Gerizim and Ebal: Altars, Temples and a Lead Tablet

1 What Scripture says

Deuteronomy 11:29–30Deuteronomy 27Joshua 8:30–35John 4:20

"Thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal" (Deuteronomy 11:29). "Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal" (Joshua 8:30).

2 What evidence we might expect

• An early altar or sanctuary on one of the mountains.
• Textual evidence for which mountain held the altar.

3 What discoveries exist

Mount Gerizim

Excavations (1982–2006) uncovered a walled sacred precinct, thousands of burnt animal bones, and hundreds of inscriptions in Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek, some naming priests. Magen dated a first phase to the mid-5th century BC and a larger Hellenistic phase to the 2nd century BC. John Hyrcanus destroyed it around 110 BC. Jodi Magness (2025) argues the stratified evidence does not securely establish a 5th-century temple.

Mount Ebal

Adam Zertal excavated (1982–1989) a stone structure with a ramp and surrounding wall, with burnt animal bones, dated to Iron Age I (12th century BC). He identified it as Joshua's altar. Other archaeologists have proposed a watchtower, a farmstead, or a cultic site of another kind.

The lead object

In 2019 a folded lead object about 2 cm across was found by wet-sifting debris dumped from Zertal's excavation. In 2023 Scott Stripling, Gershon Galil and colleagues announced that scans revealed an early Hebrew curse naming YHW, and later published their reading. A peer-reviewed response in Heritage Science (2024) argued that the claimed letters cannot be demonstrated. The object's context is a secondary dump, and it remains unopened.

4 How interpretations compare

5 The strongest supported reconstruction

The mountains are exactly where Deuteronomy places them. Gerizim held a major Samaritan sanctuary from at least the Hellenistic period, possibly the Persian. Ebal has an Iron Age I structure whose function is disputed. The lead object's inscription is unconfirmed. None of these finds settles the text of Deuteronomy 27:4 or proves Joshua's ceremony.

6 What remains possible or unknown

• The first date of the Gerizim temple.
• The purpose of the Ebal structure.
• Whether the lead object bears any inscription.