Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal Joshua 8:30. He also wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses and read all the words of the law to the assembled people Joshua 8:32–35.
In Joshua 8:30–35, Joshua leads Israel in a public covenant ceremony at Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. He builds an altar to Yahweh as Moses had instructed, using uncut stones, and offers burnt offerings and peace offerings. He also writes a copy of Moses’ law on stones in the people’s presence. This scene comes right after Israel’s renewed progress following the failure at Ai and the judgment on Achan. The narrative pauses the military campaign to show Israel re-centering its life on what Moses commanded, not simply on battlefield success.
This passage presents a public covenant ceremony that deliberately interrupts the conquest story.
A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.
Start with Joshua 8:30, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
30Then Joshua built an altar to Yahweh, the God of Israel, in Mount Ebal,