The Meaning of Deuteronomy 27:2 Explained

Deuteronomy 27:2

KJV: And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister:

YLT: and it hath been, in the day that ye pass over the Jordan unto the land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, that thou hast raised up for thee great stones, and plaistered them with plaister,

Darby: And it shall be on the day when ye pass over the Jordan unto the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster:

ASV: And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over the Jordan unto the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And it shall be on the day  when ye shall pass over  Jordan  unto the land  which the LORD  thy God  giveth  thee, that thou shalt set thee up  great  stones,  and plaister  them with plaister: 

What does Deuteronomy 27:2 Mean?

Context Summary

Deuteronomy 27:1-26 - Curses Upon Evildoers
Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal were two masses of limestone rock, reaching 2700 and 2000 feet above the sea-level. Between them lay a beautiful valley, about 300 yards wide. At the foot and on the lower slopes of Gerizim stood the descendants of Rachel and Leah; on those of Ebal, the descendants of Zilpah and Bilhah, together with Zebulun and with Reuben, who had forfeited the rights of the first-born. The priests and the Levites, grouped beside the Ark in the valley, uttered both the benedictions and the solemn denunciations of the Law, each item eliciting the responsive "Amens."
Notice the sensitiveness of the divine Spirit! To make a blind man wander out of his way and to wrest the judgment of the fatherless, was held to be as reprehensible as to commit those terrible breaches of the law of purity. Nothing in life is insignificant or trivial when weighed in the balance of eternal justice. We can only rejoice when we realize that we are accepted in the Beloved, and that He has stood for us, Romans 3:20; Romans 5:1-3; Romans 5:9. [source]

Chapter Summary: Deuteronomy 27

1  The people are commanded to write the law upon stones
5  and to build an altar of whole stones
11  The tribes to be divided on Gerizim and Ebal
14  The curses to be pronounced on mount Ebal

What do the individual words in Deuteronomy 27:2 mean?

And it shall be on the day when you cross over - the Jordan to the land which Yahweh your God is giving you that you shall set up for yourselves stones large and whitewash them with lime
וְהָיָ֗ה בַּיּוֹם֮ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תַּעַבְר֣וּ אֶת־ הַיַּרְדֵּן֒ אֶל־ הָאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־ יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ נֹתֵ֣ן לָ֑ךְ וַהֲקֵמֹתָ֤ לְךָ֙ אֲבָנִ֣ים גְּדֹל֔וֹת וְשַׂדְתָּ֥ אֹתָ֖ם בַּשִּֽׂיד

וְהָיָ֗ה  And  it  shall  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
בַּיּוֹם֮  on  the  day 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
תַּעַבְר֣וּ  you  cross  over 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine plural
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הַיַּרְדֵּן֒  the  Jordan 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יַרְדֵּן  
Sense: the river of Palestine running from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the Dead Sea a distance of approx 200 miles (320 km).
הָאָ֕רֶץ  the  land 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
יְהוָ֥ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ  your  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
נֹתֵ֣ן  is  giving 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
וַהֲקֵמֹתָ֤  that  you  shall  set  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
לְךָ֙  for  yourselves 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
אֲבָנִ֣ים  stones 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: אֶבֶן  
Sense: stone (large or small).
גְּדֹל֔וֹת  large 
Parse: Adjective, feminine plural
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
וְשַׂדְתָּ֥  and  whitewash 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: שִׂיד  
Sense: (Qal) to whitewash.
בַּשִּֽׂיד  with  lime 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שִׂיד  
Sense: (Qal) to whitewash.