In Joshua 8, Joshua builds an altar on Mount Ebal.
The altar appears after the Israelites’ victory at Ai. Joshua follows instructions associated with Moses by constructing it from unhewn stones—stones that had not been shaped with iron tools. The ceremony is presented as an act of worship and covenant renewal rather than simply a military celebration.
Joshua 8 also describes sacrifices being offered and the Law being read before the assembled Israelites, including women, children, and resident foreigners. The location is significant because Mount Ebal stands opposite Mount Gerizim near Shechem. In Deuteronomy, those two mountains are linked with the public declaration of blessings and curses.
Readers sometimes confuse Mount Ebal with Mount Gerizim because both mountains are part of the same covenant ceremony and geographic setting. The altar itself, however, is specifically associated with Ebal in Joshua 8:30–31. Archaeologist Adam Zertal proposed that a site on Mount Ebal might be Joshua’s altar, but that archaeological identification remains debated; the biblical answer is not ambiguous.