Altar Building

In one of my last Hebrew classes at Denver Seminary, I did a report on Altar Building. Altars were usually a raised table of stone or earth on which an offering of blood, burned flesh, or agricultural products were set before God. Interestingly, not all altars that were built were used as sacrificial altars. Some of them were more of monuments that were built as a memorial of a certain event or encounter with God. A big stone altar, pillar, or monument somewhere would cause the people to remember an agreement or encounter with God.

Below is a summary of all altars/monuments built in Scripture. Hopefully this will be useful as a reference:

Patriarchal Altars

-       -  Formal worship included altars and sacrifice.

-        - Altars were often named in memory of a specific encounter with God.

-        - Words used to describe building an altar are: hnb (banah) and hf[ (‘asah)

Good Altars were built by:

-        - Noah after leaving the ark (Gen 8:20)

-        - Abraham at Shechem after returning from Egypt “built and altar to the Lord who had appeared to him” (Gen 12:7), at Bethel, “and called upon the name of the Lord” (Gen 12:8), at Hebron (gen 13:8) and on Moriah to offer up Isaac (Gen 22:9)

-        - Isaac at Beersheba after digging wells, “and called upon the name of the Lord.” (Gen 26:25)

-        - Jacob at Shechem after buying land, “and he called it El-Elohe-Israel (El, God of Israel)” (Gen 33:20 – might refer to setting up a pillar because of use of natsav see below) and at Bethel “he built an altar there and called it El-Bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled from his brother.”(Gen 35:1,7)

-        - Moses at Rephidim after defeating Amalek “built and altar and named it The Lord is My Banner.” (Ex 17:15) and Horeb after the people affirm their covenant with God, sacrifices made to confirm the covenant (Ex 24:4).

-        - Balaam to Balak, 7 altars with sacrifices before he received word from the Lord to bless the Israelites. Numbers 23

-        - Joshua on Mount Ebal after the defeat of Ai, covenant reaffirmed and sacrifices made (Josh 8:30) – commanded in Deut 27:5

-        - Tribes of Reuban, Gad and ½ Manasseh east of the Jordan to stand as a witness that they are part of Israel (Josh 22:10-34, esp. 26-29)

-        - Gideon in Ophrah after an encounter with the angel of the Lord, “and named it The Lord is Peace.” (Judges 6:24)

-        - Men of Israel in Bethel mourning Benjamin after they are defeated for raping the Levite’s concubine to death. Burnt offerings and peace offerings offered. (Judges 21:4)

-        - Samuel at Ramah, his home (1 Sam 7:17)

-        - Saul when pursuing the Philistines, slaughters oxen and sheep so the people can cook and eat the meat without blood in it and not sin. “it was the first altar that he built.” (1 Sam 14:35)

-        - David at the Threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite  to make the plague on his people due to his census cease, offers burnt offerings and peace offerings. (2 Sam 24:18)

-        - Elijah repairing the altar of the Lord at Mt Carmel (1 Kings 18:30)

Bad Altars:

-        - Aaron after presenting the Golden Calf in the wilderness (Ex 32:5)

-        - Tribes of Reuban, Gad and ½ Manasseh (Josh 22:10-34): see above. This alter was more of a monument or witness. Originally thought to be bad, but turned out okay.

-        - Altars made by the Kings of Judah on the roof of Ahaz and altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord destroyed by Josiah (2 Kings 23:12)

Standing Stones/Piles of Rocks/Pillars

-        - These items seemed to be a legitimate artifact of worship at least until the period of Josiah (last good king of Judah) when it was discarded as a result of the cult centralization and not as an alien custom. Pillars set up for worship of idols/other gods are condemned. But they are alright for the worship of the God of Israel.

-        - Symbolized a divine encounter with God or memorialized the unity of the tribes of Israel or between two parties. The idea was to create something that looked unnatural so that it would serve as a memorial for the event.

-        - Word used to describe setting up a pillar: bcn

o   Genesis 28:10-22: Jacob’s dream of the ladder to heaven, “Surely the Lord is in theis place, and I didn’t not know it…this is none other than the house of God and this is the gate of heaven.” Sets stone upright and pours oil over it and calls it Bethel.

o   Genesis 31:43-55: The covenant between Laban and Jacob – one stone set up as a pillar, with a heap or stones around it, “May the Lord watch between you and between me when we are absent from each other…this heap is a witness and the pillar is a witness that I will not pass by this heap to harm you and you will not pass by this heap and this pillar to harm me.” Then a sacrifice is offered and eaten.

o   Genesis 35: 9-15: God speaks to Jacob and names him Israel, so Jacob sets up a pillar and pours out a drink offering and names it Bethel (could be a recap of Gen 28)

o   Joshua 4:1-13: Joshua sets up 12 stones in the middle of the Jordan by the feet of the priest carrying the ark, “Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord when it crossed the Jordan…So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”

o   1 Samuel 7:12: Samuel is pursuing Philistines with Israel’s army, “Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the LORD has helped us."”

o   Isaiah 19:19: Indicates that pillars will/can still be used as a legitimate worship site in memory of what the Lord has done, “In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord near its border. It will become a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt for they will cry to the Lord because of oppressors and He will send them a Savior and a Champion and He will deliver them…the Egyptians will know the Lord.”

Altars and Pillars were often found at High Places where idolatrous worship, sacrifices and ceremonies were carried out.

-        - Solomon at Gibeon (1 Kings 3:4)

-        - Jeroboam (I Kings 12, 13)

God commands them to tear down the altars in Canaan because they are not to worship any other God. Presumably this includes pillars, high places and any other worship site.

-        - Exodus 34: 13-14

-        - Deuteronomy 12:3

-        - Judges 2:2

The Altar of the Lord

-        - 2 Altars:

o   Altar for Incense: acacia wood plated with gold, 4 horns and a crown of gold (Ex 30:1-10). Placed before the veil which screened the Holy of Holies. Thus called the Altar before the Lord.

o   Altar for burnt offerings: acacia wood plated with bronze, 4 horns. Placed at the entrance to the tabernacle space to symbolize that shedding blood provided forgiveness and therefore, access.

-        - Commands for how to construct an altar:

o   Exodus 20:24-26: altar of earth, altar of uncut stones, no steps to go up to it to prevent exposure of feet or legs by the officiating priest in the midst of a solemn sacrifice. Burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to be offered on it wherever God causes His name to be remembered

o   Deuteronomy 27:2-8: altar of uncut stones, offer burnt offerings and peace offerings, eat and rejoice there (Mt. Ebal)

o   Exodus 27:1-8: Tabernacle altar: hollow altar of acacia wood covered with bronze, with horns on the four corners

-        - Horns on the Altar

o   Exodus 27:1-8 does not give size or appearance data for the horns

o   Reason:

§  Pillars which have been pushed to the four corners to make this altar look different than pagan altars.

§  Raised extremities to help hold sacrifices in place

§  Babylonian gods were often depicted as wearing horned helmets; therefore the altar reminds the people of their God.

§  Emphasizing the four corners to symbolize the four corners of the earth.

§  “A rim or molding was necessary for the small presentation table in order to prevent the food set upon it from falling off; this became superfluous when the table was replaced with the big stone altar for burnt offerings. It would also create practical problems for the priests, who now had the task of arranging the wood and the large animal parts on the altar to ensure the proper burning of the offerings. In order to maintain some remnant and semblance of the rim of the discarded table-altar, four projections were constructed on the four corners (Heger, 232).”

o   !rq (karan)

§  Refers to horns of particular animals that were familiar to humans

§  Horns used for containers and musical instruments also use this root.

§  Other things with a similar appearance to horns – that is protruding elements or projecting corners.

o   Biblical References to the horns of the altar

§  Exodus 29:12, Leviticus 8:15, 9:9: smear blood on the horns with fingers in order to consecrate/purify it.

§  Leviticus 16:18: On the Day of Atonement, blood shall be put on the horns of the altar

§  Leviticus 4:7, 18, 25, 30, 34: Sin Offerings require that blood be put on the horns of the altar.

§  1 Kings 1:50: after Solomon is anointed as King, Adonijah’s party is interrupted and he flees to the tent of the Lord and takes hold of the horns on the altar, seeking asylum there. Receives a pardon from Solomon.

§  1 Kings 2:28: Joab hears that Solomon is on the throne and he flees to the tent of the Lord and takes hold of the horns on the altar. But he is presumably killed at the altar. In both cases the King decides the man’s fate though. Grabbing the horns of the altar is similar to going to one of the cities of asylum, however it appears that the King is the judge in these cases, not the elders.

§  Psalm 118:27: “…Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.”

§  Jeremiah 17:1: “The sin of Judah is written down with an iron stylus; With a diamond point it is engraved upon the tablet of their hearts And on the horns of their altars,”

§  Ezekiel 43:20 indicates that cleansing the 4 corners indicates a cleansing of the whole – however in Ezekiel 45:19-20 cleansing the Temple did not include the horns of the altar

§  Amos 3:14 in regards to the altar at Bethel “the horn of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.”

§  Revelation 9:13: “Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God…”

-        - Conclusions:

o   Horns were not a requirement on all altars. It was specific to the altar in the tabernacle, and later the Temple. Given the reference in Revelation, a horned altar is specific to the presence of God.

o   It became part of what symbolized God and Israel as in Amos 3:14. If the horns are not there, God is not truly present.

References

Heger, Paul. The Three Biblical Altar Laws; Developments in the Sacrificial Cult in Practice and Theology; Political and Economic Background. Berlin: Waltar de Gruyter, 1999.

Hess, Richard. Israelite Religions. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007.

Tenney, Merrill C., ed. The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Vol. 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1975.

Walton, John H., ed. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Vol. 1 of The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009.

Walton, John H., ed. Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel. Vol. 2 of The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009.