Discovery BoxExodus 20:24
Context20:24 ‘You must make for me an altar made of earth, 1 and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, 2 your sheep and your cattle. In every place 3 where I cause my name to be honored 4 I will come to you and I will bless you.
Exodus 27:1-8
Context27:1 “You are to make the 5 altar of acacia wood, seven feet six inches long, 6 and seven feet six inches wide; the altar is to be square, 7 and its height is to be 8 four feet six inches. 27:2 You are to make its four horns 9 on its four corners; its horns will be part of it, 10 and you are to overlay it with bronze. 27:3 You are to make its pots for the ashes, 11 its shovels, its tossing bowls, 12 its meat hooks, and its fire pans – you are to make all 13 its utensils of bronze. 27:4 You are to make a grating 14 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 15 halfway up the altar. 16 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 17 into the rings so that the poles will be on two sides of the altar when carrying it. 18 27:8 You are to make the altar hollow, out of boards. Just as it was shown you 19 on the mountain, so they must make it. 20
Exodus 27:1
Context27:1 “You are to make the 21 altar of acacia wood, seven feet six inches long, 22 and seven feet six inches wide; the altar is to be square, 23 and its height is to be 24 four feet six inches.
Exodus 15:22
Context15:22 25 Then Moses led Israel to journey 26 away from the Red Sea. They went out to the Desert of Shur, walked for three days 27 into the desert, and found no water.
Exodus 15:2
Context15:2 The Lord 28 is my strength and my song, 29
and he has become my salvation.
This is my God, and I will praise him, 30
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
Exodus 18:22
Context18:22 They will judge 31 the people under normal circumstances, 32 and every difficult case 33 they will bring to you, but every small case 34 they themselves will judge, so that 35 you may make it easier for yourself, 36 and they will bear the burden 37 with you.
Psalms 50:8-9
Context50:8 I am not condemning 38 you because of your sacrifices,
or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me. 39
50:9 I do not need to take 40 a bull from your household
or goats from your sheepfolds.
Proverbs 15:8
Context15:8 The Lord abhors 41 the sacrifices 42 of the wicked, 43
but the prayer 44 of the upright pleases him. 45
Isaiah 1:11-15
Context1:11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” 46
says the Lord.
“I am stuffed with 47 burnt sacrifices
of rams and the fat from steers.
The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats
I do not want. 48
1:12 When you enter my presence,
do you actually think I want this –
animals trampling on my courtyards? 49
1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless 50 offerings;
I consider your incense detestable! 51
You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,
but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! 52
1:14 I hate your new moon festivals and assemblies;
they are a burden
that I am tired of carrying.
1:15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I look the other way; 53
when you offer your many prayers,
I do not listen,
because your hands are covered with blood. 54
Matthew 23:14
Context23:14 [[EMPTY]] 55
[20:24] 1 sn The instructions here call for the altar to be made of natural things, not things manufactured or shaped by man. The altar was either to be made of clumps of earth or natural, unhewn rocks.
[20:24] 2 sn The “burnt offering” is the offering prescribed in Lev 1. Everything of this animal went up in smoke as a sweet aroma to God. It signified complete surrender by the worshiper who brought the animal, and complete acceptance by God, thereby making atonement. The “peace offering” is legislated in Lev 3 and 7. This was a communal meal offering to celebrate being at peace with God. It was made usually for thanksgiving, for payment of vows, or as a freewill offering.
[20:24] 3 tn Gesenius lists this as one of the few places where the noun in construct seems to be indefinite in spite of the fact that the genitive has the article. He says בְּכָל־הַמָּקוֹם (bÿkhol-hammaqom) means “in all the place, sc. of the sanctuary, and is a dogmatic correction of “in every place” (כָּל־מָקוֹם, kol-maqom). See GKC 412 §127.e.
[20:24] 4 tn The verb is זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”), but in the Hiphil especially it can mean more than remember or cause to remember (remind) – it has the sense of praise or honor. B. S. Childs says it has a denominative meaning, “to proclaim” (Exodus [OTL], 447). The point of the verse is that God will give Israel reason for praising and honoring him, and in every place that occurs he will make his presence known by blessing them.
[27:1] 5 tn The article on this word identifies this as the altar, meaning the main high altar on which the sacrifices would be made.
[27:1] 6 tn The dimensions are five cubits by five cubits by three cubits high.
[27:1] 7 tn Heb “four”; this refers to four sides. S. R. Driver says this is an archaism that means there were four equal sides (Exodus, 291).
[27:1] 8 tn Heb “and three cubits its height.”
[27:2] 9 sn The horns of the altar were indispensable – they were the most sacred part. Blood was put on them; fugitives could cling to them, and the priests would grab the horns of the little altar when making intercessory prayer. They signified power, as horns on an animal did in the wild (and so the word was used for kings as well). The horns may also represent the sacrificial animals killed on the altar.
[27:2] 10 sn The text, as before, uses the prepositional phrase “from it” or “part of it” to say that the horns will be part of the altar – of the same piece as the altar. They were not to be made separately and then attached, but made at the end of the boards used to build the altar (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 363).
[27:3] 11 sn The word is literally “its fat,” but sometimes it describes “fatty ashes” (TEV “the greasy ashes”). The fat would run down and mix with the ashes, and this had to be collected and removed.
[27:3] 12 sn This was the larger bowl used in tossing the blood at the side of the altar.
[27:3] 13 tn The text has “to all its vessels.” This is the lamed (ל) of inclusion according to Gesenius, meaning “all its utensils” (GKC 458 §143.e).
[27:4] 14 tn The noun מִכְבָּר (mikhbar) means “a grating”; it is related to the word that means a “sieve.” This formed a vertical support for the ledge, resting on the ground and supporting its outer edge (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 292).
[27:5] 15 tn The verb is the verb “to be,” here the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. It is “and it will be” or “that it may be,” or here “that it may come” halfway up.
[27:5] 16 tn Heb “to the half of the altar.”
[27:7] 17 tn The verb is a Hophal perfect with vav consecutive: וְהוּבָא (vÿhuva’, “and it will be brought”). The particle אֶת (’et) here introduces the subject of the passive verb (see a similar use in 21:28, “and its flesh will not be eaten”).
[27:7] 18 tn The construction is the infinitive construct with bet (ב) preposition: “in carrying it.” Here the meaning must be that the poles are not left in the rings, but only put into the rings when they carried it.
[27:8] 19 tn The verb is used impersonally; it reads “just as he showed you.” This form then can be made a passive in the translation.
[27:8] 20 tn Heb “thus they will make.” Here too it could be given a passive translation since the subject is not expressed. But “they” would normally refer to the people who will be making this and so can be retained in the translation.
[27:1] 21 tn The article on this word identifies this as the altar, meaning the main high altar on which the sacrifices would be made.
[27:1] 22 tn The dimensions are five cubits by five cubits by three cubits high.
[27:1] 23 tn Heb “four”; this refers to four sides. S. R. Driver says this is an archaism that means there were four equal sides (Exodus, 291).
[27:1] 24 tn Heb “and three cubits its height.”
[15:22] 25 sn The first event of the Israelites’ desert experience is a failure, for they murmur against Yahweh and are given a stern warning – and the provision of sweet water. The event teaches that God is able to turn bitter water into sweet water for his people, and he promises to do such things if they obey. He can provide for them in the desert – he did not bring them into the desert to let them die. But there is a deeper level to this story – the healing of the water is incidental to the healing of the people, their lack of trust. The passage is arranged in a neat chiasm, starting with a journey (A), ending with the culmination of the journey (A'); developing to bitter water (B), resolving to sweet water (B'); complaints by the people (C), leading to to the instructions for the people (C'); and the central turning point is the wonder miracle (D).
[15:22] 26 tn The verb form is unusual; the normal expression is with the Qal, which expresses that they journeyed. But here the Hiphil is used to underscore that Moses caused them to journey – and he is following God. So the point is that God was leading Israel to the bitter water.
[15:22] 27 sn The mention that they travelled for three days into the desert is deliberately intended to recall Moses’ demand that they go three days into the wilderness to worship. Here, three days in, they find bitter water and complain – not worship.
[15:2] 28 tn Heb “Yah.” Moses’ poem here uses a short form of the name Yahweh, traditionally rendered in English by “the LORD.”
[15:2] 29 tn The word וְזִמְרָת (vÿzimrat) is problematic. It probably had a suffix yod (י) that was accidentally dropped because of the yod (י) on the divine name following. Most scholars posit another meaning for the word. A meaning of “power” fits the line fairly well, forming a hendiadys with strength – “strength and power” becoming “strong power.” Similar lines are in Isa 12:2 and Ps 118:14. Others suggest “protection” or “glory.” However, there is nothing substantially wrong with “my song” in the line – only that it would be a nicer match if it had something to do with strength.
[15:2] 30 tn The word נָוָה (navah) occurs only here. It may mean “beautify, adorn” with praises (see BDB 627 s.v.). See also M. Dahood, “Exodus 15:2: ‘anwehu and Ugaritic snwt,” Bib 59 (1979): 260-61; and M. Klein, “The Targumic Tosefta to Exodus 15:2,” JJS 26 (1975): 61-67; and S. B. Parker, “Exodus 15:2 Again,” VT 21 (1971): 373-79.
[18:22] 31 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive, making it equivalent to the imperfect of instruction in the preceding verse.
[18:22] 32 tn Heb “in every time,” meaning “in all normal cases” or “under normal circumstances.” The same phrase occurs in v. 26.
[18:22] 33 tn Heb “great thing.”
[18:22] 35 tn The vav here shows the result or the purpose of the instructions given.
[18:22] 36 tn The expression וְהָקֵל מֵעָלֶיךָ (vÿhaqel me’aleykha) means literally “and make it light off yourself.” The word plays against the word for “heavy” used earlier – since it was a heavy or burdensome task, Moses must lighten the load.
[18:22] 37 tn Here “the burden” has been supplied.
[50:8] 39 tn Heb “and your burnt sacrifices before me continually.”
[50:9] 40 tn Or “I will not take.”
[15:8] 41 tn Heb “an abomination of the
[15:8] 42 tn Heb “sacrifice” (so many English versions).
[15:8] 43 sn The sacrifices of the wicked are hated by the
[15:8] 44 sn J. H. Greenstone notes that if God will accept the prayers of the upright, he will accept their sacrifices; for sacrifice is an outer ritual and easily performed even by the wicked, but prayer is a private and inward act and not usually fabricated by unbelievers (Proverbs, 162).
[15:8] 45 tn Heb “[is] his pleasure.” The 3rd person masculine singular suffix functions as a subjective genitive: “he is pleased.” God is pleased with the prayers of the upright.
[1:11] 46 tn Heb “Why to me the multitude of your sacrifices?” The sarcastic rhetorical question suggests that their many sacrifices are of no importance to the Lord. This phrase answers the possible objection that an Israelite could raise in response to God’s indictment: “But we are offering the sacrifices you commanded!”
[1:11] 47 tn The verb שָׂבַע (sava’, “be satisfied, full”) is often used of eating and/or drinking one’s fill. See BDB 959 s.v. שָׂבַע. Here sacrifices are viewed, in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion, as food for the deity. God here declares that he has eaten and drunk, as it were, his fill.
[1:11] 48 sn In the chiastic structure of the verse, the verbs at the beginning and end highlight God’s displeasure, while the heaping up of references to animals, fat, and blood in the middle lines hints at why God wants no more of their sacrifices. They have, as it were, piled the food on his table and he needs no more.
[1:12] 49 tn Heb “When you come to appear before me, who requires this from your hand, trampling of my courtyards?” The rhetorical question sarcastically makes the point that God does not require this parade of livestock. The verb “trample” probably refers to the eager worshipers and their sacrificial animals walking around in the temple area.
[1:13] 50 tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”
[1:13] 51 sn Notice some of the other practices that Yahweh regards as “detestable”: homosexuality (Lev 18:22-30; 20:13), idolatry (Deut 7:25; 13:15), human sacrifice (Deut 12:31), eating ritually unclean animals (Deut 14:3-8), sacrificing defective animals (Deut 17:1), engaging in occult activities (Deut 18:9-14), and practicing ritual prostitution (1 Kgs 14:23).
[1:13] 52 tn Heb “sin and assembly” (these two nouns probably represent a hendiadys). The point is that their attempts at worship are unacceptable to God because the people’s everyday actions in the socio-economic realm prove they have no genuine devotion to God (see vv. 16-17).
[1:15] 53 tn Heb “I close my eyes from you.”
[1:15] 54 sn This does not just refer to the blood of sacrificial animals, but also the blood, as it were, of their innocent victims. By depriving the poor and destitute of proper legal recourse and adequate access to the economic system, the oppressors have, for all intents and purposes, “killed” their victims.
[23:14] 55 tc The most important
