Exodus 27:5

27:5 You are to put it under the ledge of the altar below, so that the network will come ¹  halfway up the altar. ² 

Exodus 27:1

The Altar

27:1 “You are to make the ³  altar of acacia wood, seven feet six inches long, ⁴  and seven feet six inches wide; the altar is to be square, ⁵  and its height is to be ⁶  four feet six inches.

Exodus 29:12

29:12 and take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar ⁷  with your finger; all the rest of ⁸  the blood you are to pour out at the base of the altar.

Exodus 29:37

29:37 For seven days ⁹  you are to make atonement for the altar and set it apart as holy. Then the altar will be most holy. ¹⁰  Anything that touches the altar will be holy. ¹¹ 

Exodus 40:10

40:10 Then you are to anoint the altar for the burnt offering with ¹²  all its utensils; you are to sanctify the altar, and it will be the most holy altar.

[27:5]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “to the half of the altar.”

[27:1]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn The dimensions are five cubits by five cubits by three cubits high.

[27:1]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “and three cubits its height.”

[29:12]  ⁵ sn This act seems to have signified the efficacious nature of the blood, since the horns represented power. This is part of the ritual of the sin offering for laity, because before the priests become priests they are treated as laity. The offering is better described as a purification offering rather than a sin offering, because it was offered, according to Leviticus, for both sins and impurities. Moreover, it was offered primarily to purify the sanctuary so that the once-defiled or sinful person could enter (see J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB]).

[29:12]  ⁶ tn The phrase “rest of” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[29:37]  ⁷ tn Once again this is an adverbial accusative of time. Each day for seven days the ritual at the altar is to be followed.

[29:37]  ⁸ tn The construction is the superlative genitive: “holy of holies,” or “most holy.”

[29:37]  ⁹ sn This line states an unusual principle, meant to preserve the sanctity of the altar. S. R. Driver explains it this way (Exodus, 325): If anything comes in contact with the altar, it becomes holy and must remain in the sanctuary for Yahweh’s use. If a person touches the altar, he likewise becomes holy and cannot return to the profane regions. He will be given over to God to be dealt with as God pleases. Anyone who was not qualified to touch the altar did not dare approach it, for contact would have meant that he was no longer free to leave but was God’s holy possession – and might pay for it with his life (see Exod 30:29; Lev 6:18b, 27; and Ezek 46:20).

[40:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “and.”