Ezekiel 43:15
in Ezekiel 43The altar hearth shall be four cubits high, and four horns shall project upward from the hearth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the upper altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar hearth and upward there shall be four horns.
KJV
So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns.
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This verse in Ezekiel 43
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The altar ... the altar - See the margin. The two words may denote, the first a square block (N) placed upon the upper settle, the second a slab (O), the thickness of which is not given, from which rose four horns Exo 27:2; and to which it seems probable that the victims of sacrifice were at times bound. Psa 118:27. Why the names Harel and Ariel were used must be conjectural.
This site's exposition
the measures of the altar
on Ezekiel 43:13-17
The altar's own measure is given by a cubit and a hand breadth, a slightly longer cubit than the common one, rising in stepped settles from a one-cubit base to a hearth twelve cubits square with four horns at its corners, fourteen cubits at the wider settle below it. Commentators read the graduated settles as a sermon in stone by themselves, an altar approached upward in stages rather than mounted in one step, the same restraint that governed the earlier altar of earth or unhewn stone (Exodus 20:24-25). The stairs are set toward the east, so that whoever climbs to offer faces the gate through which the glory has just returned.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vers. 13 seqq.) These are the measurements of the altar: in the true cubit, which is a cubit and a handbreadth (or παλαιστὴν) in his bosom, the cubit was in length, and its width was measured from its lip to the surrounding palm of one hand. This was also the trench of the altar. From the bosom of the earth to the outermost base, it was two cubits in height, and the width of one cubit. And from the smaller base to the larger base, it was four cubits, and the width of one cubit.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
So the altar shall be four cubits,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
altar--Hebrew, Harel, that is, "mount of God"; denoting the high security to be imparted by it to the restored Israel. It was a high place, but a high place of God, not of idols. from the altar--literally, "the lion of God," Ariel (in Isa 29:1, "Ariel" is applied to Jerusalem).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
So the altar - ההראל haharel, “the mount of God.” And from the altar - ומהאראיל umihaariel, “and from the lion of God.” Perhaps the first was a name given to the altar when elevated to the honor of God, and on which the victims were offered to him, and the second, the lion of God, may mean the hearth, which might have been thus called, because it devoured and consumed the burnt-offerings, as a lion does his prey. See on Isa 29:1 (note).
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַֽהַרְאֵ֖ל | vehaharel | and the altar hearth | H2025 → | |
| אַרְבַּ֣ע | ʾarba' | [is] four | H702 → | 318 times |
| אַמּ֑וֹת | ʾamot | cubits | H520 → | 247 times |
| וּמֵהָאֲרִיאֵ֣ל | umehaariel | and [are] from the altar hearth | H741 → | |
| וּלְמַ֔עְלָה | ulema'lah | and <to> upwards <towards> | H4605 → | 140 times |
| הַקְּרָנ֖וֹת | hakeranot | the horns | H7161 → | 76 times |
| אַרְבַּֽע׃ | ʾarba' | four | H702 → | 318 times |
וְהַֽהַרְאֵ֖לand the altar hearth
vehaharelH2025 →
אַרְבַּ֣ע[is] four
ʾarba'H702 →318 times
אַמּ֑וֹתcubits
ʾamotH520 →247 times
וּמֵהָאֲרִיאֵ֣לand [are] from the altar hearth
umehaarielH741 →
וּלְמַ֔עְלָהand <to> upwards <towards>
ulema'lahH4605 →140 times
הַקְּרָנ֖וֹתthe horns
hakeranotH7161 →76 times
אַרְבַּֽע׃four
ʾarba'H702 →318 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Psalms 118:27The LORD is God; He has made His light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
it leads to
- Psalms 18:28
For You, O LORD, light my lamp; my God lights up my darkness.
- John 8:12
Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
- 1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- Esther 8:16
For the Jews it was a time of light and gladness, of joy and honor.
- Isaiah 9:2
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.
- Psalms 18:28
Through
1 Kings 2:28When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah but not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 1:50
But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, got up and went to take hold of the horns of the altar.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 1:7
So Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, who supported him.
- 1 Kings 1:50
Through
Exodus 27:2Make a horn on each of its four corners, so that the horns are of one piece, and overlay it with bronze.
it leads to
- Psalms 118:27
The LORD is God; He has made His light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
- Psalms 118:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).