Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal,
Parallel translations
- WEB Then Joshua built an altar to Yahweh, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal,
- BSB At that time Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal to the LORD, the God of Israel,
- NKJV Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal,
- NASB Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal,
- NLT Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joshua builds an altar to Yahweh on Mount Ebal. Victory is followed by worship and covenant renewal.
Overview
Having entered the land and won the early battles, Israel pauses to worship and reaffirm its covenant with God, exactly as Moses had commanded (Deuteronomy 27). The altar on Mount Ebal, the mountain of the curse, is striking, for it is there that sacrifice is offered, hinting that atonement is found even at the place of the curse. This points forward to Christ, who bore the curse to bring his people blessing.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Deut 27:4–6Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaister them with plaister.
- Gen 12:7–8And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
- Exod 20:24An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
- Gen 8:20And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.
How Joshua 8:30 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.