Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 27:12
“When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites at the moment he commands them to organize a covenant ritual upon crossing the Jordan. He designates six tribes to occupy Mount Gerizim for the blessing ceremony.
The words — The Hebrew אֵ֠לֶּה ('E.leh) literally means "these," pointing directly to the named tribal groups. The verb יַֽעַמְד֞וּ (ya.'am.Du) translates as "they will stand," denoting a fixed, ceremonial posture rather than movement.
The thread — This blessing assembly on Mount Gerizim is paired with a curse assembly on Mount Ebal in Deuteronomy 27:13. The same summit appears in Judges 9:7 when Jotham speaks, while the listed tribes include Simeon (Genesis 29:33) and Issachar (Genesis 30:18).
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to note that covenant blessings are administered by a specific, enumerated group in a fixed location. It establishes a structural division of religious function between two mountains that the reader must track.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin:
Cross-references
- Judges 9:7 When this was reported to Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim, raised his voice, and cried out: “Listen to me, O leaders of Shechem, and may God listen to you.
- Genesis 29:33 Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has given me this son as well.” So she named him Simeon.
- Genesis 30:18 Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.
- Genesis 30:24 She named him Joseph, and said, “May the LORD add to me another son.”
- Genesis 35:18 And with her last breath—for she was dying—she named him Ben-oni. But his father called him Benjamin.
- Deuteronomy 11:26 See, today I am setting before you a blessing and a curse—
- Joshua 8:33 All Israel, foreigners and citizens alike, with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded earlier, to bless the people of Israel.