Exodus 30:3
in Exodus 30Overlay with pure gold the top and all the sides and horns, and make a molding of gold around it.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.
KJV
And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.
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This verse in Exodus 30
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
You are also to make an altar of acacia wood for the burning of incense
on Exodus 30:1-5
The gold altar is described here, after the priests are consecrated in chapter 29, and away from the table and lampstand. It has horns like the bronze altar of 27:2 and poles like the ark of 25:13, so the altar of prayer travels with the camp.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The measure of the altar of incense in Ezekiel's temple is double to what it is here ( Ezek. xli. 22 ), and it is there called an altar of wood, and there is no mention of gold, to signify that the incense, in gospel times, should be spiritual, the worship plain, and the service of God enlarged, for in every place incense should be offered, Mal. i.
quarantine:near-duplicate (2026-07-29) — near-dup(78%, 2 voices)
And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
This splendor was adapted to the early age of the church, but in later times, when the worship was to be more spiritual, the altar of incense is prophetically described as not of gold but of wood, and double the size of that in the tabernacle, because the church should be vastly extended (Mal 1:11).
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְצִפִּיתָ֨ | vetzipita | and you will overlay | H6823 → | 47 times |
| אֹת֜וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> it | H853 → | 10935 times |
| זָהָ֣ב | zahav | gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
| טָה֗וֹר | tahor | pure | H2889 → | 94 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| גַּגּ֧וֹ | gago | top its | H1406 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| קִירֹתָ֛יו | kirotav | sides its | H7023 → | |
| סָבִ֖יב | saviv | all around | H5439 → | 336 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| קַרְנֹתָ֑יו | karnotav | horns its | H7161 → | 76 times |
| וְעָשִׂ֥יתָ | veasita | and you will make | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לּ֛וֹ | lo | for <the> it | ||
| זֵ֥ר | zer | a molding of | H2213 → | 10 times |
| זָהָ֖ב | zahav | gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
| סָבִֽיב׃ | saviv | all around | H5439 → | 336 times |
וְצִפִּיתָ֨and you will overlay
vetzipitaH6823 →47 times
אֹת֜וֹ<obj.> it
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
זָהָ֣בgold
zahavH2091 →389 times
טָה֗וֹרpure
tahorH2889 →94 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
גַּגּ֧וֹtop its
gagoH1406 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
קִירֹתָ֛יוsides its
kirotavH7023 →
סָבִ֖יבall around
savivH5439 →336 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
קַרְנֹתָ֑יוhorns its
karnotavH7161 →76 times
וְעָשִׂ֥יתָand you will make
veasitaH6213 →2628 times
לּ֛וֹfor <the> it
lo
זֵ֥רa molding of
zerH2213 →10 times
זָהָ֖בgold
zahavH2091 →389 times
סָבִֽיב׃all around
savivH5439 →336 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach 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 25:24Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it.
it leads to
- Exodus 25:11
Overlay it with pure gold both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it.
- 1 Kings 6:20–22
The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.
- Exodus 25:11
Through
Exodus 25:11Overlay it with pure gold both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it.
it leads to
- Exodus 25:24
Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it.
- 1 Kings 6:20
The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.
- 2 Chronicles 3:4
The portico at the front, extending across the width of the temple, was twenty cubits long and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold.
- Exodus 25:24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies11
On this verse
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Sir Robert Anderson, Types in Hebrews.