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Exodus 27:1 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

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1 And make an altar of hard wood, a square altar, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high.

Cross Reference

Exodus 38:1-7 BBE

KJV ASV YLT DARBY WEB STRONG

The altar of burned offerings he made of hard wood; a square altar, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, And he put horns at its four angles made of the same, plating it all with brass; And brass was used for all the vessels of the altar, the baskets and the spades, the basins and the meat-hooks and the fire-trays; all the vessels he made of brass And he made a network of brass for the altar, under the frame round it, stretching half-way up; And four rings for the four angles of this network, to take the rods. The rods he made of hard wood plated with brass. He put the rods through the rings at the opposite sides of the altar for lifting it; he made the altar hollow, boarded in with wood.

Exodus 20:24-26 BBE

KJV ASV YLT DARBY WEB STRONG

Make for me an altar of earth, offering on it your burned offerings and your peace-offerings, your sheep and your oxen: in every place where I have put the memory of my name, I will come to you and give you my blessing. And if you make me an altar of stone do not make it of cut stones: for the touch of an instrument will make it unclean. And do not go up by steps to my altar, for fear that your bodies may be seen uncovered.

Ezekiel 43:13-17 BBE

KJV ASV YLT DARBY WEB STRONG

And these are the measures of the altar in cubits: (the cubit being a cubit and a hand's measure;) its hollow base is a cubit high and a cubit wide, and it has an overhanging edge as wide as a hand-stretch all round it: And from the base on the earth level to the lower shelf, the altar is two cubits high and a cubit wide; and from the smaller shelf to the greater shelf it is four cubits high and a cubit wide. And the fireplace is four cubits high: and coming up from the fireplace are the horns, a cubit high. And the fireplace is twelve cubits long and twelve cubits wide, square on its four sides. And the shelf is fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide, on its four sides; the edge round it is half a cubit; the base of it is a cubit all round, and its steps are facing the east.

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 27

Commentary on Exodus 27 Matthew Henry Commentary

John Gill   Keil & Delitzsch   Robert Jamieson: Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible  

Chapter 27

In this chapter directions are given,

  • I. Concerning the brazen altar for burnt-offerings (v. 1-8).
  • II. Concerning the court of the tabernacle, with the hangings of it (v. 9-19).
  • III. Concerning oil for the lamp (v. 20, 21).

Exd 27:1-8

As God intended in the tabernacle to manifest his presence among his people, so there they were to pay their devotions to him, not in the tabernacle itself (into that only the priests entered as God's domestic servants), but in the court before the tabernacle, where, as common subjects, they attended. There an altar was ordered to be set up, to which they must bring their sacrifices, and on which their priests must offer them to God: and this altar was to sanctify their gifts. Here they were to present their services to God, as from the mercy-seat he gave his oracles to them; and thus a communion was settled between God and Israel. Moses is here directed about,

  • 1. The dimensions of it; it was square, v. 1.
  • 2. The horns of it (v. 2), which were for ornament and for use; the sacrifices were bound with cords to the horns of the altar, and to them malefactors fled for refuge.
  • 3. The materials; it was of wood overlaid with brass, v. 1, 2.
  • 4. The appurtenances of it (v. 3), which were all of brass.
  • 5. The grate, which was let into the hollow of the altar, about the middle of it, in which the fire was kept, and the sacrifice burnt; it was made of network like a sieve, and hung hollow, that the fire might burn the better, and that the ashes might fall through into the hollow of the altar, v. 4, 5.
  • 6. The staves with which it must be carried, v. 6, 7.

And, lastly, he is referred to the pattern shown him, v. 8.

Now this brazen altar was a type of Christ dying to make atonement for our sins: the wood would have been consumed by the fire from heaven if it had not been secured by the brass; nor could the human nature of Christ have borne the wrath of God if it had not been supported by a divine power. Christ sanctified himself for his church, as their altar (Jn. 17:19), and by his mediation sanctifies the daily services of his people, who have also a right to eat of this altar (Heb. 13:10), for they serve at it as spiritual priests. To the horns of this altar poor sinners fly for refuge when justice pursues them, and they are safe in virtue of the sacrifice there offered.

Exd 27:9-19

Before the tabernacle there was to be a court or yard, enclosed with hangings of the finest linen that was used for tents. This court, according to the common computation of cubits, was fifty yards long, and twenty-five broad. Pillars were set up at convenient distances, in sockets of brass, the pillars filleted with silver, and silver tenter-hooks in them, on which the linen hangings were fastened: the hanging which served for the gate was finer than the rest, v. 16. This court was a type of the church, enclosed and distinguished from the rest of the world, the enclosure supported by pillars, denoting the stability of the church, hung with the clean linen, which is said to be the righteousness of saints, Rev. 19:8. These were the courts David longed for and coveted to reside in (Ps. 84:2, 10), and into which the people of God entered with praise and thanksgiving (Ps. 100:4); yet this court would contain but a few worshippers. Thanks be to God, now, under the gospel, the enclosure is taken down. God's will is that men pray every where; and there is room for all that in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ.

Exd 27:20-21

We read of the candlestick in the twenty-fifth chapter; here is an order given for the keeping of the lamps constantly burning in it, else it was useless; in every candlestick there should be a burning and shining light; candlesticks without candles are as wells without water or as clouds without rain. Now,

  • 1. The people were to provide the oil; from them the Lord's ministers must have their maintenance. Or, rather, the pure oil signified the gifts and graces of the Spirit, which are communicated to all believers from Christ the good olive, of whose fulness we receive (Zec. 4:11, 12), and without which our light cannot shine before men.
  • 2. The priests were to light the lamps, and to tend them; it was part of their daily service to cause the lamp to burn always, night and day; thus it is the work of ministers, by the preaching and expounding of the scriptures (which are as a lamp), to enlighten the church, God's tabernacle upon the earth, and to direct the spiritual priests in his service. This is to be a statute for ever, that the lamps of the word be lighted as duly as the incense of prayer and praise is offered.