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Exodus 38:1

in Exodus 38

Bezalel constructed the altar of burnt offering from acacia wood. It was square, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

And he made the altar of burnt-offering of acacia wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof, foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof.

KJV

And he made the altar of burnt offering of shittim wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof.

This verse in Exodus 38

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

On this all their sacrifices were offered, and it was this which, being sanctified itself for this purpose by the divine appointment, sanctified the gift that was in faith offered on it. Christ was himself the altar to his own sacrifice of atonement, and so he is to all our sacrifices of acknowledgment.

This site's exposition

made the altar of burnt offering

on Exodus 38:1-2

The altar in the court is the one article of furniture an ordinary Israelite could come near, and it is overlaid with brass rather than gold, which is the metal of the whole court. Its horns are of the same piece as the altar rather than fitted on, and the blood of the sin offering is put on them at Exodus 29:12. At 1 Kings 1:50 and again at 2:28 a man in fear of his life lays hold of the horns of the altar, which is a use Exodus never describes.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And he made the altar of burnt offering,.... That is, Bezaleel made it, or it was made by his direction, he having the care and oversight of it, wherefore the making of it is ascribed to him, 2Ch 1:5 the account of this, its horns, vessels, rings, and staves, is carried on to Exo 38:2 of which See Gill on Exo 27:1, Exo 27:2, Exo 27:3, Exo 27:4, Exo 27:5, Exo 27:6, Exo 27:7, Exo 27:8.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The altar of burnt-offering - See Clarke’s note on Exo 27:1; and for its horns, pots, shovels, basins, etc., see the meaning of the Hebrew terms explained, Exo 27:3-5 (note).
For Exo 38:1-7 and Exo 38:9-20 see the notes to Exo. 27.

The words behind it

16 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיַּ֛עַשׂand he made

    vaiyaasH62132628 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H85310935 times

  • מִזְבַּ֥ח[the] altar of

    mizbachH4196401 times

  • הָעֹלָ֖הthe burnt offering

    haolahH5930287 times

  • עֲצֵ֣יwood<s> of

    ʾatzeiH6086328 times

  • שִׁטִּ֑יםacacia

    shitimH784828 times

  • חָמֵשׁ֩[was] five

    chameshH2568343 times

  • אַמּ֨וֹתcubits

    ʾamotH520247 times

  • אָרְכּ֜וֹlength its

    ʾarekoH75395 times

  • וְחָֽמֵשׁ־and [was] five

    vechamesh-H2568343 times

  • אַמּ֤וֹתcubits

    ʾamotH520247 times

  • רָחְבּוֹ֙breadth its

    racheboH7341101 times

  • רָב֔וּעַsquare

    ravua'H725112 times

  • וְשָׁלֹ֥שׁand [was] three

    veshaloshH7969432 times

  • אַמּ֖וֹתcubits

    ʾamotH520247 times

  • קֹמָתֽוֹ׃height its

    komatoH696745 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Exodus 40:6

    Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting.

    it leads to

    • Exodus 27:1–8

      “You are to build an altar of acacia wood. The altar must be square, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Exodus 40:29

      He placed the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, just as the LORD had commanded…

    • 1 John 4:9–10

      This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.

  • Through

    Hebrews 13:10

    We have an altar from which those who serve at the tabernacle have no right to eat.

    it leads to

    • 1 Corinthians 10:20

      No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons.

    • 1 Corinthians 5:7–8

      Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

  • Through

    2 Chronicles 4:1

    He made a bronze altar twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high.

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 8:64

      On that same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard in front of the house of the LORD, and there he offered the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of…

    • Ezekiel 43:13–17

      These are the measurements of the altar in long cubits (a cubit and a handbreadth): Its gutter shall be a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of one span around its…

  • Through

    Revelation 21:16

    The city lies foursquare, with its width the same as its length. And he measured the city with the rod, and all its dimensions were equal—12,000 stadia in length and width and height.

    it leads to

    • Ezekiel 48:8–20

      Bordering the territory of Judah, from east to west, will be the portion you are to set apart. It will be 25,000 cubits wide, and the length of a tribal portion from east to…

Where this verse is studied

About Exodus

The Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.