When Did the Ceremony on Mt. Eival Occur/2

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When Was the Ceremony on Mt. Eival?

Exegetical Approaches

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Before the Conquest

The ceremony at Mt. Eival took place on the same day that the Israelites crossed the Jordan River and entered Israel.

Chronology of the chapters – These commentators all maintain that the event is not recorded in its chronological place (which would have been in Chapter 4) but do not explain the reason for the achronology.
"בַּיּוֹם אֲשֶׁר תַּעַבְרוּ אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן" – According to this approach, the word "בַּיּוֹם" is understood literally to refer to the very same day that the nation crossed the Jordan River.  It is this directive (and the statement that Yehoshua acted as commanded by Moshe) which motivates them to posit that Yehoshua must not have waited before setting up the ceremony.
How did they get to Mt. Eival? This position must explain how the entire nation (including children)1 could have traveled all the way from Gilgal to Mt. Eival (and back) in one day, especially if this was in still unconquered territory.2  The commentators offer two possible solutions:
  • Miracle – Tosefta Sotah places Mt. Eival near Shekhem,3 but asserts that Hashem miraculously brought the nation there.
  • Different mountain – R. Eliezer,4 in contrast, maintains that the verses refers not to the Mt. Eival which is near Shekhem, but to two mountains that are close to the Jordan.5 As evidence, he points to the Torah's description of the site as being "מוּל הַגִּלְגָּל".‎6
Relationship between Devarim 8:1-3 and 8:4-8 – These sources differ in how they explain the doubling:
  • Two commandments – According to Rashi the two sets of verses constitute two distinct commandments.  Verses 1-3 refer to the stones that were to be set up in the Jordan, while verses 4-8 refer to the stones which were to be erected on Mt. Eival.7
  • כלל ופרט – R. Bachya, in contrast, asserts that all of the verses speak of the stones used in the ceremony at Mt. Eival.8  The doubling is simply a "כלל ופרט", a literary technique in which a unit opens with a general statement whose details are then elaborated upon.
How many stones? According to most of these sources, Sefer Yehoshua speaks of two sets of stones, those that were set up in the river itself (Yehoshua 4:9) and those that were taken from the Jordan to Mt. Eival for the ceremony. This last set was then brought back to Gilgal and erected there to serve as a memorial.
Purpose of the ceremony
Why now?
Why these mountians

Mid-Conquest

The nation went to Mt. Eival after defeating the Ai and gaining access to the vicinity.

After the Conquest

The Israelites first performed the ceremony after the 14 years of conquest and inheritance.

Two Stages

The nation fulfilled Moshe's command in two stages.  Though the first stage took place immediately after entry into Israel, the completed ceremony only occurred later.