The location of Har Gerizim and Har Eival would seem to be rather straightforward—and not just because there are mountains with those names in Israel (especially since biblical place names are often applied imprecisely). The Torah says explicitly (Devarim 11:30) they are “next to Eilonei Moreh,” which is associated with Shechem (Bereishis 12:6), so Har Gerizim and Har Eival would be the two mountains on either side of Shechem.
When Yosam addressed the inhabitants of Shechem (Shoftim 9:7), he stood on Har Gerizim and called out to them (in a raised voice). Yoel Elitzur (“Places in the Parsha,” Ki Tavo) discusses the acoustical qualities of this location, including someone standing on Har Gerizim being able to hear a conversation taking place on Har Eival, making it an ideal location for the blessings and curses to be proclaimed. Although there is no truth to the rumor that Har Gerizim—the location from where the blessings were proclaimed—is lush with vegetation, while Har Eival—from where the curses were uttered—is barren (they are said to have about the same level of vegetation), there should still be little doubt that the mountains to the immediate north and south of the valley within which the modern-day city of Nablus is located are Har Gerizim and Har Eival.
Nevertheless, the Yerushalmi (Soteh 7:3), which largely parallels the discussion in the Bavli (Soteh 33b), quotes R’ Elazar’s opinion that Yehoshua built two mounds of dirt near the Jordan River, calling one Har Gerizim and the other Har Eival. There are basically two reasons why this scenario is suggested: (1) The implication (Devarim 27:2-8/12) that the commandments associated with Har Gerizim and Har Eival were supposed to be fulfilled immediately after crossing the Jordan River, since Shechem is too far from where they crossed to accomplish this right away; and (2) these mountains are said to be “opposite Gilgal” (11:30), and since Gigal is just east of Yericho (Yehoshua 4:19), with Shechem being not just farther west, but much farther north, it’s nowhere near Gilgal.
[I translated the words “מול הגלגל” as “opposite Gigal,” despite the strong arguments made by Elitzur (in his essay on Parshat Tzav) that “מול” really means “on the same side as” or “at the foot of.” I translated it this way not just because it’s how the commentators translate it, but because I think there’s a difference between “מול” and “ממול” (e.g. Vayikra 5:8) or “אל מול” (e.g. Vayikra 8:9), with “מול” meaning “opposite” and the other two referring to the perspective of someone facing what’s under discussion, i.e. towards someone or something on the opposite side (see Rashi on Vayikra 5:8, based on Chulin 19b and Toras Kohanim). When half of the Tribes stood “אל מול הר גרזים” and half of them stood “אל מול הר עיבל” (Yehoshua 8:33), they were facing each other, not just opposite each other. Either way, “מול הגלגל” indicates being near Gilgal, which Har Gerizim and Har Eival are not.]
There are several reasons why Har Gerizim and Har Eival being far from where the nation crossed the Jordan doesn’t preclude these being the mountains referred to. First of all, R’ Shimon (Soteh 36a) says they miraculously traveled the 60 mil to Har Gerizim and Har Eival that same day. Secondly, the only commandment specified to be done on the day they crossed was setting up large stones, plastering them and writing “these words of the Torah” on them (Devarim 27:2). The rest of the commandments could be done afterwards (as indicated by the reintroduction—in 27:4—of “when you cross the Jordan”). And the 12 large stones taken from the Jordan were set up right away—in Gilgal (Yehoshua 4:20). A straightforward reading of the narrative has the nation crossing the Jordan, conquering Yericho, traveling [west and a bit north] to conquer Ai, then going [farther north] to Har Gerizim and Har Eival. In Sanhedrin (44a), R’ Sheila and Rav only argue whether Yehoshua did the right thing by traveling 60 mil to fulfill the commandments at Har Gerizim and Har Eival; both agree that this was where it was done, with Rav saying (based on Yehoshua 11:15) this was exactly what God had commanded Moshe. I would add that God told Yehoshua (6:2-5) to conquer Yericho; if he was supposed to go to Har Gerizim and Har Eival first, wouldn’t God have told him to do that instead?
As far as Har Gerizim and Har Eival not being near Gilgal, the rest of that verse is also problematic (and not just because Eilonei Moreh isn’t near Gilgal either). The Talmud (Soteh 33b) does parse the verse, with R’ Eliezer ben Yaakov explaining that most of the verse is not telling us where Har Gerizim and Har Eival are, but how to get there—which includes starting near Gilgal. If God wanted them to go to Har Gerizim and Har Eival right away, wouldn’t it have been better to cross the Jordan further north, parallel to Shechem? That wouldn’t have been an easy trip, so they were told to cross the Jordan from where they were (Arvos Moav) into Arvos Yericho “on the western side of the Jordan, [getting to Har Gerizim and Har Eival by traversing] the land of the Canaanim who live in the plain (referring to the Jordan Rift Valley, see Bamidbar 13:29)—the plain that is opposite Gilgal.” The verse then returns to describing where Har Gerizim and Har Eival are—“next to Eilonei Moreh.”[I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that some suggest there was more than one Gilgal, but the Torah referring to it as “the Gilgal” would seem to preclude this possibility.]
Once we’ve established that the mountains currently identified as Har Gerizim and Har Eival are the same mountains the Torah refers to by those names, we should verify which one is which. I am unaware of anyone who doubts that Har Gerizim is the mountain south of Shechem, with Har Eival to its north, but how do we know? For one thing, Har Gerizim is sacred to the Samaritans; they still bring the Passover offering there every year. They’ve been around since the First Temple, so the association of Har Gerizim with the southern mountain goes back at least that far. There’s no reason to assume they switched the names—even though they did switch the names in their version of the Torah, with the commandments done (according to them) on Har Gerizim.
There’s an interesting nuance regarding how the associated commandments were performed. Rather than always being described as being done “on” each mountain (as they are in Devarim 11:29), the stones are supposed to be set up “in” Har Eival (Devarim 27:4). And while the first set of Tribes are to stand “on” Har Gerizim (27:12), the second set stood “in” Har Eival (27:13). This is mirrored in Yehoshua (8:30), where the altar was built “in” Har Eival. The topography of the mountains bears this out, with significant indentations in the slopes of Har Eival creating the impression of something in an indentation being “in” the mountain, not just “on” it.
In the 1980s, archeologist Adam Zertal discovered a 12th century structure “in” Mount Ebal (Har Eival) made from unhewn stones, in the shape of an altar, which contained the charred remains of thousands of bones—all from kosher animals. His suggestion—that this was “Joshua’s altar”—created much controversy. In his essay on Parashat Yitro (where he discusses “altars in archeological findings”), Elitzur writes that “the very identification of the structure as an altar, and in particular its connection to the Book of Joshua, stirred up great debate that transcended the professional field of archeology.” [I’m not sure whether his not mentioning this structure in his essay on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal speaks volumes about Elitzur’s opinion of Zertal’s suggestion or about his reluctance to insert himself into the controversy.] Much has been written about the arguments for and against Zertal’s suggestion and the controversy that surrounded it, but my guess is that although it is a cultic site, it was built well after the ceremony at Har Gerizim and Har Eival that fulfilled the Torah’s commandments. Nevertheless, the site for this bamah (altar) was likely chosen precisely because it was where Yehoshua built the altar God had commanded, indicating that of the two mountains, this one is Har Eival.
Rabbi Dov Kramer was never fond of mountain climbing—especially after rupturing his quad tendon a few months ago—so he appreciates Google Earth.
