God’s Word Translation
Exodus 27:2
2Make a horn at each of its four corners. The four horns and the altar must be made out of one piece ⌞of wood⌟ covered with bronze.
Exodus 27:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass.
- New International Version (NIV)Make a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And you shall make horns for it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze.
- New King James Version (NKJV)You shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it. And you shall overlay it with bronze.
Context of Exodus 27:2
1⌞The Lord continued,⌟ “Make an altar out of acacia wood. It should be 7½ feet square, and 4½ feet high. Make a horn at each of its four corners. The four horns and the altar must be made out of one piece ⌞of wood⌟ covered with bronze. 3“Make all the utensils for it out of bronze: pots for taking away the altar’s ashes, also shovels, bowls, forks, and incense burners. 4“Make a grate for it out of bronze mesh, and make a bronze ring for ⌞each of⌟ the four corners of the grate.
Read all of Exodus 27Exodus 27:2 word by word
וְעָשִׂ֣יתָ קַרְנֹתָ֗יו עַ֚ל אַרְבַּ֣ע פִּנֹּתָ֔יו מִמֶּ֖נּוּ תִּהְיֶ֣יןָ קַרְנֹתָ֑יו וְצִפִּיתָ֥ אֹת֖וֹ נְחֹֽשֶׁת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 27:2
- Exodus 29:12Take some of the bull’s blood, and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger. Pour the rest of it out at the bottom of the altar.
- Leviticus 4:7Then the priest will put some of the blood on the horns of the altar for sweet-smelling incense in the Lord’s presence in the tent of meeting. He will pour the rest of the bull’s blood at the bottom of the altar for burnt offerings at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
- Leviticus 8:15When it was slaughtered, Moses took the blood and put it on the horns of the altar all around with his finger and cleansed the altar from sins. He poured the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar and declared it holy so that priests could use it to make peace with the Lord.
- Leviticus 16:18Then he will go out to the altar that is in the Lord’s presence and make peace with the Lord there for the sins committed. He will take some of the blood from the bull and some of the goat’s blood and put it all around the horns of the altar.
- 1 Kings 1:50Adonijah was afraid of Solomon. He got up, went ⌞to the tent of meeting,⌟ and took hold of the horns of the altar.
- 1 Kings 2:28The news reached Joab. (He had supported Adonijah, although he hadn’t supported Absalom.) So Joab fled to the Lord’s tent and clung to the horns of the altar.
- Psalms 118:27The Lord is God, and he has given us light. March in a festival procession with branches to the horns of the altar.
- Hebrews 6:18God did this so that we would be encouraged. God cannot lie when he takes an oath or makes a promise. These two things can never be changed. Those of us who have taken refuge in him hold on to the confidence we have been given.
- Numbers 16:38The incense burners of these men who sinned and lost their lives are holy, because they were offered to the Lord. Hammer them into thin metal sheets to cover the altar. This will be a sign to the Israelites.”
- 1 Kings 8:64On that day the king designated the courtyard in front of the Lord’s temple as a holy place. He sacrificed the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat from the fellowship offerings because the bronze altar in front of the Lord was too small to hold all of them.
Commentaries on Exodus 27:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Thou shalt make the horns of it - The horns might have three uses: For ornament. To prevent carcasses, etc., from falling off. To tie the victim to, previously to its being sacrificed. So David: Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar; Psalm 118:27. Horns were much used in all ancient altars among the heathen, and some of them were entirely constructed of the horns of the beasts that had been offered in sacrifice; but such altars appear to…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-8Verses 1-8 (Compare Exodus 38:1-7.) The great altar which stood in the court immediately in front of the tabernacle was commonly called the altar of burnt-offering, because on it were burnt the whole burnt-offerings, and all those parts of the other animal sacrifices which were offered to the Lord. It was also called the brazen altar, because it was covered with bronze, in distinction from the golden altar or altar of incense Exodus 39:38-39; Exodus…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Archaeology shows that the horns of the altar were raised parts at the four corners of the altar. They projected upward from each corner. These horns may have helped keep the wood and offerings from falling off the altar (see Psalm 118:27). They also had meaning related to beliefs about God. The horns represented God’s gracious care for his people. If a person held onto the horns of the altar, that person was asking for mercy in judgment (see 1 Kings…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-211-2. altar of shittim wood--The dimensions of this altar which was placed at the entrance of the sanctuary were nearly three yards square, and a yard and a half in height. Under the wooden frame of this chest-like altar the inside was hollow, and each corner was to be terminated by "horns"--angular projections, perpendicular or oblique, in the form of horns. The animals to be sacrificed were bound to these (Psa 118:27), and part of the blood was applied…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 27:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 27
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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