Teks -- Exodus 27:1-10 (NET)

The Altar

27:1 “You are to make the altar of acacia wood, seven feet six inches long, and seven feet six inches wide; the altar is to be square, and its height is to be four feet six inches. 27:2 You are to make its four horns on its four corners; its horns will be part of it, and you are to overlay it with bronze. 27:3 You are to make its pots for the ashes, its shovels, its tossing bowls, its meat hooks, and its fire pans– you are to make all its utensils of bronze. 27:4 You are to make a grating for it, a network of bronze, and you are to make on the network four bronze rings on its four corners. 27:5 You are to put it under the ledge of the altar below, so that the network will come halfway up the altar. 27:6 You are to make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and you are to overlay them with bronze. 27:7 The poles are to be put into the rings so that the poles will be on two sides of the altar when carrying it. 27:8 You are to make the altar hollow, out of boards. Just as it was shown you on the mountain, so they must make it.

The Courtyard

27:9 “You are to make the courtyard of the tabernacle. For the south side there are to be hangings for the courtyard of fine twisted linen, one hundred fifty feet long for one side, 27:10 with twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Wesley: Exo 27:1

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 so be set up, to which they must bring their sacrifices; and this altar was to sanctify their gifts; from hence 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.

Wesley: Exo 27:2

The horns of it, 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.

Wesley: Exo 27:4 - The grate was set 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 net

work like a sieve, and hung hollow, that the fire might burn the better, and that the ashes might fall through. Now, this brazen altar was a type of Christ dying to make atonement for our sins. Christ sanctified himself for his church as their altar, Joh 17:19, and by his mediation sanctifies the daily services of his people. To the horns of this altar poor sinners fly for refuge, and are safe in virtue of the sacrifice there offered.

Wesley: Exo 27:9

Before the tabernacle there was to be a court, enclosed with hangings of fine linen. This court, according to the common computation, was 50 yards long, and 25 broad. Pillars were set up at convenient distances, in sockets of brass, the pillars filleted with silver, and silver tenterhooks in them, on which the linen hangings were fastened: the hanging which served for the gate was finer than the rest. This court was a type of the church, enclosed, and distinguished from the rest of the world; the inclosure supported by pillars, noting the stability of the church hung with the clean linen, which is said to be the righteousness of saints, Rev 19:8. Yet this court would contain but a few worshippers; thanks be to God, now the inclosure is taken down; and there is room for all that in every place call on the name of Christ.

JFB: Exo 27:1-2 - altar of shittim wood

The dimensions of this altar which was placed at the entrance of the sanctuary were nearly three yards square, and a yard and a half in height. Under the wooden frame of this chest-like altar the inside was hollow, and each corner was to be terminated by "horns"--angular projections, perpendicular or oblique, in the form of horns. The animals to be sacrificed were bound to these (Psa 118:27), and part of the blood was applied to them.

JFB: Exo 27:3 - shovels

Fire shovels for scraping together any of the scattered ashes.

JFB: Exo 27:3 - basons

For receiving the blood of the sacrifice to be sprinkled on the people.

JFB: Exo 27:3 - fleshhooks

Curved, three-pronged forks (1Sa 2:13-14).

JFB: Exo 27:3 - fire-pans

A large sort of vessel, wherein the sacred fire which came down from heaven (Lev 9:24) was kept burning, while they cleaned the altar and the grate from the coals and ashes, and while the altar was carried from one place to another in the wilderness [PATRICK, SPENCER, LE CLERC].

JFB: Exo 27:4 - a grate of network of brass

Sunk latticework to support the fire.

JFB: Exo 27:4 - four brazen rings

By which the grating might be lifted and taken away as occasion required from the body of the altar.

JFB: Exo 27:5 - put it under the compass of the altar beneath

That is, the grating in which they were carried to a clean place (Lev 4:12).

JFB: Exo 27:6-7 - staves . . . rings

Those rings were placed at the side through which the poles were inserted on occasions of removal.|| 02282||1||11||0||@the court of the tabernacle==--The enclosure in which the edifice stood was a rectangular court, extending rather more than fifty yards in length and half that space in breadth, and the enclosing parapet was about three yards or half the height of the tabernacle. That parapet consisted of a connected series of curtains, made of fine twined linen yarn, woven into a kind of network, so that the people could see through; but that large curtain which overhung the entrance was of a different texture, being embroidered and dyed with variegated colors, and it was furnished with cords for pulling it up or drawing it aside when the priests had occasion to enter. The curtains of this enclosure were supported on sixty brazen pillars which stood on pedestals of the same metal, but their capitals and fillets were of silver, and the hooks on which they were suspended were of silver also.

Clarke: Exo 27:1 - Thou shalt make an altar

Thou shalt make an altar - מזבח mizbeach , from זבח zabach , to slay: Septuagint, θυσιαστηριον, from θυσιαζω, to sacrifice or from θυω to kill, etc. See Clarke’ s note on Gen 8:20

Clarke: Exo 27:1 - Four square

Four square - As this altar was five cubits long and five broad, and the cubit is reckoned to be twenty-one inches, hence it must have been eight feet nine inches square, and about five feet three inches in height, the amount of three cubits, taken at the same ratio.

Clarke: Exo 27:2 - Thou shalt make the horns of it

Thou shalt make the horns of it - The horns might have three uses

1.    For ornament

2.    To prevent carcasses, etc., from falling off

3.    To tie the victim to, previously to its being sacrificed

So David: Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar; Psa 118:27. Horns were much used in all ancient altars among the heathen, and some of them were entirely constructed of the horns of the beasts that had been offered in sacrifice; but such altars appear to be erected rather as trophies in honor of their gods. On the reverses of several medals we find altars represented with horns at the corners. There is a medal of Antoninus on the reverse of which is an altar, on which a fire burns, consecrated Divi Pio , where the horns appear on each of the corners

There is one of Faustina, on which the altar and its horns are very distinct, the legend Pietas Augusta . All the following have altars with horns. One of Valerian, legend Consecratio ; one of Claudius Gothicus, same legend; one of Quintillus, same legend; one of Crispina, with the legend Diis Genitalibus ; and several others. See Numismatica Antiq., a Musellio, under Consecratio, in the index

Callimachus, in his Hymn to Apollo, line 60 introduces him constructing an altar of the horns of the animals slain by Diana

- πηξε δε βωμο

Εκ κεραων κ. τ. λ.

Martial has these words: Cornibus ara frequens .

Clarke: Exo 27:3 - Thou shalt make his pans

Thou shalt make his pans - סירתיו sirothaiv , a sort or large brazen dishes, which stood under the altar to receive the ashes that fell through the grating

Clarke: Exo 27:3 - His shovels

His shovels - יעיו yaaiv . Some render this besoms; but as these were brazen instruments, it is more natural to suppose that some kind of fire-shovels are intended, or scuttles, which were used to carry off the ashes that fell through the grating into the large pan or siroth

Clarke: Exo 27:3 - His basins

His basins - מזרקתיו mizrekothaiv , from זרק zarak , to sprinkle or disperse; bowls or basins to receive the blood of the sacrifices, in order that it might be sprinkled on the people before the altar, etc

Clarke: Exo 27:3 - His flesh-hooks

His flesh-hooks - מזלגתיו mizlegothaiu . That this word is rightly translated flesh-hooks is fully evident from 1Sa 2:13, where the same word is used in such a connection as demonstrates its meaning: And the priest’ s custom with the people was, that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’ s servant came, while the flesh was in the seething, with a Flesh-Hook ( מזלג mazleg ) of three teeth (prongs) in his hand, and he struck it into the pan, etc.; all that the Flesh-Hook ( מזלג mazleg ) brought up, the priest took for himself. It was probably a kind of trident, or fork with three prongs, and these bent to a right angle at the middle, as the ideal meaning of the Hebrew seems to imply crookedness or curvature in general

Clarke: Exo 27:3 - His fire-pans

His fire-pans - מחתתיו machtothaiu . Bishop Patrick and others suppose that "this was a larger sort of vessel, wherein, probably, the sacred fire which came down from heaven (Lev 9:24) was kept burning, whilst they cleansed the altar and the grate from the coals and the ashes; and while the altar was carried from one place to another, as it often was in the wilderness.

Clarke: Exo 27:4 - Thou shalt make for it a grate

Thou shalt make for it a grate - Calmet supposes this altar to have been a sort of box, covered with brass plates, on the top of which was a grating to supply the fire with air, and permit the ashes to fall through into the siroth or pan that was placed below. At the four corners of the grating were four rings and four chains, by which it was attached to the four horns; and at the sides were rings for the poles of shittim wood with which it was carried. Even on this there is a great variety of opinions.

Clarke: Exo 27:8 - Hollow with boards

Hollow with boards - It seems to have been a kind of frame-work, and to have had nothing solid in the inside, and only covered with the grating at the top. This rendered it more light and portable.

Clarke: Exo 27:9 - The court of the tabernacle

The court of the tabernacle - The tabernacle stood in an enclosure or court, open at the top. This court was made with pillars or posts, and hangings. It was one hundred cubits, or about fifty-eight yards and a half, in length; the breadth we learn from Exo 27:12, Exo 27:18; and five cubits, or nearly three yards, high, Exo 27:18. And as this was but half the height of the tabernacle, Exo 26:16, that sacred building might easily be seen by the people from without.

Calvin: Exo 27:1 - And thou shalt make an altar

1.And thou shalt make an altar The altar of whole burnt-offerings ( holocaustorum) is here described, which, however, it was called by synecdoche, for not only entire victims were burnt there, but also parts of them only, as we shall see in Leviticus. The burnt-offerings received their name from their ascending, ¹⁴⁷ whereby the Israelites were reminded that they had need to be purified, that they might ascend to God; and at the same time were instructed that whatever corruption there might be in the flesh did not prevent the sacrifices from being acceptable and of a sweet savor to God. It is clear that from the first beginning of the human race there were burnt-sacrifices, suggested by the secret inspiration of God’s Spirit, since there was no written Law; nor can we doubt but that by this symbol they were taught that the flesh must be burnt by the Spirit, in order that men may duly offer themselves to God; and thus they acknowledged, under this type, that the flesh of Christ must receive this from the divine power, so as to become a perfect victim for the propitiation of God; thus, as the Apostle testifies, he offered himself through the Spirit. (Heb 9:14.) But fuller mention of this subject will be made elsewhere. The altar was so constructed that the sacrifices might be cast upon a grate placed within it, and thus they were covered by its external surface. The ashes were received into a pan, so that they should not fall about upon the ground and be trodden under foot, but that reverence might be inculcated even towards the very remnants of their holy things. ¹⁴⁸ That the victims were bound to the four horns, which stood out from the four corners, is plain from the words of Psa 118:27, “Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.” And this also is the beginning of a proper offering of spiritual sacrifices, that all the lusts of the flesh should be subdued, and held captive as it were unto the obedience of God. Wherefore even Christ, although in Him there was nothing which was not duly regulated, was nevertheless bound, in order to prove His obedience; as He had said, “Not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Mat 26:39.) The altar was carried on staves, to obviate the necessity of having more than one; else there would have been danger of their being compelled, by the very difficulty of carrying it, to leave it behind after it was made, if they were setting about a long journey; and this would have been the seed or ground of superstition, whilst no other could be built which was not spurious.

Calvin: Exo 27:9 - And thou shalt make the court

9.And thou shalt make the court There were two courts divided from the sanctuary, one for the priests, the other common to the whole people. To the first chambers were annexed, in which the Levites dwelt, who were the keepers of the tabernacle; and thus sometimes the courts are spoken of in the plural number, and especially in the Psalms, (Psa 64:4.) It is the court of the people which is here referred to, where they consecrated the victims, offered their prayers, and were reconciled to God. In this manner the condition of mankind was shewn to the Israelites, by their being forbidden to enter the Temple, whilst at the same time they were reminded that men, although unworthy outcasts, are received by God, if only they seek Him simply, and with due humility, mindful of their own unworthiness. Hence the consolation in which David gloried, ¹⁴⁹ “I had rather dwell in the courts of the Lord, than in the splendid tents of the ungodly.” The court was formed by four curtains, two of which, on the north and south sides, were 100 cubits long, and supported by 20 pillars, whose bases were of brass, and their capitals ¹⁵⁰ and fillets of silver; on the east and west, each curtain was 50 cubits long, supported by 10 pillars. The length spoken of is not from the ground upwards, but from their opposite corners: for the court was twice as long as it was broad, as is said in Exo 27:18. There would be an appearance of contradiction in the fact that Moses afterwards speaks of two sides, and assigns fifteen cubits to each, if he did not immediately go on to mention the hanging or curtain, which covered the gate of the court, and which he sets at twenty cubits. Thus the measure will be correct, and the passage will be quite accordant; for, after he has said in Exo 27:13 that the curtain on the east side should consist of fifty cubits, he adds in explanation that there were two curtains at the sides of the door, and a third between them to cover the door, making up in all the fifty cubits. But the door was covered by the hanging, that the Israelites might reflect in themselves, whenever they went into the sanctuary, that it was no profane or common ( promiscuum) place; but if they came thither in purity and chastity, they might be assuredly persuaded that they were safe under the protection of God. Finally also the majesty of holy things was shewn them in this type, in order that they might reverently approach the worship of God; and they were reminded of their own unworthiness, that they might humble themselves the more before God, and that fear might beget penitence, whilst moderation in the desire of knowledge was recommended to them, that they might not be unduly inquisitive. The religion of the Gentiles also had its secret shrines with the same object, but for very different causes; for it was a brutal religion, for which veneration was sought by darkness, and the disguise of ignorance; whereas God, whilst He retained His people in modesty and simplicity, at the same time set before them the Law, from which they might learn whatever it was right and useful for them to know.

TSK: Exo 27:1 - altar of shittim wood

altar of shittim wood : Exo 20:24-26, Exo 24:4, Exo 38:1-7, Exo 40:10, Exo 40:29; 2Sa 24:18; 2Ch 4:1; Eze 43:13-17; Heb 13:10

TSK: Exo 27:2 - horns of it upon the four corners thereof // overlay it with brass

horns of it upon the four corners thereof : The horns might have been designed not only for ornament, but to prevent the sacrifices from falling off, and to tie the victim to, previous to its being sacrificed. Exo 29:12; Lev 4:7, Lev 4:18, Lev 4:25, Lev 8:15, Lev 16:18; 1Ki 1:50, 1Ki 2:28; Psa 118:27; Heb 6:18

overlay it with brass : Num 16:38, Num 16:39; 1Ki 8:64

TSK: Exo 27:3 - his shovels // basins // fleshhooks // firepans

his shovels : Lev 16:12; 1Ki 7:40, 1Ki 7:45; 2Ch 4:11; Jer 52:18

basins : Exo 24:6

fleshhooks : Exo 38:3; Num 4:14; 1Sa 2:13, 1Sa 2:14; 1Ch 28:17; 2Ch 4:16

firepans : 1Ki 7:45; 2Ki 25:15; Jer 52:19, Jer 52:20

TSK: Exo 27:4 - a grate of network // rings in the four corners thereof

a grate of network : Exo 35:16, Exo 38:4, Exo 38:5

rings in the four corners thereof : Exo 25:12

TSK: Exo 27:5 - compass of the altar

compass of the altar : Exo 38:4

TSK: Exo 27:6 - staves for the altar

staves for the altar : Exo 35:13-15, Exo 30:4; Num 4:44

TSK: Exo 27:7 - bear it

bear it : Exo 25:28, Exo 30:4; Num 4:13, Num 4:14

TSK: Exo 27:8 - as it was showed

as it was showed : Heb. he shewed, Exo 25:9, Exo 25:40, Exo 26:30-37; 1Ch 28:11, 1Ch 28:19; Mat 15:9; Col 2:20-23; Heb 8:5

TSK: Exo 27:9 - the court // hangings for

the court : Exo 38:9-20, Exo 40:8; 1Ki 6:36, 1Ki 8:64; 2Ch 33:5; Psa 84:10, Psa 92:13, Psa 100:4; Psa 116:19; Eze 40:14, Eze 40:20, Eze 40:23, Eze 40:28, Eze 40:32, Eze 40:44, Eze 42:3, Eze 42:19, Eze 42:20, Eze 46:20-24

hangings for : Exo 26:31-37, Exo 36:17, Exo 39:40

TSK: Exo 27:10 - sockets shall be of brass // fillets shall be of silver

sockets shall be of brass : Exo 26:19-21

fillets shall be of silver : Exo 36:38; Jer 52:21

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: Exo 27:2 - The horns // His horns shall be of the same

The horns were elevated above the body of the altar, in form either of pyramids or spires, or rather of horns, as the word signifies; nor is there any necessity; of departing from the proper signification. These were not only for ornament, but for use also, either to keep things put upon it from falling, or that beasts to be offered might be bound to them. See Psa 118:27 .

His horns shall be of the same of the same piece with the altar, for its use required strength. With brass; With plates of brass of competent thickness, both above the wood and under it, that the fire might not take hold of the wood.

Poole: Exo 27:3 - Basons // Flesh-hooks // Firepans

Basons , to receive the blood of the sacrifices, which they were to sprinkle.

Flesh-hooks , wherewith they took flesh out of the pot in which it was seethed, as 1Sa 2:14 . But this seems not proper here, because the flesh was never boiled upon the altar, but in other places appointed for that use. And the Hebrew word is general, and may signify either tongs or fire-forks.

Firepans , in which they carried live coals from this altar to that of incense, as occasion required.

Poole: Exo 27:4 - A grate of net-work // Upon the net // Four brazen rings

A grate of net-work , which was competently strong and thick, this being as it were the hearth of the altar, upon which they laid both the wood and the sacrifices, and it was full of holes, through which the blood and ashes might fall down into the place appointed for them.

Upon the net , or rather at , or beside , or under the net, for so the rings were placed, as their use shows, and the Hebrew preposition al is oft so used.

Four brazen rings , which were either,

1. Peculiar to the grate, which by these was carried apart from the altar, having the perpetual fire kept in it; for had it been carried with the altar, the cloth wherewith the altar was covered, Num 4:13 , would have been endangered by the fire. Or,

2. Common to the altar, to which these were fixed on the outside, as on the inside to the grate, that by them the grate might be both kept even and upright, and also carried together with the altar, and that with such caution that the fire included might not hurt the covering-cloth, which was not difficult to do.

Poole: Exo 27:5 - Under the compass // That the net may be even to the midst of the altar // beneath

Under the compass , i.e. within the square and hollow space of the altar.

That the net may be even to the midst of the altar , or, and the net shall be at (the Hebrew ad being here used for el , as Hos 14:2 Joe 2:12 Amo 4:6,8 ), the midst of the altar. And these words seem added to explain the word

beneath , to show that as it was not to be at the top, so neither at the bottom of the altar, but in the midst of it.

Poole: Exo 27:7 - The staves shall be put into the rings

The staves shall be put into the rings , which seem to be the same both to the altar and the grate, though some allege that place for the contrary.

Poole: Exo 27:8

i.e. Not one entire piece of.wood, but consisting of four several sides, hollow within, for easiness and conveniency of carriage in their wilderness state.

Poole: Exo 27:9 - hangings

A court encompassing the tabernacle, Exo 40:33 , in the midst whereof the altar of sacrifices was placed, upon which the offerings were burnt in the open air, which was most convenient. By the

hangings the court was distinguished and enclosed.

Poole: Exo 27:10 - Their twenty sockets // Their fillets

On the twenty pillars the hangings were fastened by the hooks here mentioned.

Their twenty sockets , or, bases , upon which the pillars stood.

Their fillets , or, hoops , which encompassed the pillars at the top, being placed there, as it seems, for ornament only.

Haydock: Exo 27:1 - Altar // Four square

Altar, of holocausts, in the open air, before the tabernacle. (Tirinus) ---

Four square, or five cubits in length and breadth, and three in height, which the Rabbins measure from the grate, (ver. 5,) or middle of the altar's height. So high the altar was sunk in the earth, (Calmet) or was built of unhewn stone, on which the wood of the altar rested, being secured by plates of brass above, from the heat of the fire. It was hollow within, and had neither top nor bottom fixed to it. (Menochius)

Haydock: Exo 27:2 - It

It. The altar, wood. The horns were for ornament, and were made of brass. Upon them also they might hang the grate, and instruments for sacrifice. (Calmet) ---

Some of the pagan altars consisted of the horns of animals, (Ovid) and were designed to shew what a number of victims had been offered in their temples. Their gods had frequently horns on their heads. (Spencer, Rit. iii. 4.)

Haydock: Exo 27:3 - Pans

Pans, &c. The Septuagint have, "a crown or border, for the altar, and its covering, and its cups, and flesh-hooks, and fire-place, or pan." Hebrew also has five terms; which Calmet renders: 1. a small kettle to receive the ashes under the grate; 2. fire-shovels; 3. bowls to receive blood ( mozrokoth, which term the Vulgate does not perhaps notice); 4. flesh-hooks; 5. chafing-dishes. The Protestant version has also the basins or broad cups, phialas, of the Septuagint (Haydock)

Haydock: Exo 27:5 - Midst

Midst. Hanging down half way. On this, the wood designed to consume the victim, was placed. The Septuagint and Vulgate refer which to the rings, and the present Hebrew refers to the grate, or net. But it seems to be inaccurate. The rings were fixed about the middle of the altar's height, to the same holes, through which the bars intended for its removal were put. The altar stood upon feet, which took up half the height, and let in air below the grate, to fan the fire, and to prevent the brass from melting. All the altars described in the table of Isis, are of this nature. (Calmet) ---

The Septuagint do not distinguish the grate from the hearth, or little altar, ( arula ) as they use the word hearth, escharaboth, (ver. 4. and 5,) and place it about the middle of the altar, or where the feet supported the box or frame of the altar, which was almost a yard high. The hearth may therefore denote the bottom of the frame, where the grate was suspended by four rings.

Haydock: Exo 27:9 - Court

Court. This inclosed the tabernacle, and the altar of holocausts, being 50 yards long and 25 broad. At the bottom, or western end, there were ten pillars, and on the north and south 20, ornamented in the same manner, and supporting curtains of cotton. But on the eastern side, 10 yards were left, with four pillars in the middle, for an entrance, supporting a richer veil, and on either side three pillars of brass, adorned with circles of silver, as all the rest were. (Haydock)

Haydock: Exo 27:10 - Engraving

Engraving. Hebrew and Chaldean, "circles," adorning the chaptrels, (Menochius; ver. 17,) or rather the body of the pillars. The chaptrels were covered with plates of silver.

Gill: Exo 27:1 - And thou shall make an altar of shittim wood // five cubits long, and five cubits broad // and the height thereof shall be three cubits

And thou shall make an altar of shittim wood,.... This is a different altar from that made of earth before the tabernacle was built, Exo 20:24 and from the altar of incense, Exo 30:1 this was to offer burnt offerings on, and was placed at the door of the tabernacle, in the court of the people, where they brought their sacrifices to the priests to offer for them: it stood in the open air, as it was proper it should, that the smoke or the sacrifices might ascend up and scatter. This altar was not typical of the altar of the heart; though indeed all the saints are priests, and every sacrifice of theirs should come from the heart, and particularly love, which is more than all burnt offerings; but the heart is not this altar of brass to bear the fire of divine wrath, which none can endure; nor does it sanctify the gift, it being itself impure: nor of the Lord's table, or the table on which the Lord's supper is set; that is a table, and not an altar, a feast, and not a sacrifice; is not greater than the gift, nor does it sanctify: nor of the cross or Christ, on which he died, bore the sins or his people, and sanctified them by his blood; but of Christ himself, who by his office as a priest, his human nature is the sacrifice, and his divine nature the altar; and he is that altar believers in him have a right to eat of, Heb 13:10 his divine nature is greater than the human, is the support of it, which sanctifies and gives it virtue as a sacrifice, and which makes the sacrifices of all his people acceptable to God. This altar of burnt offering is said to be made of "shittim wood", a wood incorruptible and durable; Christ, as God, is from everlasting to everlasting; as man, though he once died, he now lives for evermore, and never did or will see corruption; his priesthood is an unchangeable priesthood, and passes not from one to another, and particularly his sacrifice is of a continual virtue and efficacy:

five cubits long, and five cubits broad: the altar shall be square: as to the length and breadth of it, which were alike, two yards and a half each, according to the common notion of a cubit. The altars of the Heathens were made in imitation of this, they were square as this was. Pausanias makes mention of an altar of Diana, that was τετραγωνος "square", sensibly rising up on high. And this figure may denote the perfection of Christ's sacrifice, and the permanency of it; though the altars in Solomon's temple, and in the visions of Ezekiel, are much larger, and which also were square, 2Ch 4:1. Christ's sacrifice is large and extensive, making satisfaction for all his people, and for all their sins; and he is an altar large enough for all their sacrifices to be offered up to God with acceptance:

and the height thereof shall be three cubits; a proper height for a man to minister at; for as Aben Ezra observes, the height of a man is but four cubits ordinarily; so that a man serving at the altar would be a cubit, or half a yard more above it, and would have command of doing on it what he had to do.

Gill: Exo 27:2 - his horns shall be of the same // and thou shalt overlay it with brass

Which were either for ornament, or for keeping what was laid upon the altar from falling off, or for the fastening of the sacrifice to them, and were what criminals fled to for refuge, and laid hold on; and may denote the power of Christ, who is the horn of salvation to preserve his people from a final falling away, and from ruin and destruction, and his protection of those that fly to him for refuge; and these horns being at the corners of the altar may respect the four parts of the world, from whence souls come to Christ for everlasting salvation:

his horns shall be of the same; that is, made of the same wood as the altar itself and so may lead to observe the like things: or "upwards out of it" ^b, the altar; prominent from it, as the Arabic version, and so the sacrifices could be bound to them, Psa 118:27,

and thou shalt overlay it with brass; with plates of brass, that it may endure the fire, and preserve the wood from being burnt with it; this may denote not only the brightness, lustre, and glory of Christ, like the shining brass, but his great strength in bearing the sins of his people, and all the punishment due unto them, even the fire of divine wrath, without being consumed by it. Jarchi observes, that it was overlaid with brass, because it was to make atonement for the impudence of the forehead, which is as brass, Isa 48:4.

Gill: Exo 27:3 - And thou shall make his pans to receive his ashes // and his shovels // and his basins // and his flesh hooks // and his fire pans; which were a kind of censers in which coals of fire // all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass

And thou shall make his pans to receive his ashes,.... Not to receive them in as they fell, but to gather them up in, and carry them away; and this was done every morning about cockcrowing, not much sooner nor later ^c:

and his shovels; to throw up the ashes together to be put into the pans; Jarchi describes this vessel to be like the cover of a brass pot, with a handle to it; the same we call a fire shovel:

and his basins: to receive the blood of the sacrifice, and out of which it was sprinkled, as the word signifies, and may be rendered sprinkling basins:

and his flesh hooks; not such as were used to take flesh out of the pot, 1Sa 2:13 for there could be no use for such at the altar of burnt offering; but were, as Jarchi says, like hooks recurved, with which they struck into the flesh, and turned it upon the coals to hasten the burning of it; and with which very probably they kept the fire and the parts of the sacrifices in good order, until they were consumed:

and his fire pans; which were a kind of censers in which coals of fire were taken off from the altar of burnt offering, and carried to the altar of incense, as Jarchi and Ben Gersom observe, see Lev 16:12 but as censers did not belong to the altar of burnt offering, but to the altar of incense, Fortunatus Scacchus ^d is of opinion, that these were a larger sort of vessels, wherein the fire which came down from heaven was kept burning while the altar and grate were cleansed from the coals and ashes, and when the altar was had from place to place:

all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass; as being fittest for the use of this altar.

Gill: Exo 27:4 - And thou shalt, make for it a grate of network of brass // and upon the net shalt thou make four brazen rings in the four corners thereof

And thou shalt, make for it a grate of network of brass,.... Or "sieve", as in Amo 9:9, it was a plate of brass with holes in it, to let through either the blood that drained from the parts of the sacrifice, or the ashes of it; for this was the focus or hearth, on which the sacrifice and the wood were laid and burnt: this, according to the Targum of Jonathan on Exo 38:4 was to receive the coals and bones which fell from the altar: and so may denote the purity of Christ's sacrifice, which was offered up without spot to God, and the use of him as the altar to sanctify our gifts, and take away the sins of our holy things:

and upon the net shalt thou make four brazen rings in the four corners thereof; by which, with chains put into them, the grate was fastened to the four horns of the altar, and the use of them was to let it down and hang in the middle of the altar, and to take it up when there was occasion for it; though some think these rings were not "in" the grate, but "by" it, as the particle may be rendered, a little lower than that, on the sides of the altar; into which the staves after mentioned were put, and with which the altar was carried when removed from place to place.

Gill: Exo 27:5 - And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath // that the net may be even to the midst of the altar

And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath,.... That is, the grate was to be put within the square compass of the altar, in the hollow part of it, for the wood and sacrifice to be laid upon it:

that the net may be even to the midst of the altar; and as the altar was three cubits high, this net or grate was let down by chains to its rings a cubit and a half, and being of such a depth was capable of containing a great deal.

Gill: Exo 27:6 - And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood // and overlay them with brass

And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood,.... Like those that were made for the ark, and for the same purpose:

and overlay them with brass; with plates of brass, whereas those for the ark were overlaid with gold.

Gill: Exo 27:7 - And the staves shall be put into the rings // and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it

And the staves shall be put into the rings,.... Not into the rings of the grate, as Jarchi and others: though Dr. Lightfoot ^f thinks these came out of each corner through the altar frame, and hung out of the frame, and in these the staves being put, made the frame and the grate sure together, and so they were also carried together; but it seems rather, that as the grate had rings peculiar to that, to let it down and take it up, and with which it was carried, with a purple cloth covered over it, Num 4:13 so the altar had rings peculiar to that on the sides of it, into which these staves were put:

and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it; and which shows that the rings into which these were put were not the rings of the grate, for they were at the four corners of it, which hung upon the four horns of it; whereas the staves were on the two sides of it, in order to bear it from place to place, which was done by the Levites; and was typical of the ministers of the Gospel bearing the name of Christ, and spreading the doctrine of his sacrifice and satisfaction, in the world, which is the main and fundamental doctrine of the Gospel.

Gill: Exo 27:8 - Hollow with boards shalt thou make it // as it was showed thee in the mount, so shall they make it

Hollow with boards shalt thou make it,.... The frame of it being made of boards of shittim wood, there was nothing within side but the grate, which was put within the square, down into the middle of it, and so was light of carriage; though the Targum of Jonathan, and other Jewish writers, represent this hollow as filled up with dust and earth, to answer to the altar of earth Moses was before bid to make; but this seems quite contrary to the present direction: the hollowness of the altar may denote the emptiness of Christ when he became a sacrifice: he emptied himself, as it were, when he became incarnate, of all his greatness, glory, and riches, and became mean and poor for the sake of his people, that they through his poverty might be made rich, Phi 2:7.

as it was showed thee in the mount, so shall they make it; or, "as he showed thee" ^g, that is, God. Moses had a model of this altar showed him, and he was to be careful to instruct the workmen, and see to it, that they built it exactly according to the model.

Gill: Exo 27:9 - And thou shall make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward // hangings for the court of fine twined linen of one hundred cubits long for one side

And thou shall make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward,.... This was a large court yard to the house of God, or tabernacle, which stood in it at the upper end of it; it was enclosed, but open to the air; and in it, between the entrance into it and the holy place, stood the altar of burnt offering before described, and on one side of that the laver for the priests to wash in; into this the people of Israel were admitted, and where they brought their sacrifices and worshipped: it was typical of the visible church of God on earth, which, though an enclosure, and is separated from the world, yet consists of professors, good and bad, of real saints and hypocrites; as into this court Israelites of every character, sex, and state entered. In David's time it was divided into various courts, and what answered to it when the temple was built were the several apartments called the courts of the priests, where they sacrificed, and the court of Israel, where the men Israelites worshipped, and the court of the women, where they were by themselves; and in later times there was another court separate from these, called the court of the Gentiles, into which they might enter; and the description of this court begins with that side of it which lay full south: there shall be

hangings for the court of fine twined linen of one hundred cubits long for one side; for the south side; and these hangings, with the rest all around, made the court, and were the walls of it; and from hence we learn, that it was one hundred cubits or fifty yards long, according to the common computation of a cubit; though it was three hundred inches more, this cubit being three inches more than is commonly supposed. These hangings, vails, or curtains, for so in the versions they are differently called, were the enclosure of the court; they were made of fine linen, six times twisted, but not of various colours, and curiously wrought with cunning work, as the curtains of the tabernacle were; and according to the signification of the word, they were wrought full of holes, like eyelet holes, or in the manner of network; so that though they kept persons from entering in, they might be seen through, and through them might be seen what was doing in the court: and all this may signify that the visible church of God on earth is separated from the world, and should consist of men called out of it, and of such who are clothed with that fine linen, clean and white, the righteousness of the saints, and which is the righteousness of Christ, and who have both inward and outward holiness; and though none but those who are admitted members of it may partake of its ordinances, yet others may be spectators of what is done in it.

Gill: Exo 27:10 - And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass // the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver

And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass,.... On these pillars the hangings, rails, or curtains were set, and they were for one side, the south side, in number twenty; and so must stand five cubits, or two yards and a half or more, distant from each other, since the length of the hangings were one hundred cubits: these, according to Philo the Jew ^h, were made of cedar, but if of wood, most probably of "shittim wood", as they are by most thought to be; though one would think, according to the plain and express words of the text, they as well as their sockets were of brass: and Josephus ⁱ expressly says they were of brass, and which seems fittest for the purpose: now though the church of God itself is a pillar, and so is every true member of it, 1Ti 3:15 yet ministers of the Gospel may be more especially designed, Pro 9:1 who are the principal support of the churches of God, and of the interest of religion; and are set for the defence of the Gospel, and are steadfast in the ministration of it:

the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver; the hooks on the pillars might be somewhat like our tenter hooks, and so Jarchi describes them, as having one end crooked upwards, and the other end fixed in the pillar; and as for the fillets, he says, they were silver threads round about the pillars; but whether they were upon the face or of them all, or on the top, or in the middle of them, he confesses his ignorance; only this he knew, that the word has the signification of girding or binding; and these fillets might not only be for ornament, but for the binding of the hangings to the pillars: and so Ben Gersom says, that they were silver threads, with which the curtains were bound to the pillars, that the wind might not separate them from them; and both the silver hooks and fillets may signify the word and ordinances as administered by the preachers of the Gospel, in which there is an union, conjunction, and communion between them and the churches.