Ebal

Ebal is a biblical geographic name for a hill in the central hill country of Canaan, described in the Hebrew Bible as one of two mountains near the city of Shechem (modern-day Nablus) in the West Bank. The other mountain is Mount Gerizim, and the two are traditionally depicted as facing each other across a valley.

In biblical narrative and law, Mount Ebal is associated with ritual acts involving the law. Deuteronomy 27 describes Moses directing the people to set up stones on Mount Ebal and inscribe the law there, while the blessings were pronounced from Mount Gerizim. In Joshua 8, after the defeat of Ai, the narrative recounts Joshua erecting an altar on Mount Ebal, offering sacrifices, and having the Book of the Law read aloud to the people there, with the ritual of the law associated with the two mountains.

Etymology for the name Ebal (Hebrew: Eval) appears in the Hebrew Bible, but its precise meaning is uncertain, and various scholarly proposals exist without a settled consensus. The identification of the biblical Mount Ebal with a specific modern site is also not universally agreed. It is commonly linked with the region around Shechem, but exact correlations remain a matter of scholarly debate and archaeological interpretation.

Archaeology at Mount Ebal has included surveys and excavations conducted in the late 20th century, notably by researchers who proposed substantial stone features and structures. Interpretations of these remains, including one hypothesis about an ancient altar, are contested, and there is no complete scholarly consensus about the function or dating of the remains.

Overall, Ebal remains a key element of biblical geography and liturgical narrative, illustrating the ancient Near Eastern backdrop to Israelite law and ritual.