch (q.v.) forms one roll or volume divided into larger and smaller sections called parshioth_ and _sedarim. It is not easy to say when it was divided into…
Ebal — Stony. (1.) A mountain 3,076 feet above the level of the sea, and 1,200 feet above the level of the valley, on the north side of which stood the city of Shechem (q.v.). On this mountain six of the…
Gerizim — A mountain of Samaria, about 3,000 feet above the Mediterranean. It was on the left of the valley containing the ancient town of Shechem (q.v.), on the way to Jerusalem. It stood over against Mount…
Heap — When Joshua took the city of Ai (Josh. 8), he burned it and “made it an heap [Heb. tel] for ever” (8:28). The ruins of this city were for a long time sought for in vain. It has been at length,…
Pentateuch — The five-fold volume, consisting of the first five books of the Old Testament. This word does not occur in Scripture, nor is it certainly known when the roll was thus divided into five portions…
Tabernacle — (1.) A house or dwelling-place (Job 5:24; 18:6, etc.). (2.) A portable shrine (comp. Acts 19:24) containing the image of Moloch (Amos 5:26; marg. and R.V., “Siccuth”). (3.) The human body (2 Cor.…
Altar · Built by Joshua — Built by Joshua
Altars · Mentioned in scripture: Of Joshua — Mentioned in scripture: Of Joshua
Commandments · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Curse · CURSES OF THE MOSAIC LAW — CURSES OF THE MOSAIC LAW
Iron · Made into: Tools for artificers — Made into: Tools for artificers
John Calvin on Joshua 8:30–end
Joshua 8:30-35
30. Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal,
30. Tunc aedificavit Josue altare Jehovae Deo Israel in monte Ebal,
31. As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man has lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings.
31. Quemadmodum praeceperat Moses servus Jehovae filiis Israel: sicut scriptum est in libro legis Mosis, altare ex lapidibus integris, super quos non levaverant ferrum: et immolaverunt super illud holocausta Jehovae, et sacrificaverunt hostias prosperitatum.
32.…
Blessings and Curses upon Gerizim and Ebal. - After the capture of Ai, Israel had gained so firm a footing in Canaan that Joshua was able to carry out the instructions of Moses in Deut 27, that, after crossing the Jordan, he was to build an altar upon Mount Ebal for the setting up the covenant. The fulfilment of these instructions, according to the meaning of this solemn act, as a symbolical setting up of the law of the Lord to be the invariable rule of life to the people of Israel in the land of Canaan (see at Deut 27), was not only a practical expression of thanksgiving on the part of the covenant nation for its entrance into this land through the almighty assistance of its God, but also a…
Archaeologists have recently discovered an altar . . . on Mount Ebal built of uncut stones and not shaped with iron tools. However, no inscription was found with it (8:32). • Burnt offerings and peace offerings were prescribed in the laws of sacrifice that God gave Moses while Israel was still at Mount Sinai (Lev 1, 3). Moses gave specific commands for this ceremony (see Deut 11:26-32; 27:1–28:68).
Rashi on Joshua 8:30
Then [Yehoshua] built. This parasha is not in chronoligical order, [for Yehoshua built the altar] on the day they crossed the Jordan river.8Since the following verse states that he built the altar as Moshe had commanded them, we must conclude that this verse describes events that occured before the conquest of Yericho.
Stones · .In building altars — .In building altars
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
