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The Twelve Stones () are steles, a common form of marking a spectacular religious event in the days of Bible Gateway website, Joshua Chapter 4
/ref> This was practiced for a limited period of time in the northern Kingdom of Israel. Similarly, the prophet Elijah used twelve stones () to build an
The Twelve Stones () are steles, a common form of marking a spectacular religious event in the days of Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was an Israelites, Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Centered in the highlands to the west of the Dead Sea, the kingdom's capital was Jerusalem. It was ruled by the Davidic line for four centuries ...
before the time of King Josiah (). According to the Bible, the steles were specifically placed in a circle at Gilgal, where the heads of each tribe stood at the meeting that the Twelve Tribes had with Joshua
Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...
as their leader immediately following the crossing of the Jordan River into the land of Israel ())./ref> This was practiced for a limited period of time in the northern Kingdom of Israel. Similarly, the prophet Elijah used twelve stones () to build an
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...
(). The stones were from a broken altar that had been built on Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel (; ), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias (; ), is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. The range is a UNESCO biosphere reserve. A number of towns are situat ...
before the First Temple was erected. Upon the completion of the Temple, offerings on other altars became forbidden. What was unique with Elijah's altar was that God would ignite the offering with fire (or lightning) from heaven. The timing of this display made it the most spectacular religious event since the Exodus
The Exodus (Hebrew language, Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yəṣīʾat Mīṣrayīm'': ) is the Origin myth#Founding myth, founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four of the five books of the Torah, Pentateuch (specif ...
. Use of a twelve stone monument became a form of marking a spectacular event. King Josiah abolished the practice because some people attached religious significance to the stones themselves, resembling idolatry
Idolatry is the worship of an idol as though it were a deity. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the Abrahamic ...
.
See also
*References
Hebrew Bible objects Sacred rocks Twelve Tribes of Israel {{Tanakh-stub