Keluaran 30:1-2

The Altar of Incense

30:1 ¹ “You are to make an altar for burning incense; ²  you are to make it of ³  acacia wood. ⁴  30:2 Its length is to be a foot and a half ⁵  and its width a foot and a half; it will be square. Its height is to be three feet, ⁶  with its horns of one piece with it. ⁷ 

1 Raja-raja 12:3

12:3 They sent for him, ⁸  and Jeroboam and the whole Israelite assembly came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,

Yesaya 1:13

1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless ⁹  offerings;

I consider your incense detestable! ¹⁰ 

You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,

but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! ¹¹ 

Yesaya 66:3

66:3 The one who slaughters a bull also strikes down a man; ¹² 

the one who sacrifices a lamb also breaks a dog’s neck; ¹³ 

the one who presents an offering includes pig’s blood with it; ¹⁴ 

the one who offers incense also praises an idol. ¹⁵ 

They have decided to behave this way; ¹⁶ 

they enjoy these disgusting practices. ¹⁷ 

Yeremia 41:5

41:5 eighty men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria. ¹⁸  They had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes, and cut themselves to show they were mourning. ¹⁹  They were carrying grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. ²⁰ 

Yeremia 44:3

44:3 This happened because of the wickedness the people living there did. ²¹  They made me angry ²²  by worshiping and offering sacrifice to ²³  other gods whom neither they nor you nor your ancestors ²⁴  previously knew. ²⁵ 

[30:1]  ¹ sn Why this section has been held until now is a mystery. One would have expected to find it with the instructions for the other furnishings. The widespread contemporary view that it was composed later does not answer the question, it merely moves the issue to the work of an editor rather than the author. N. M. Sarna notes concerning the items in chapter 30 that “all the materials for these final items were anticipated in the list of invited donations in 25:3-6” and that they were not needed for installing Aaron and his sons (Exodus [JPSTC], 193). Verses 1-10 can be divided into three sections: the instructions for building the incense altar (1-5), its placement (6), and its proper use (7-10).

[30:1]  ² tn The expression is מִזְבֵּחַ מִקְטַר קְטֹרֶת (mizbeakh miqtar qÿtoret), either “an altar, namely an altar of incense,” or “an altar, [for] burning incense.” The second noun is “altar of incense,” although some suggest it is an active noun meaning “burning.” If the former, then it is in apposition to the word for “altar” (which is not in construct). The last noun is “incense” or “sweet smoke.” It either qualifies the “altar of incense” or serves as the object of the active noun. B. Jacob says that in order to designate that this altar be used only for incense, the Torah prepared the second word for this passage alone. It specifies the kind of altar this is (Exodus, 828).

[30:1]  ³ tn This is an adverbial accusative explaining the material used in building the altar.

[30:1]  ⁴ sn See M. Haran, “The Uses of Incense in Ancient Israel Ritual,” VT 10 (1960): 113-15; N. Glueck, “Incense Altars,” Translating and Understanding the Old Testament, 325-29.

[30:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “a cubit.”

[30:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “two cubits.”

[30:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “its horns from it.”

[12:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “They sent and called for him.”

[1:13]  ⁹ tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”

[1:13]  ¹⁰ sn Notice some of the other practices that Yahweh regards as “detestable”: homosexuality (Lev 18:22-30; 20:13), idolatry (Deut 7:25; 13:15), human sacrifice (Deut 12:31), eating ritually unclean animals (Deut 14:3-8), sacrificing defective animals (Deut 17:1), engaging in occult activities (Deut 18:9-14), and practicing ritual prostitution (1 Kgs 14:23).

[1:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “sin and assembly” (these two nouns probably represent a hendiadys). The point is that their attempts at worship are unacceptable to God because the people’s everyday actions in the socio-economic realm prove they have no genuine devotion to God (see vv. 16-17).

[66:3]  ¹² tn Heb “one who slaughters a bull, one who strikes down a man.” Some understand a comparison here and in the following lines. In God’s sight the one who sacrifices is like (i.e., regarded as) a murderer or one whose worship is ritually defiled or idolatrous. The translation above assumes that the language is not metaphorical, but descriptive of the sinners’ hypocritical behavior. (Note the last two lines of the verse, which suggests they are guilty of abominable practices.) On the one hand, they act pious and offer sacrifices; but at the same time they commit violent crimes against men, defile their sacrifices, and worship other gods.

[66:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “one who sacrifices a lamb, one who breaks a dog’s neck.” Some understand a comparison, but see the previous note.

[66:3]  sn The significance of breaking a dog’s neck is uncertain, though the structure of the statement when compared to the preceding and following lines suggests the action is viewed in a negative light. According to Exod 13:13 and 34:20, one was to “redeem” a firstborn donkey by offering a lamb; if one did not “redeem” the firstborn donkey in this way, then its neck must be broken. According to Deut 21:1-9 a heifer’s neck was to be broken as part of the atonement ritual to purify the land from the guilt of bloodshed. It is not certain if these passages relate in any way to the action described in Isa 66:3.

[66:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “one who offers an offering, pig’s blood.” Some understand a comparison, but see the note at the end of the first line.

[66:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “one who offers incense as a memorial offering, one who blesses something false.” Some understand a comparison, but see the note at the end of the first line. אָוֶן (’aven), which has a wide variety of attested nuances, here refers metonymically to an idol. See HALOT 22 s.v. and BDB 20 s.v. 2.

[66:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “also they have chosen their ways.”

[66:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “their being [or “soul”] takes delight in their disgusting [things].”

[41:5]  ¹⁸ sn Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria were all cities in the northern kingdom of Israel with important religious and political histories. When Israel was destroyed in 722 b.c., some of the Israelites had been left behind and some of the Judeans had taken up residence in these northern cities. People residing there had participated in the reforms of Hezekiah (2 Chr 30:11) and Josiah (2 Chr 34:9) and were evidently still faithfully following the Jewish calendar. They would have been on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish New Year and the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev 23:34).

[41:5]  map For the location of Samaria see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[41:5]  ¹⁹ tn The words “to show they were mourning” are not in the text but are implicit in the acts. They are supplied in the translation for clarification for readers who may not be familiar with ancient mourning customs.

[41:5]  ²⁰ tn The words “in Jerusalem” are not in the text but are implicit. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[41:5]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[44:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “they.” The referent must be supplied from the preceding, i.e., Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. “They” are those who have experienced the disaster and are distinct from those being addressed and their ancestors (44:3b).

[44:3]  ²² tn Heb “thus making me angry.” However, this is a good place to break the sentence to create a shorter sentence that is more in keeping with contemporary English style.

[44:3]  ²³ tn Heb “by going to offer sacrifice in serving/worshiping.” The second לְ (lamed) + infinitive is epexegetical of the first (cf. IBHS 608-9 §36.2.3e).

[44:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 9, 10, 17, 21).

[44:3]  ²⁵ sn Compare Jer 19:4 for the same thought and see also 7:9.