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:
It shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan. Day is often put for time; and the meaning is, 'about the time;' for it was not until some days after the passage, though the earliest practicable opportunity, that the following instructions were acted upon.
Thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster. These stones were to be taken in their natural state, unhewn and unpolished-the occasion on which they were used not admitting of long or elaborate preparation; and they were to be daubed over with paint or white cement, to render them more conspicuous.
Stones and even rocks are seen in Egypt and the peninsula of Sinai, containing inscriptions made 3,000 years ago, in paint or plaster, of which, owing to the serenity of the climate, the coating is as firm and the colour as fresh as if it had been put on yesterday. The sphinx is covered with inscriptions, in black paint upon the red surface of the statue; and there are numerous ancient inscriptions found on sandstone, or even granite slabs, the surface of which is overlaid with stucco, or some similar composition (Wilkinson's 'Ancient Egyptians,'
iii., p. 300). By some similar method, or, as Michaelis ('Commentary on Laws of Moses,' No. 49:) supposes, by the letters being in relievo, while the spaces were filled up by paint or mortar, those stones may have been inscribed; and it is most probable that Moses learned the art from the Egyptians.