Genesis 8:20

8:20 Noah built an altar to the Lord. He then took some of every kind of clean animal and clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. ¹ 

Genesis 12:7-8

12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants ²  I will give this land.” So Abram ³  built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

12:8 Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel ⁴  and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord. ⁵ 

Genesis 13:18

13:18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live ⁶  by the oaks ⁷  of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the Lord there.

Genesis 21:33

21:33 Abraham ⁸  planted a tamarisk tree ⁹  in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, ¹⁰  the eternal God.

[8:20]  ¹ sn Offered burnt offerings on the altar. F. D. Maurice includes a chapter on the sacrifice of Noah in The Doctrine of Sacrifice. The whole burnt offering, according to Leviticus 1, represented the worshiper’s complete surrender and dedication to the Lord. After the flood Noah could see that God was not only a God of wrath, but a God of redemption and restoration. The one who escaped the catastrophe could best express his gratitude and submission through sacrificial worship, acknowledging God as the sovereign of the universe.

[12:7]  ² tn The same Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

[12:7]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[12:8]  ⁴ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[12:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “he called in the name of the Lord.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 13:4; 21:33; 26:25). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116, 281.

[13:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “he came and lived.”

[13:18]  ⁷ tn Or “terebinths.”

[21:33]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:33]  ⁹ sn The planting of the tamarisk tree is a sign of Abraham’s intent to stay there for a long time, not a religious act. A growing tree in the Negev would be a lasting witness to God’s provision of water.

[21:33]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he called there in the name of the Lord.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 26:25). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116, 281.