Reference: Altar
American
A table-like structure, on which sacrifices and incense were offered, built of various materials, usually of stone, but sometimes of brass, etc. It is evident that sacrifices were offered long before the flood; but the first mention of an altar in Scripture is when Noah left the ark. Mention is made of altars reared by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses. The latter was commanded to build an altar of earth, Ex 20:24. If stone was employed, it must be rough and unhewn, probably lest the practice of sculpture should lead them to violate the second commandment. It was not to be furnished with steps, De 27:2-6.
The altars in the Jewish tabernacle, and in the temple at Jerusalem, were the following: 1. The altar of burnt offerings. 2. The altar of incense. 3. The table of showbread, for which see BREAD.
1. THE ALTAR OF BURNT-OFFERINGS was a kind of coffer of shittim-wood covered with brass plates, about seven feet six inches square, and four feet six inches in height. At the four corners were four horns, or elevations. It was portable, and had rings and staves for bearing in, Ex 27-28. It was placed in the court before the tabernacle, towards the east. The furniture of the altar was of brass, and consisted of a pan, to receive the ashes that fell through the grating; shovels; basins, to contain the blood with which the altar was sprinkled; and forks, to turn and remove the pieces of flesh upon the coals. The fire was a perpetual one, kindled miraculously, and carefully cherished. Upon this altar the lamb of the daily morning and evening sacrifice was offered, and the other stated and voluntary blood-sacrifices and meat and drink-offerings. To this also certain fugitives were allowed to flee and find protection. The altar in Solomon's temple was larger, being about thirty feet square and fifteen feet high, 2Ch 4:1. It is said to have been covered with thick plates of brass and filled with stones, with an ascent on the east side. It is often called "the brazen altar."
2.THE ALTAR OF INCENSE was a small table of shittim-wood, covered with plates of gold; it was eighteen inches square, and three feet high, Ex 30; 37:25, etc. At the four corners were four horns, and all around its top was a little border or crown. On each side were two rings, into which staves might be inserted for the purpose of carrying it. It stood in the Holy place; not in the Holy of Holies, but before it, between the golden candlestick and the table of showbread, and the priests burned incense upon it every morning and evening. So Zacharias, Lu 1:9,11. See TEMPLE.
3. ALTAR AT ATHENS, inscribed "to the unknown God,"
Ac 17:23. It is certain. Both from Paul's assertion and the testimony of Greek writers, that altars to an unknown or gods existed at Athens. But the attempt to ascertain definitely whom the Athenians worshipped under this appellation must ever remain fruitless for want of sufficient data. The inscription afforded to Paul a happy occasion of proclaiming the gospel; and those who embraced it found it indeed that the Being whom they had thus ignorantly worshipped was the one only living and true God.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
An altar of earth you will make for me, and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you, and I will bless you.
And then on the day that you cross the Jordan to the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you, then you shall set up {for yourselves} large stones, and you shall paint them with lime, and you shall write on them all the words of this law at your crossing, so that you may come into the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, {promised} to you. read more. And {when you cross the Jordan}, you shall set up these stones that I [am] commanding you [about] {today} on Mount Ebal, and you shall paint them with lime. And you shall build an altar there for Yahweh your God, an altar of stone, but {you shall not use an iron tool to shape the stones}. You must build the altar of your God [with] unhewn stones, and you shall sacrifice on it burnt offerings to Yahweh your God.
And he made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits [was] its length, and twenty cubits [was] its width, and ten cubits [was] its height.
according to the custom of the priesthood he was chosen by lot to enter into the temple of the Lord to burn incense.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
For [as I] was passing through and observing carefully your objects of worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed, 'To an unknown God.' Therefore what you worship without knowing [it], this I proclaim to you--
Easton
(Heb. mizbe'ah, from a word meaning "to slay"), any structure of earth (Ex 20:24) or unwrought stone (Ex 20:25) on which sacrifices were offered. Altars were generally erected in conspicuous places (Ge 22:9; Eze 6:3; 2Ki 23:12; 16:4; 23:8; Ac 14:13). The word is used in Heb 13:10 for the sacrifice offered upon it--the sacrifice Christ offered.
Paul found among the many altars erected in Athens one bearing the inscription, "To the unknown God" (Ac 17:23), or rather "to an [i.e., some] unknown God." The reason for this inscription cannot now be accurately determined. It afforded the apostle the occasion of proclaiming the gospel to the "men of Athens."
The first altar we read of is that erected by Noah (Ge 8:20). Altars were erected by Abraham (Ge 12:7; 13:4; 22:9), by Isaac (Ge 26:25), by Jacob (Ge 33:20; 35:1,3), and by Moses (Ex 17:15, "Jehovah-nissi").
In the tabernacle, and afterwards in the temple, two altars were erected.
(1.) The altar of burnt offering (Ex 30:28), called also the "brasen altar" (Ex 39:39) and "the table of the Lord" (Mal 1:7).
This altar, as erected in the tabernacle, is described in Ex 27:1-8. It was a hollow square, 5 cubits in length and in breadth, and 3 cubits in height. It was made of shittim wood, and was overlaid with plates of brass. Its corners were ornamented with "horns" (Ex 29:12; Le 4:18).
In Ex 27:3 the various utensils appertaining to the altar are enumerated. They were made of brass. (Comp. 1Sa 2:13-14; Le 16:12; Nu 16:6-7.)
In Solomon's temple the altar was of larger dimensions (2Ch 4:1. Comp. 1Ki 8:22,64; 9:25), and was made wholly of brass, covering a structure of stone or earth. This altar was renewed by Asa (2Ch 15:8). It was removed by Ahaz (2Ki 16:14), and "cleansed" by Hezekiah, in the latter part of whose reign it was rebuilt. It was finally broken up and carried away by the Babylonians (Jer 52:17).
After the return from captivity it was re-erected (Ezr 3:3,6) on the same place where it had formerly stood. (Comp. 1 Macc. 4:47.) When Antiochus Epiphanes pillaged Jerusalem the altar of burnt offering was taken away.
Again the altar was erected by Herod, and remained in its place till the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans (70 A.D.).
The fire on the altar was not permitted to go out (Le 6:9).
In the Mosque of Omar, immediately underneath the great dome, which occupies the site of the old temple, there is a rough projection of the natural rock, of about 60 feet in its extreme length, and 50 in its greatest breadth, and in its highest part about 4 feet above the general pavement. This rock seems to have been left intact when Solomon's temple was built. It was in all probability the site of the altar of burnt offering. Underneath this rock is a cave, which may probably have been the granary of Araunah's threshing-floor (1Ch 21:22).
(2.) The altar of incense (Ex 30:1-10), called also "the golden altar" (Ex 39:38; Nu 4:11), stood in the holy place "before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony." On this altar sweet spices were continually burned with fire taken from the brazen altar. The morning and the evening services were commenced by the high priest offering incense on this altar. The burning of the incense was a type of prayer (Ps 141:2; Re 5:8; 8:3-4).
Illustration: Brazen and Golden Altars
This altar was a small movable table, made of acacia wood overlaid with gold (Ex 37:25-26). It was 1 cubit in length and breadth, and 2 cubits in height.
In Solomon's temple the altar was similar in size, but was made of cedar-wood (1Ki 6:20; 7:48) overlaid with gold. In Eze 41:22 it is called "the altar of wood." (Comp. Ex 30:1-6.)
In the temple built after the Exile the altar was restored. Antiochus Epiphanes took it away, but it was afterwards restored by Judas Maccabaeus (1 Macc. 1:23; 4:49). Among the trophies carried away by Titus on the destruction of Jerusalem the altar of incense is not found, nor is any mention made of it in Heb 9. It was at this altar Zacharias ministered when an angel appeared to him (Lu 1:11). It is the only altar which appears in the heavenly temple (Isa 6:6; Re 8:3-4).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and he took from all the clean animals and from all the clean birds, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
And Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." And he built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.
to the place where he had made an altar at the beginning. And Abram called on the name of Yahweh there.
And they came to the place that God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood. Then he bound Isaac his son and placed him on the altar atop the wood.
And they came to the place that God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood. Then he bound Isaac his son and placed him on the altar atop the wood.
And he built an altar there and called on the name of Yahweh. And he pitched his tent there, and the servants of Isaac dug a well there.
And God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there, and make an altar to the God who appeared to you when you fled from before Esau your brother."
Then let us make ready and let us go up to Bethel, so that I can make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my trouble, and who has been with me on the way that I have gone."
And Moses built an altar, and he called its name Yahweh [Is] My Banner.
An altar of earth you will make for me, and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you, and I will bless you. And if you make an altar of stones for me, you will not build them [as] hewn stone, because if you use your chisel on it, you have defiled it.
"And you will make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar will be square, and its height [will be] three cubits. And you will make its horns on its four corners; its horns will be {of one piece with it}, and you will overlay it [with] bronze. read more. And you will make its pots for removing its fat-soaked ashes and its shovels and its sprinkling bowls and its forks and its fire pans; you will make all its equipment [with] bronze.
And you will make its pots for removing its fat-soaked ashes and its shovels and its sprinkling bowls and its forks and its fire pans; you will make all its equipment [with] bronze. And you will make for it a grating, a work of bronze network, and you will make on the network four bronze rings on its four ends. read more. And you will put it under the ledge of the altar, below, and the network will be up to the middle of the altar. And you will make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and you will overlay them [with] bronze. And the poles will be put into the rings, and the poles will be on the two sides of the altar when carrying it. You will make it hollow with boards. As it was shown you on the mountain, so they will do.
And you will take [some] of the blood of the bull and with your finger put it on the horns of the altar, and you will pour out all the blood at the base of the altar.
"And you will make an altar [for] burning incense; you will make it of acacia wood,
"And you will make an altar [for] burning incense; you will make it of acacia wood, a cubit its length and a cubit its width--it will be square--and two cubits its height, its horns {of one piece with it}.
a cubit its length and a cubit its width--it will be square--and two cubits its height, its horns {of one piece with it}. And you will overlay it with pure gold, its top and its sides all around and its horns, and you will make for it a gold molding all around.
And you will overlay it with pure gold, its top and its sides all around and its horns, and you will make for it a gold molding all around. And you will make two gold rings for it; under its molding {on two opposite sides} you will make [them] as {holders} for poles to carry it with them.
And you will make two gold rings for it; under its molding {on two opposite sides} you will make [them] as {holders} for poles to carry it with them. You will make the poles of acacia wood, and you will overlay them [with] gold.
You will make the poles of acacia wood, and you will overlay them [with] gold. And you will put it before the curtain that [is] upon the ark of the testimony, before the atonement cover, which [is] on the testimony, there where I will meet with you.
And you will put it before the curtain that [is] upon the ark of the testimony, before the atonement cover, which [is] on the testimony, there where I will meet with you. "And on it Aaron will turn fragrant incense into smoke; {each morning} when he tends the lamps, he will turn it into smoke. read more. And when Aaron sets up the lamps {at twilight}, he will turn it into smoke--incense of continuity--before Yahweh throughout your generations. You will not offer on it strange incense or a burnt offering or a grain offering, and you will not pour a libation on it. And Aaron will make atonement on its horns one time in the year from the blood of the sin offering of the atonement; one time in the year he will make atonement on it throughout your generations; it is a most holy thing for Yahweh."
and the altar of burnt offering and all its equipment and the basin and its stand.
And he made the incense altar of acacia wood, a cubit its length and a cubit its width--a square--and two cubits its height; its horns were {of one piece with it}. And he overlaid it [with] pure gold--its top and its sides all around and its horns--and he made for it a gold molding all around.
the gold altar, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, and the screen of the entrance of the tent; the bronze altar, and the bronze grating that [is] for it, its poles, and all its equipment, the basin and its stand,
He must put {some of} the blood on the altar's horns before Yahweh {in the tent of assembly}, and all [the rest] of the blood he must pour out on the base of the altar of the burnt offering, which [is at the] tent of assembly's entrance.
"Command Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This [is] the regulation of the burnt offering: {The burnt offering must remain on the hearth} on the altar all night until the morning, and the altar's fire must be kept burning on it.
And he shall take a censer full of {burning charcoal} from upon the altar from {before} Yahweh and {two handfuls} of incense of powdered fragrant perfumes, and he shall bring [it] {from behind} the curtain,
Over the altar of gold they will spread a blue cloth, and they will cover it with a covering of {fine leather} and place its poles.
Do this: take for yourselves censers, Korah and all of your company; tomorrow put fire in them and place incense on them {before} Yahweh; the man whom Yahweh chooses [will be] the holy [one]. You take too much upon yourselves, sons of Levi!"
And the custom of the priests with the people [was this]: When any man {brought a sacrifice}, as the meat was boiling, the servant of the priest would take a three-pronged meat fork in his hand and would thrust it into the pan or into the kettle or into the cauldron or into the cooking pot. All that the meat fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This [is] what they used to do to all of the Israelites who came there at Shiloh.
In front, the inner sanctuary [was] twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it [with] pure gold and covered the altar [with] cedar.
Solomon also made all of the vessels which [were] in the house of Yahweh: the golden altar and the golden table on which [was] the bread of the presence;
Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all of the assembly of Israel, and he spread out his hands [to] the heavens,
On that day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard before the house of Yahweh because he offered there the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the fellowship offerings because the bronze altar that was in the presence of Yahweh was too small to hold the burnt offerings and the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings.
Solomon sacrificed three times a year: burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar that he had built to Yahweh, and he offered incense with it before Yahweh; and so he completed the house.
Now the bronze altar which was before Yahweh, he brought over from the front of the temple, from between [his] altar and the temple of Yahweh, and he placed it at the side of [his] altar to the north.
Then David said to Ornan, "Please give me the place, the threshing floor, that I might build an altar on it to Yahweh; at full price please give it to me, that the plague against the people might be stopped."
And he made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits [was] its length, and twenty cubits [was] its width, and ten cubits [was] its height.
And when Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the vile idols from all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, and from the cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of Yahweh that was in front of the portico of Yahweh.
They set up the altar on its foundations, because {they were in terror} because of the peoples of the lands. And they offered burnt offerings on it for Yahweh, burnt offerings for the morning and the evening.
From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to Yahweh. But the temple of Yahweh was not yet founded.
Let my prayer be set before you [as] incense, the lifting up of my palms [as the] evening offering.
Then one of the seraphs flew to me, and in his hand [was] a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs.
And [the] Chaldeans broke the pillars of bronze that [were] in the {temple} of Yahweh, and the kettle stands and the sea of bronze that [were] in the {temple} of Yahweh, and they carried all their bronze [to] Babylon.
and you must say, 'Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh, thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys: "Look, I [am] bringing upon you [the] sword, and I will destroy your high places,
{a wooden altar} [that] [was] three cubits high, and its length [was] two cubits, and its corners for it and its length and its walls [were of] wood. And he spoke to me, "This [is] the table that [is] {before} Yahweh."
[You are] presenting defiled food on my altar! But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' By saying [that] the table of Yahweh is despised!
And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
And the priest of the [temple] of Zeus that was just outside the city brought bulls and garlands to the gates [and] was wanting to offer sacrifice, along with the crowds.
For [as I] was passing through and observing carefully your objects of worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed, 'To an unknown God.' Therefore what you worship without knowing [it], this I proclaim to you--
We have an altar from which those who serve in the tabernacle do not have the right to eat.
And when he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one of whom had a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
And another angel who had a golden censer came and stood at the altar, and a large amount of incense was given to him, in order that he could offer the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that [is] before the throne.
And another angel who had a golden censer came and stood at the altar, and a large amount of incense was given to him, in order that he could offer the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that [is] before the throne. And the smoke of the incense went up before God with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel.
Fausets
The first of which we have mention was built by Noah after leaving the ark (Ge 8:20). The English (from the Latin) means an elevation or high place: not the site, but the erections on them which could be built or removed (1Ki 12:7; 2Ki 23:15). So the Greek bomos, and Hebrew bamath. But the proper Hebrew name mizbeach is "the sacrificing place;" Septuagint thusiasterion. Spots hallowed by divine revelations or appearances were originally the sites of altars (Ge 12:7; 13:18; 26:25; 35:1). Mostly for sacrificing; sometimes only as a memorial, as that named by Moses Jehovah Nissi, the pledge that Jehovah would war against Amalek to all generations (Ex 17:15-16), and that built by Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh, "not for burnt offering, nor sacrifice, but as a witness" (Jos 22:26-27).
Altars were to be made only of earth or else unhewn stone, on which no iron tool was used, and without steps up to them (Ex 20:24-26). Steps toward the E. on the contrary are introduced in the temple yet future (Eze 43:17), marking its distinctness from any past temple. No pomp or ornament was allowed; all was to be plain and simple; for it was the meeting place between God and the sinner, and therefore a place of shedding of blood without which there is no remission (Le 17:11; Heb 9:22), a place of fellowship with God for us only through death. The mother dust of earth, or its stones in their native state as from the hand of God, were the suitable material. The art of sinful beings would mar, rather than aid, the consecration of the common meeting ground. The earth made for man's nourishment, but now the witness of his sin and drinker in of his forfeited life, was the most suitable (see Fairbairn, Typology). The altar was at "the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation" (Ex 40:29).
In the tabernacle the altar of burnt offering was made of shittim (acacia) boards overlaid with brass, terming a square of five cubits, or eight feet. three cubits high or five feet, the hollow within being probably filled with earth or stones. A ledge (Hebrew karkob) projected on the side for the priest to stand on, to which a slope of earth gradually led up on the S. side, and outside the ledge was a network of brass. At the grainers were four horn shaped projections. to which the victim was bound (Ps 118:27), and which were touched with blood in consecrating priests (Ex 29:12), and in the sin offering (Le 4:7). The horn symbolizes might. The culmination's of the altar, being hornlike, imply the mighty salvation and security which Jehovah engages to the believing worshippers approaching Him in His own appointed way. Hence it was the asylum or place of refuge (1Ki 1:50; Ex 21:14).
So the Antitype, Christ (Isa 27:5; 25:4). To grasp the altar horns in faith was to lay hold of Jehovah's strength. In Solomon's temple the altar square was entirely of brass, and was 20 cubits, or from 30 to 35 feet, and the height 10 cubits. In Mal 1:7,12, it is called "the table of the Lord." In Herod's temple the altar was 50 cubits long, and 50 broad, and 15 high; a pipe from the S.W. grainer conveyed away the blood to the brook Kedron. Except in emergencies (as Jg 6:24; 1Sa 7:9-10; 2Sa 24:18,25; 1Ki 8:64; 18:31-32) only the one altar was sanctioned (Le 17:8-9; De 12:13-14), to mark the unity and ubiquity of God, as contrasted with the many altars of the manifold idols and local deities of pagandom. Every true Israelite, wherever he might be, realized his share in the common daily sacrifices at the one altar in Zion, whence Jehovah ruled to the ends of the earth.
Christ is the antitype, the one altar or meeting place between God and man, the one only atonement for sinners, the one sacrifice, and the one priest (Ac 4:12; Heb 13:10). Christ's Godhead, on which He offered His manhood, "sanctifieth the gift" (Mt 23:19), and prevents the sacrifice being consumed by God's fiery judicial wrath against man's sin. To those Judaizers who object that Christians have no altar or sacrificial meats, Paul says, "we have" (the emphasis in Greek is on have; there is no we) emphatically, but it is a spiritual altar and sacrifice. So Heb 4:14-15; 8:1; 9:1; 10:1,19-21. The interpretation which makes "altar" the Lord's table is opposed to the scope of the Epistle to the Heb., which contrasts the outward sanctuary with the unseen spiritual sanctuary.
Romanisers fall under the condemnation of Ho 8:11. The Epistle to the Hebrew reasons, servile adherents to visible altar meats are excluded from our Christian spiritual altar and meats: "For He, the true Altar, from whom we derive spiritual meats, realized the sin offering type" (of which none of the meat was eaten, but all was burnt: Le 6:30) "by suffering without the gate: teaching that we must go forth after Him from the Jewish high priest's camp of legal ceremonialism and meats, which stood only until the gospel times of reformation" (Heb 9:10-11). The temple and holy city were the Jewish people's camp in their solemn feasts.
The brass utensils for the altar (Ex 27:3) were pans, to receive the ashes and fat; shovels, for removing the ashes; basins, for the blood; flesh hooks, with three prongs, to take flesh out of the cauldron (1Sa 2:13-14); firepans, or censers, for taking coals off the altar, or for burning incense (Le 16:12; Nu 16:6-7; Ex 25:38); the same Hebrew maktoth means snuff dishes, as "tongs" means snuffers for the candlesticks. Asa "renewed" the altar, i.e. reconsecrated it, after it had been polluted by idolatries (2Ch 20:8). (See AHAZ (see) removed it to the N. side of the new altar which Urijah the priest had made after the pattern which Ahaz had seen at Damascus (2Ki 16:14). Hezekiah had it "cleansed" (2Ch 29:12-18) of all the uncleanness brought into it in Ahaz' reign. Manasseh, on his repentance, repaired it (2Ch 33:16). Rabbis pretended it stood on the spot where man was created. In Zerubbabel's temple the altar was built before the temple foundations were laid (Ezr 3:2).
After its desecration by Antiochus Epiphanes, Judas Maccabaeus built a new altar of unhewn stones. A perpetual fire kept on it symbolized the perpetuity of Jehovah's religion; for, sacrifice being the center of the Old Testament worship, to extinguish it would have been to extinguish the religion. The perpetual fire of the Persian religion was different, for this was not sacrificial, but a symbol of God, or of the notion that, fire was a primary element. The original fire of the tabernacle "came out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat" (Le 9:24). The rabbis say, It couched upon the altar like a lion, bright as the sun, the flame solid and pure, consuming things wet and dry alike, without smoke. The divine fire on the altar; the shekinah cloud, representing the divine habitation with them, which was given to the king and the high priest with the oil of unction; the spirit of prophecy; the Urim and Thummim whereby the high priest miraculously learned God's will; and the ark of the covenant, whence God gave His answers in a clear voice, were the five things of the old temple wanting in the second temple.
Heated stones (Hebrew) were laid upon the altar, by which the incense was kindled (Isa 6:6). The golden altar of incense (distinguished from the brazen altar of burnt offering), of acacia wood (in Solomon's temple cedar) underneath, two cubits high, one square. Once a year, on the great day of atonement, the high priest sprinkled upon its horns the blood of the sin offering (Ex 30:6-10; Le 16:18-19). Morning and evening incense was burnt on it with fire taken from the altar of burnt offering. It had a border round the top, and two golden rings at the sides for the staves to bear it with. It was "before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat;" between the candlestick and the shewbread table. In Heb 9:4, KJV, "censer," not "altar of incense," is right; for the latter was in the outer not the inner holy place.
The inner, or holiest, place "had the golden censer" belonging to its yearly atonement service, not kept in it. The altar of incense also was close by the second veil, directly before the ark (1Ki 6:22), "by (Hebrew b
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and he took from all the clean animals and from all the clean birds, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
And Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and he took from all the clean animals and from all the clean birds, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
And Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." And he built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.
And Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." And he built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.
So Abram pitched his tent, and he came and settled at the oaks of Mamre, which [were] at Hebron. And there he built an altar to Yahweh.
So Abram pitched his tent, and he came and settled at the oaks of Mamre, which [were] at Hebron. And there he built an altar to Yahweh.
And he built an altar there and called on the name of Yahweh. And he pitched his tent there, and the servants of Isaac dug a well there.
And he built an altar there and called on the name of Yahweh. And he pitched his tent there, and the servants of Isaac dug a well there.
And God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there, and make an altar to the God who appeared to you when you fled from before Esau your brother."
And God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there, and make an altar to the God who appeared to you when you fled from before Esau your brother."
And Moses built an altar, and he called its name Yahweh [Is] My Banner.
And Moses built an altar, and he called its name Yahweh [Is] My Banner. And he said, "Because a hand [was] against the throne of Yah, a war [will be] for Yahweh with Amalek from generation [to] generation."
And he said, "Because a hand [was] against the throne of Yah, a war [will be] for Yahweh with Amalek from generation [to] generation."
An altar of earth you will make for me, and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you, and I will bless you.
An altar of earth you will make for me, and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you, and I will bless you. And if you make an altar of stones for me, you will not build them [as] hewn stone, because if you use your chisel on it, you have defiled it.
And if you make an altar of stones for me, you will not build them [as] hewn stone, because if you use your chisel on it, you have defiled it. You will not go up with steps onto my altar, that your nakedness not be exposed on it.'
You will not go up with steps onto my altar, that your nakedness not be exposed on it.'
But if a man schemes against his neighbor to kill him by treachery, you will take him from my altar to die.
But if a man schemes against his neighbor to kill him by treachery, you will take him from my altar to die.
And you will make its pots for removing its fat-soaked ashes and its shovels and its sprinkling bowls and its forks and its fire pans; you will make all its equipment [with] bronze.
And you will make its pots for removing its fat-soaked ashes and its shovels and its sprinkling bowls and its forks and its fire pans; you will make all its equipment [with] bronze.
And you will take [some] of the blood of the bull and with your finger put it on the horns of the altar, and you will pour out all the blood at the base of the altar.
And you will take [some] of the blood of the bull and with your finger put it on the horns of the altar, and you will pour out all the blood at the base of the altar.
And you will put it before the curtain that [is] upon the ark of the testimony, before the atonement cover, which [is] on the testimony, there where I will meet with you.
And you will put it before the curtain that [is] upon the ark of the testimony, before the atonement cover, which [is] on the testimony, there where I will meet with you. "And on it Aaron will turn fragrant incense into smoke; {each morning} when he tends the lamps, he will turn it into smoke.
"And on it Aaron will turn fragrant incense into smoke; {each morning} when he tends the lamps, he will turn it into smoke. And when Aaron sets up the lamps {at twilight}, he will turn it into smoke--incense of continuity--before Yahweh throughout your generations.
And when Aaron sets up the lamps {at twilight}, he will turn it into smoke--incense of continuity--before Yahweh throughout your generations. You will not offer on it strange incense or a burnt offering or a grain offering, and you will not pour a libation on it.
You will not offer on it strange incense or a burnt offering or a grain offering, and you will not pour a libation on it. And Aaron will make atonement on its horns one time in the year from the blood of the sin offering of the atonement; one time in the year he will make atonement on it throughout your generations; it is a most holy thing for Yahweh."
And Aaron will make atonement on its horns one time in the year from the blood of the sin offering of the atonement; one time in the year he will make atonement on it throughout your generations; it is a most holy thing for Yahweh."
And the altar of burnt offering he placed [at] the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of assembly, and he offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
And the altar of burnt offering he placed [at] the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of assembly, and he offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
The priest shall put {some of} the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before Yahweh, which [is] in [the] tent of assembly, and all [the rest] of the bull's blood he must pour out on the base of the altar of the burnt offering, which [is at the] entrance of [the] tent of assembly.
The priest shall put {some of} the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before Yahweh, which [is] in [the] tent of assembly, and all [the rest] of the bull's blood he must pour out on the base of the altar of the burnt offering, which [is at the] entrance of [the] tent of assembly.
But any sin offering [from] which {some of} its blood is brought to the tent of assembly to make atonement in the sanctuary must not be eaten; it must be burned in the fire.'"
But any sin offering [from] which {some of} its blood is brought to the tent of assembly to make atonement in the sanctuary must not be eaten; it must be burned in the fire.'"
Then a fire went out {from before} Yahweh, and it consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And all the people saw [it], so they shouted [for joy], and they fell on their faces.
Then a fire went out {from before} Yahweh, and it consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And all the people saw [it], so they shouted [for joy], and they fell on their faces.
And he shall take a censer full of {burning charcoal} from upon the altar from {before} Yahweh and {two handfuls} of incense of powdered fragrant perfumes, and he shall bring [it] {from behind} the curtain,
And he shall take a censer full of {burning charcoal} from upon the altar from {before} Yahweh and {two handfuls} of incense of powdered fragrant perfumes, and he shall bring [it] {from behind} the curtain,
"Then he shall go out to the altar that [is] {before} Yahweh, and he shall make atonement for it; and he shall take {some of} the bull's blood and {some of} the goat's blood, and he shall put [it] all around on the altar's horns.
"Then he shall go out to the altar that [is] {before} Yahweh, and he shall make atonement for it; and he shall take {some of} the bull's blood and {some of} the goat's blood, and he shall put [it] all around on the altar's horns. And he shall spatter {some of} the blood on it seven times with his finger, and he shall cleanse it and consecrate it from the {Israelites}' impurities.
And he shall spatter {some of} the blood on it seven times with his finger, and he shall cleanse it and consecrate it from the {Israelites}' impurities.
"And you shall say to them, '[if there is] {anyone} from the house of Israel or from the alien who dwells in their midst who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice
"And you shall say to them, '[if there is] {anyone} from the house of Israel or from the alien who dwells in their midst who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice and he does not bring it to [the] tent of assembly's entrance to {sacrifice} it for Yahweh, then that man shall be cut off from his people.
and he does not bring it to [the] tent of assembly's entrance to {sacrifice} it for Yahweh, then that man shall be cut off from his people.
Indeed the flesh's life [is] in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives, because it [is] the blood with the life that makes atonement.
Indeed the flesh's life [is] in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives, because it [is] the blood with the life that makes atonement.
Do this: take for yourselves censers, Korah and all of your company; tomorrow put fire in them and place incense on them {before} Yahweh; the man whom Yahweh chooses [will be] the holy [one]. You take too much upon yourselves, sons of Levi!"
tomorrow put fire in them and place incense on them {before} Yahweh; the man whom Yahweh chooses [will be] the holy [one]. You take too much upon yourselves, sons of Levi!"
"Take care for yourself so that you do not offer your burnt offerings at [just] any place that you happen to see,
"Take care for yourself so that you do not offer your burnt offerings at [just] any place that you happen to see, {but only} at the place that Yahweh will choose among one of your tribes; there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all [the things] that I [am] commanding you.
{but only} at the place that Yahweh will choose among one of your tribes; there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all [the things] that I [am] commanding you.
So we said, 'Let us build immediately for ourselves an altar, not for burnt offerings or for sacrifices;
So we said, 'Let us build immediately for ourselves an altar, not for burnt offerings or for sacrifices; instead, it [is] a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us for performing the serving of Yahweh in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings; so that your children may not say in the future to our children, "You have no portion in Yahweh." '
instead, it [is] a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us for performing the serving of Yahweh in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings; so that your children may not say in the future to our children, "You have no portion in Yahweh." '
And Gideon built there an altar to Yahweh, and he called it "Yahweh [is] peace." To this day it is still in Ophrah [of the] Abiezrites.
And Gideon built there an altar to Yahweh, and he called it "Yahweh [is] peace." To this day it is still in Ophrah [of the] Abiezrites.
And the custom of the priests with the people [was this]: When any man {brought a sacrifice}, as the meat was boiling, the servant of the priest would take a three-pronged meat fork in his hand
And the custom of the priests with the people [was this]: When any man {brought a sacrifice}, as the meat was boiling, the servant of the priest would take a three-pronged meat fork in his hand and would thrust it into the pan or into the kettle or into the cauldron or into the cooking pot. All that the meat fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This [is] what they used to do to all of the Israelites who came there at Shiloh.
and would thrust it into the pan or into the kettle or into the cauldron or into the cooking pot. All that the meat fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This [is] what they used to do to all of the Israelites who came there at Shiloh.
Adonijah was afraid because of Solomon, and he got up and went and grasped the horns of the altar.
Adonijah was afraid because of Solomon, and he got up and went and grasped the horns of the altar.
All of the temple he overlaid with gold until all of the temple [was] finished; all of the altar which belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.
All of the temple he overlaid with gold until all of the temple [was] finished; all of the altar which belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.
They said to him, "If you will be a servant today to this people, then you will serve them; and if you answer them and speak good words to them, they will always be your servants."
They said to him, "If you will be a servant today to this people, then you will serve them; and if you answer them and speak good words to them, they will always be your servants."
Now the bronze altar which was before Yahweh, he brought over from the front of the temple, from between [his] altar and the temple of Yahweh, and he placed it at the side of [his] altar to the north.
Now the bronze altar which was before Yahweh, he brought over from the front of the temple, from between [his] altar and the temple of Yahweh, and he placed it at the side of [his] altar to the north.
Then the Levites arose--Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, from the Kohathites; and Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel from the Merarites; and Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah, from the Gershonites.
Then the Levites arose--Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, from the Kohathites; and Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel from the Merarites; and Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah, from the Gershonites. And from the descendants of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeiel; and from the descendants of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah;
And from the descendants of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeiel; and from the descendants of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah; and from the descendants of Heman: Jeiel and Shimei; and from the descendants of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel--
and from the descendants of Heman: Jeiel and Shimei; and from the descendants of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel-- and they gathered their brothers and sanctified themselves, and they went in according to the command of the king because of the words of Yahweh, to purify the house of Yahweh.
and they gathered their brothers and sanctified themselves, and they went in according to the command of the king because of the words of Yahweh, to purify the house of Yahweh. And the priests went into the inner [part] of the house of Yahweh to purify [it]. And they brought out all the impurity that they found in the temple of Yahweh [out] to the courtyard of the house of Yahweh. And the Levites took [them] to bring [them] outside to the Wadi Kidron.
And the priests went into the inner [part] of the house of Yahweh to purify [it]. And they brought out all the impurity that they found in the temple of Yahweh [out] to the courtyard of the house of Yahweh. And the Levites took [them] to bring [them] outside to the Wadi Kidron. And they began to sanctify themselves on the first day of the first month. And on the eighth day of the month they came to the portico of Yahweh. And they sanctified the house of Yahweh for eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.
And they began to sanctify themselves on the first day of the first month. And on the eighth day of the month they came to the portico of Yahweh. And they sanctified the house of Yahweh for eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. And they went into the inner [part] to King Hezekiah and said, "We have cleansed all the house of Yahweh: the altar of burnt offering, all its objects, the table of the rows [of bread] and all its objects,
And they went into the inner [part] to King Hezekiah and said, "We have cleansed all the house of Yahweh: the altar of burnt offering, all its objects, the table of the rows [of bread] and all its objects,
And he restored the altar of Yahweh and offered sacrifices of peace offerings and thank offerings upon it. And he commanded Judah to serve Yahweh, the God of Israel.
And he restored the altar of Yahweh and offered sacrifices of peace offerings and thank offerings upon it. And he commanded Judah to serve Yahweh, the God of Israel.
And Jeshua son of Jehozadak and his brothers the priests stood up, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brothers built the altar of the God of Israel, in order to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God.
And Jeshua son of Jehozadak and his brothers the priests stood up, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brothers built the altar of the God of Israel, in order to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God.
Yahweh is God, and he has given us light. Bind [the] festal sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
Yahweh is God, and he has given us light. Bind [the] festal sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
Let my prayer be set before you [as] incense, the lifting up of my palms [as the] evening offering.
Let my prayer be set before you [as] incense, the lifting up of my palms [as the] evening offering.
Then one of the seraphs flew to me, and in his hand [was] a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs.
Then one of the seraphs flew to me, and in his hand [was] a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs.
For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in his distress, a shelter from [the] rainstorm, a shade from [the] heat. For [the] breath of [the] ruthless [was] like a rainstorm against a wall,
For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in his distress, a shelter from [the] rainstorm, a shade from [the] heat. For [the] breath of [the] ruthless [was] like a rainstorm against a wall,
Or let it grasp at my protection; let it make peace with me; peace let it make with me."
Or let it grasp at my protection; let it make peace with me; peace let it make with me."
And the altar hearth [was] four cubits, and from the altar hearth and {upwards} [were] the four horns [of the altar].
And the altar hearth [was] four cubits, and from the altar hearth and {upwards} [were] the four horns [of the altar].
And the ledge [was] {fourteen} [cubits] in length with {fourteen} [cubits] [its] width to [all] four of its sides, and a rim [was] all around it of one-half cubit. And the gutter for it [was] a cubit all around, and its steps [were] facing east."
And the ledge [was] {fourteen} [cubits] in length with {fourteen} [cubits] [its] width to [all] four of its sides, and a rim [was] all around it of one-half cubit. And the gutter for it [was] a cubit all around, and its steps [were] facing east."
When Ephraim multiplied altars to expiate sins, they became to him altars to sin [on].
When Ephraim multiplied altars to expiate sins, they became to him altars to sin [on].
[You are] presenting defiled food on my altar! But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' By saying [that] the table of Yahweh is despised!
[You are] presenting defiled food on my altar! But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' By saying [that] the table of Yahweh is despised!
"But you [are] profaning it by saying the table of the Lord [is] defiled, and its fruit--its food--is despised!
"But you [are] profaning it by saying the table of the Lord [is] defiled, and its fruit--its food--is despised!
Blind [people]! For which [is] greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy
Blind [people]! For which [is] greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy
And the whole crowd of the people were praying outside at the hour of the incense offering.
And the whole crowd of the people were praying outside at the hour of the incense offering.
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among people by which we must be saved."
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among people by which we must be saved."
So Paul stood there in the middle of the Areopagus [and] said, "Men of Athens, I see you [are] very religious {in every respect}.
So Paul stood there in the middle of the Areopagus [and] said, "Men of Athens, I see you [are] very religious {in every respect}.
Therefore, [because we] have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.
Therefore, [because we] have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is not able to sympathize with our weaknesses, but who has been tempted in all [things] in the same way, without sin.
For we do not have a high priest who is not able to sympathize with our weaknesses, but who has been tempted in all [things] in the same way, without sin.
Now [this is] the main point in what has been said: we have a high priest such as this, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,
Now [this is] the main point in what has been said: we have a high priest such as this, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,
Now the first [covenant] had regulations for worship and the earthly sanctuary.
Now the first [covenant] had regulations for worship and the earthly sanctuary.
containing the golden incense altar and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which [were] a golden jar containing the manna and the rod of Aaron that budded and the tablets of the covenant.
containing the golden incense altar and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which [were] a golden jar containing the manna and the rod of Aaron that budded and the tablets of the covenant.
concerning [instead] only food and drink and different washings, regulations of outward things imposed until the time of setting [things] right.
concerning [instead] only food and drink and different washings, regulations of outward things imposed until the time of setting [things] right. But Christ has arrived [as] a high priest of the good [things] to come. Through the greater and more perfect tent not made by hands, that is, not of this creation,
But Christ has arrived [as] a high priest of the good [things] to come. Through the greater and more perfect tent not made by hands, that is, not of this creation,
Indeed, nearly everything is purified with blood according to the law, and apart from the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Indeed, nearly everything is purified with blood according to the law, and apart from the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
For the law, possessing a shadow of the good [things] that are about to come, not the form of things itself, [is] never able {year by year} by means of the same sacrifices which they offer without interruption to make perfect those who draw near.
For the law, possessing a shadow of the good [things] that are about to come, not the form of things itself, [is] never able {year by year} by means of the same sacrifices which they offer without interruption to make perfect those who draw near.
Therefore, brothers, [since we] have confidence for the entrance into the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus,
Therefore, brothers, [since we] have confidence for the entrance into the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, [by the] new and living way which he inaugurated for us through the curtain, that is, his flesh,
[by the] new and living way which he inaugurated for us through the curtain, that is, his flesh, and [since we have] a great priest over the house of God,
Do not be carried away by various and strange teachings, for [it is] good [for] the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods by which those who participate have not benefited.
Do not be carried away by various and strange teachings, for [it is] good [for] the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods by which those who participate have not benefited. We have an altar from which those who serve in the tabernacle do not have the right to eat.
We have an altar from which those who serve in the tabernacle do not have the right to eat.
We have an altar from which those who serve in the tabernacle do not have the right to eat.
We have an altar from which those who serve in the tabernacle do not have the right to eat.
Therefore through him let us offer up a sacrifice of praise {continually} to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.
Therefore through him let us offer up a sacrifice of praise {continually} to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not neglect doing good and generosity, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.
And do not neglect doing good and generosity, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.
And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and because of the testimony which they had,
And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and because of the testimony which they had,
And another angel who had a golden censer came and stood at the altar, and a large amount of incense was given to him, in order that he could offer the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that [is] before the throne.
And another angel who had a golden censer came and stood at the altar, and a large amount of incense was given to him, in order that he could offer the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that [is] before the throne. And the smoke of the incense went up before God with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel.
Hastings
1. The original purpose of an altar was to serve as a means by which the blood of an animal offered in sacrifice might be brought into contact with, or otherwise transferred to, the deity of the worshipper. For this purpose in the earliest period a single stone sufficed. Either the blood was poured over this stone, which was regarded as the temporary abode of the deity, or the stone was anointed with part, and the rest poured out at its base. The introduction of fire to consume the flesh in whole or in part belongs to a later stage in the history of sacrifice (wh. see). But even when this stage had long been reached, necessity might compel a temporary reversion to the earlier modus operandi, as we learn from Saul's procedure in 1Sa 14:33 f. From the altar of a single 'great stone' (1Sa 6:14) the transition was easy to an altar built of unhewn stones (Ex 20:25; De 27:5 f. RV), which continued to he the normal type of Hebrew altar to the end (see 1Ma 4:41; Josephus BJ V. v. 6).
2. Another type of pre-historic altar, to which much less attention has been paid, had its origin in the primitive conception of sacrifice as the food of the gods. As such it was appropriately presented on a table. Now the nearest analogy to the disc of leather spread on the ground, which was and is the table of the Semitic nomad, was the smooth face of the native rock, such as that on which Manoah spread his offering (Jg 13:19 f., cf. Jg 6:20 f.). The well-known rock-surfaces, in Palestine and elsewhere, with their mysterious cup-marks
See Verses Found in Dictionary
An altar of earth you will make for me, and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you, and I will bless you.
An altar of earth you will make for me, and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you, and I will bless you. And if you make an altar of stones for me, you will not build them [as] hewn stone, because if you use your chisel on it, you have defiled it. read more. You will not go up with steps onto my altar, that your nakedness not be exposed on it.'
But if he did not lie in wait {and it was an accident}, I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee.
And make for them undergarments of linen to cover naked flesh; they will be from loins to thigh.
And you will take [some] of the blood of the bull and with your finger put it on the horns of the altar, and you will pour out all the blood at the base of the altar.
The priest shall put {some of} the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before Yahweh, which [is] in [the] tent of assembly, and all [the rest] of the bull's blood he must pour out on the base of the altar of the burnt offering, which [is at the] entrance of [the] tent of assembly.
"These [are] the rules and the regulations {that you must diligently observe} in the land that Yahweh, [the] God of your ancestors, has given to you to take possession of it, [during] all the days that you [are] living on the land.
And you shall build an altar there for Yahweh your God, an altar of stone, but {you shall not use an iron tool to shape the stones}.
The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened cakes and put [them] on this rock; pour the broth [over it]." And he did so.
And Manoah took the {young goat} and the grain offering, and he offered [it] to Yahweh on the rock, to the one who performs miracles. And Manoah and his wife [were] watching.
The utility cart came to the field of Joshua [of] Beth Shemesh and stopped there where there [was] a large stone. They split the wood of the utility cart and sacrificed the cows [as] a burnt offering to Yahweh.
So they reported [it] to Saul, saying, "Look! The troops [are] sinning against Yahweh by eating [the animals] with the blood!" And he said, "You have dealt treacherously! Roll to me a large stone {today}!"
Then Gad came to David on that same day and said to him, "Go up and erect an altar to Yahweh at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite."
Solomon was told, "Look, Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon, and he has grasped the horns of the altar, saying, 'Let King Solomon swear to me {first} that he will surely not kill his servant with the sword!'"
When the message came to Joab (now Joab {had supported} Adonijah but {had not supported} Absalom), he fled to the tent of Yahweh and grasped the horns of the altar.
In front, the inner sanctuary [was] twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it [with] pure gold and covered the altar [with] cedar.
Solomon also made all of the vessels which [were] in the house of Yahweh: the golden altar and the golden table on which [was] the bread of the presence;
So King Ahaz went to meet Tiglath-Pileser the king of Assyria [in] Damascus, and he saw the altar which [was] in Damascus, so King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest the builder's plan of the altar and the {exact model of how it had been made}.
He removed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained [to] burn incense on the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem and who offered incense to, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.
The altars which [were] on the roof of the upper room of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courtyards of the temple of Yahweh, the king tore down and ran from there and threw their ashes into the Wadi Kidron.
And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be unclean like the place of Topheth, all the houses where they made smoke offerings upon their roofs to all the host of heaven, and [where] they poured out libations to other gods." '"
Morish
A structure on which to offer sacrifices to God: imitated by the heathen in honour of their false gods. The first altar we read of was built by Noah on leaving the ark, on which he offered burnt offerings of every clean beast and clean fowl. Ge 8:20. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob also built altars to the Lord: these would have been constructed of stone or earth, but it is remarkable that we seldom read of their offering sacrifices on them. At times it is simply said they built an altar unto the Lord and at other times they built an altar and called upon the name of the Lord. The altars appear to have been erected as places of drawing near to God, of which sacrifice was the basis.
Moses was told that in all places where God recorded His name they should build an altar of wood or of stone and offer thereon sheep and oxen for burnt offerings and peace offerings; but such altars if made of stone were not to be made of hewn stone; for had they lifted up a tool upon it, it would have been defiled. Ex 20:25-26. There must be nothing of man's handiwork in approaching to God: a principle, alas, grossly violated in the professing church of God! It is added, "neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon." Man's contrivance is here forbidden, for in divine things anything of his only manifests the utter shamelessness of that which springs from fallen nature: cf. Col 2:20-23. When the tabernacle was made, minute instructions were given to Moses, and he was to make everything as had been shown him in the mount.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and he took from all the clean animals and from all the clean birds, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
And if you make an altar of stones for me, you will not build them [as] hewn stone, because if you use your chisel on it, you have defiled it. You will not go up with steps onto my altar, that your nakedness not be exposed on it.'
If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits of the world, why do you submit [to them] as [if] living in the world? "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch," read more. which [things] are all [meant] for destruction by consuming according to human commandments and teachings, which [things] {although they have}, to be sure, an appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and humility and unsparing treatment of the body, {do not have any value} against the indulgence of the flesh.
Smith
Altar.
The first altar of which we have any account is that built by Noah when he left the ark.
In the early times altars were usually built in certain spots hallowed by religious associations, e.g., where God appeared.
Ge 12:7; 18/type/leb'>13:18,18; 35:1
Though generally erected for the offering of sacrifice, in some instances they appear to have been only memorials.
Altars were most probably originally made of earth. The law of Moses allowed them to be made of either earth or unhewn stones.
I. The Altar of Burnt Offering. It differed in construction at different times. (1) In the tabernacle,
ff.; Exod 38:1 ff., it was comparatively small and portable. In shape it was square. It as five cubits in length, the same in breadth, and three cubits high. It was made of planks of shittim (or acacia) wood overlaid with brass. The interior was hollow.
At the four corners were four projections called horns made, like the altar itself, of shittim wood overlaid with brass,
and to them the victim was bound when about to be sacrificed.
Round the altar, midway between the top and bottom, ran a projecting ledge, on which perhaps the priest stood when officiating. To the outer edge of this, again, a grating or network of brass was affixed, and reached to the bottom of the altar. At the four corners of the network were four brazen rings, into which were inserted the staves by which the altar was carried. These staves were of the same material as the altar itself. As the priests were forbidden to ascend the altar by steps,
it has been conjectured that a slope of earth led gradually up to the ledge from which they officiated. The place of the altar was at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.)"
(2) In Solomon's temple the altar was considerably larger in its dimensions. It differed too in the material of which it was made, being entirely of brass.
It had no grating, and instead of a single gradual slope, the ascent to it was probably made by three successive platforms, to each of which it has been supposed that steps led. The altar erected by Herod in front of the temple was 15 cubits in height and 50 cubits in length and breadth. According to
a perpetual fire was to be kept burning on the altar. II. The Altar of Incense, called also the golden altar to distinguish it from the altar of burnt offering which was called the brazen altar.
(a) That in the tabernacle was made of acacia wood, overlaid with pure gold. In shape it was square, being a cubit in length and breadth and two cubits in height. Like the altar of burnt offering it had horns at the four corners, which were of one piece with the rest of the altar. This altar stood in the holy place, "before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony."
(b) The altar of Solomon's temple was similar,
but was made of cedar overlaid with gold. III. Other Altars. In
reference is made to an alter to an unknown God. There were several altars in Athens with this inscription, erected during the time of a plague. Since they knew not what god was offended and required to be propitiated.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and he took from all the clean animals and from all the clean birds, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
And Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." And he built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.
And Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." And he built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.
So Abram pitched his tent, and he came and settled at the oaks of Mamre, which [were] at Hebron. And there he built an altar to Yahweh.
So Abram pitched his tent, and he came and settled at the oaks of Mamre, which [were] at Hebron. And there he built an altar to Yahweh.
And God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there, and make an altar to the God who appeared to you when you fled from before Esau your brother."
And Moses built an altar, and he called its name Yahweh [Is] My Banner. And he said, "Because a hand [was] against the throne of Yah, a war [will be] for Yahweh with Amalek from generation [to] generation."
An altar of earth you will make for me, and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you, and I will bless you. And if you make an altar of stones for me, you will not build them [as] hewn stone, because if you use your chisel on it, you have defiled it. read more. You will not go up with steps onto my altar, that your nakedness not be exposed on it.'
"And you will make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar will be square, and its height [will be] three cubits. And you will make its horns on its four corners; its horns will be {of one piece with it}, and you will overlay it [with] bronze.
You will make it hollow with boards. As it was shown you on the mountain, so they will do.
And you will put it before the curtain that [is] upon the ark of the testimony, before the atonement cover, which [is] on the testimony, there where I will meet with you.
And he made with it the bases of the entrance of the tent of assembly and the bronze altar and the bronze grating that belonged to it and all the equipment of the altar
And you will put the gold altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and you will set up the entrance screen for the tabernacle.
And the altar of burnt offering he placed [at] the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of assembly, and he offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
Solomon also made all of the vessels which [were] in the house of Yahweh: the golden altar and the golden table on which [was] the bread of the presence;
On that day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard before the house of Yahweh because he offered there the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the fellowship offerings because the bronze altar that was in the presence of Yahweh was too small to hold the burnt offerings and the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings.
Yahweh is God, and he has given us light. Bind [the] festal sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
Watsons
ALTAR. Sacrifices are nearly as ancient as worship, and altars are of almost equal antiquity. Scripture speaks of altars, erected by the patriarchs, without describing their form, or the materials of which they were composed. The altar which Jacob set up at Bethel, was the stone which had served him for a pillow; Gideon sacrificed on the rock before his house. The first altars which God commanded Moses to raise, were of earth or rough stones; and it was declared that if iron were used in constructing them they would become impure, Ex 20:24-25. The altar which Moses enjoined Joshua to build on Mount Ebal, was to be of unpolished stones, De 27:5; Jos 8:31; and it is very probable that such were those built by Samuel, Saul, and David. The altar which Solomon erected in the temple was of brass, but filled, it is believed, with rough stones, 2Ch 4:1-3. It was twenty cubits long, twenty wide, and ten high. That built at Jerusalem, by Zerubbabel, after the return from Babylon, was of rough stones; as was that of Maccabees. Josephus says that the altar which in his time was in the temple was of rough stones, fifteen cubits high, forty long, and forty wide.
Among the Romans altars were of two kinds, the higher and the lower; the higher were intended for the celestial gods, and were called altaria, from altus; the lower were for the terrestrial and infernal gods, and were called arae. Those dedicated to the heavenly gods were raised a great height above the surface of the earth; those of the terrestrial gods were almost even with the surface; and those for the infernal deities were only holes dug in the ground called scrobiculi.
Before temples were in use the altars were placed in the groves, highways, or on tops of mountains, inscribed with the names, ensigns, or characters of the respective gods to whom they belonged. The great temples at Rome generally contained three altars; the first in the sanctuary, at the foot of the statue, for incense and libations; the second before the gate of the temple, for the sacrifices of victims; and the third was a portable one for the offerings and sacred vestments or vessels to lie upon. The ancients used to swear upon the altars upon solemn occasions, such as confirming alliances, treaties of peace, &c. They were also places of refuge, and served as an asylum and sanctuary to all who fled to them, whatever their crimes were.
The principal altars among the Jews were those of incense, of burnt- offering, and the altar or table for the shew bread. The altar of incense was a small table of shittim wood covered with plates of gold. It was a cubit long, a cubit broad, and two cubits high. At the four corners were four horns. The priest, whose turn it was to officiate, burnt incense on this altar, at the time of the morning sacrifice between the sprinkling of the blood and the laying of the pieces of the victim on the altar of burnt-offering. He did the same also in the evening, between the laying of the pieces on the altar and the drink-offering. At the same time the people prayed in silence, and their prayers were offered up by the priests. The altar of burnt-offering was of shittim wood also, and carried upon the shoulders of the priests, by staves of the same wood overlaid with brass. In Moses's days it was five cubits square, and three high: but it was greatly enlarged in the days of Solomon, being twenty cubits square, and ten in height. It was covered with brass, and had a horn at each corner to which the sacrifice was tied. This altar was placed in the open air, that the smoke might not sully the inside of the tabernacle or temple. On this altar the holy fire was renewed from time to time, and kept constantly burning. Hereon, likewise, the sacrifices of lambs and bullocks were burnt, especially a lamb every morning at the third hour, or nine of the clock, and a lamb every afternoon at three, 4/type/leb'>Ex 20:24-25; 27:1-2,4; 38:1. The altar of burnt-offering had the privilege of being a sanctuary or place of refuge. The wilful murderer, indeed, sought protection there in vain; for by the express command of God he might be dragged to justice, even from the altar. The altar or table of shew bread was of shittim wood also, covered with plates of gold, and had a border round it adorned with sculpture. It was two cubits long, one wide, and one and a half in height. This table stood in the sanctum sanctorum, [holy of holies,] and upon it were placed the loaves of shew bread. After the return of the Jews from their captivity, and the building of the second temple, the form and size of the altars were somewhat changed.
Sacrifices according to the laws of Moses, could not be offered except by the priests; and at any other place than on the altar of the tabernacle or the temple. Furthermore, they were not to be offered to idols, nor with any superstitious rites. See Le 17:1-7; De 12:15-16. Without these precautionary measures, the true religion would hardly have been secure. If a different arrangement had been adopted, if the priests had been scattered about to various altars, without being subjected to the salutary restraint which would result from a mutual observation of each other, they would no doubt some of them have willingly consented to the worship of idols; and others, in their separate situation, would not have been in a condition to resist the wishes of the multitude, had those wishes been wrong. The necessity of sacrificing at one altar, (that of the tabernacle or temple,) is frequently and emphatically insisted on, De 12:13-14; and all other altars are disapproved, Le 26:30, compare Jos 22:9-34. Notwithstanding this, it appears that, subsequently to the time of Moses, especially in the days of the kings, altars were multiplied; but they fell under suspicions, although some of them were perhaps sacred to the worship of the true God. It is, nevertheless, true, that prophets, whose characters were above all suspicion, sacrificed, in some instances, in other places than the one designated by the laws, 1Sa 13:3-14; 16:1-5; 1Ki 18:21-40.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
An altar of earth you will make for me, and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you, and I will bless you.
An altar of earth you will make for me, and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you, and I will bless you. And if you make an altar of stones for me, you will not build them [as] hewn stone, because if you use your chisel on it, you have defiled it.
And if you make an altar of stones for me, you will not build them [as] hewn stone, because if you use your chisel on it, you have defiled it.
"And you will make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar will be square, and its height [will be] three cubits. And you will make its horns on its four corners; its horns will be {of one piece with it}, and you will overlay it [with] bronze.
And you will make for it a grating, a work of bronze network, and you will make on the network four bronze rings on its four ends.
And he made the burnt-offering altar of acacia wood; its length [was] five cubits, and its width [was] five cubits--[it was] square--and its height [was] three cubits.
Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the {Israelites}, and you shall say to them, 'This is the word that Yahweh has commanded, saying, read more. "{Any man} from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or a sheep or a goat in the camp or who slaughters [it] {outside the camp} and he does not bring it to the tent of assembly's entrance to present an offering to Yahweh {before} Yahweh's tabernacle, then that man shall be accounted bloodguilty--he has poured out blood, and that man shall be cut off from the midst of his people. [This is] so that the {Israelites} may bring their sacrifices that they are sacrificing {in the open field} and bring them for Yahweh to [the] tent of assembly's entrance to the priest, and they shall sacrifice fellowship offerings for Yahweh with them. And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on Yahweh's altar [at the] tent of assembly's entrance, and he shall {burn} the fat as an appeasing fragrance for Yahweh. And {they may no longer sacrifice} their sacrifices to the goat-idols after which they were prostituting. This is {a lasting statute} for them {throughout} their generations." '
And I will destroy your high places, and I will cut down your incense altars, and I will place your corpses on your idols' corpses; and my inner self shall abhor you.
"Take care for yourself so that you do not offer your burnt offerings at [just] any place that you happen to see, {but only} at the place that Yahweh will choose among one of your tribes; there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all [the things] that I [am] commanding you. read more. "But {whenever you desire} you may slaughter, and you may eat meat according to the blessing of Yahweh your God that he has given to you in all [of] your {towns}; the unclean and the clean may eat it [just] as [they would] the gazelle and as the deer. Only the blood you must not eat, [but] on the ground you must pour it like water.
And you shall build an altar there for Yahweh your God, an altar of stone, but {you shall not use an iron tool to shape the stones}.
as Moses Yahweh's servant commanded the {Israelites}, as [it is] written in the scroll of the law of Moses: "an altar of unhewn stones [on] which no one has {wielded} an iron implement." And they offered burnt offerings on it and sacrificed fellowship offerings.
So the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned [home] and departed with the {Israelites} at Shiloh, which [is] in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead to the land of their possession, which they had acquired {according to the command of Yahweh} through the hand of Moses. And they came to the region of the Jordan that [is] in the land of Canaan, and the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar on the Jordan, {a large and imposing altar}. read more. And the {Israelites} heard [it] said that the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had built an altar next to the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side [belonging to] the {Israelites}. When the {Israelites} heard [of it], the whole congregation of the {Israelites} gathered [at] Shiloh to go up against them for battle. And the {Israelites} sent to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, Phinehas the priest son of Eleazar, and ten leaders with him, {one leader for each} {family} from each of the tribes of Israel; and each one [was] the head of {his family} among the clans of Israel. They came to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, "Thus says all the congregation of Yahweh: 'What [is] this treachery that you have committed against the God of Israel by turning away today from following Yahweh, by building for yourselves an altar to rebel today against Yahweh? [Is] not the sin of Peor {enough for us}, from which we have not cleansed ourselves today, and for which a plague came to the congregation of Yahweh, that you must turn today from following Yahweh? [If] you rebel today against Yahweh, tomorrow he will be angry with all of the congregation of Israel; if, however, the land of your property [is] unclean, cross [over] to the land of Yahweh's property, where Yahweh's tabernacle resides, and take possession among us. But you must not rebel against Yahweh or against us by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of Yahweh our God. Did not Achan son of Zerah commit treachery with devoted things, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? {And he alone} did not perish because of his iniquity.'" And the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh spoke with the heads of the clans of Israel, "Yahweh, God of gods! Yahweh, God of gods knows. And let Israel itself know, if [it was] in rebellion or treachery against Yahweh, do not spare us this day for building for ourselves an altar to turn away from Yahweh, or if [it was] to offer burnt offerings, grain offerings, or fellowship offerings on it, may Yahweh himself take vengeance. But in fact, we have done this because of anxiety, because of a reason, saying, 'In the future your children may say to our children, '{What is the relationship between you and Yahweh the God of Israel}? Yahweh has made the Jordan a border between us and you, the descendants of Reuben and Gad; you have no portion in Yahweh.' So your children may put an end to our children worshiping Yahweh. So we said, 'Let us build immediately for ourselves an altar, not for burnt offerings or for sacrifices; instead, it [is] a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us for performing the serving of Yahweh in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings; so that your children may not say in the future to our children, "You have no portion in Yahweh." ' And we thought, if they say to us and to our children in the future, we can say, 'Look at this replica of the altar of Yahweh, which our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices; rather, it [is] a witness between us and you.' Far be it from us to rebel against Yahweh, to turn today from following Yahweh, to build an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings, or sacrifices, instead of the altar of Yahweh our God that [is] before his tabernacle." Phinehas the priest, the leaders of the congregation, and the heads of the clans of Israel who [were] with him heard the words that the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh spoke, and {they were satisfied}. Phinehas the priest, son of Eleazar, said to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, "Today we know that Yahweh [is] among us, because you have not committed this treachery against Yahweh. Therefore you have rescued the {Israelites} from the hand of Yahweh." And Phinehas the priest, son of Eleazar, and the leaders returned from the descendants of Reuben and Gad, from the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan to the {Israelites}, and {they gave them their report}. {The report satisfied the Israelites}; they blessed God, and they did not speak of going up for battle against them to destroy the land in which the descendants of Reuben and Gad were living. The descendants of Reuben and Gad called the altar Witness, "Because," [they said], "it [is] a witness between us that Yahweh [is] God."
Jonathan defeated the garrison of [the] Philistines that [was] at Geba, and [the] Philistines heard [about it]. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, "Let the Hebrews hear!" And all Israel did hear, saying, "Saul has defeated the garrison of [the] Philistines; and also, Israel has become a stench among [the] Philistines!" So the people were called out after Saul at Gilgal. read more. And the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and an army as numerous as sand which [is] on the seashore. And they came up and encamped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven. When the men of Israel saw that [it was] {too difficult} for them, because the army was hard pressed, the people hid themselves in the caves, in the thorn bushes, in the cliffs, in the vaults and in the wells. [Some] of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the army {followed him trembling}. He waited seven days according to the appointed time Samuel determined, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and {the army started to slip away from him}. So Saul said, "Bring here to me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings." Then he offered up the burnt offering. {Just as} he finished offering the burnt sacrifice, Samuel was coming. So Saul went out to meet him [and] to bless him. But Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul said, "Because I saw that the army {was scattering} from me and you did not come {at the appointed time} and [that the] Philistines had gathered at Micmash, therefore I said, 'Now [the] Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not yet implored the face of Yahweh.' So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering." Then Samuel said to Saul, "You have behaved foolishly! You have not kept the command of Yahweh your God which he commanded you. For then, Yahweh would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now, your kingdom will not endure. Yahweh has sought for himself a man according to his [own] heart, and Yahweh has appointed him as leader over his people, because you have not kept what Yahweh commanded you."
Then Yahweh said to Samuel, "{How long} will you mourn about Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel! Fill up your horn [with] oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for myself among his sons." But Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears, he will kill me." Yahweh said, "You must take a heifer from the herd {with you}, and you must say, 'I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh.' read more. You will invite Jesse to the sacrifice and I will make known to you what you must do. You will anoint for me [the one] whom I tell you." So Samuel did what Yahweh said. He came to Bethlehem, and the elders of the city came trembling to meet him. They said, "{Have you come in peace}?" He said, "[I come in] peace. I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. Sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." So he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
And he made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits [was] its length, and twenty cubits [was] its width, and ten cubits [was] its height. Then he made the sea of molten metal, from brim to brim [it was] ten cubits, completely round. And [it was] five cubits in height, and {its circumference measured} thirty cubits. read more. Under it [were] figures of oxen all around it, ten cubits [high], encircling the sea all around. The oxen [were] in two rows {cast as one piece with it}.