Exodus 27:2

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“Now you shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits. 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. 3And you shall make its pails for removing its ashes, and its shovels, its basins, its forks, and its firepans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze. 4You shall also make for it a grating, a netting of bronze, and on the netting you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners.

Exodus 27:2 word by word

וְעָשִׂ֣יתָ קַרְנֹתָ֗יו עַ֚ל אַרְבַּ֣ע פִּנֹּתָ֔יו מִמֶּ֖נּוּ תִּהְיֶ֣יןָ קַרְנֹתָ֑יו וְצִפִּיתָ֥ אֹת֖וֹ נְחֹֽשֶׁת׃Read the interlinear

• You shall makeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• its hornsקֶ֫רֶןqeren · hornH7161
• on its fourאַרְבַּע'arba‛ 'arbâ‛âh · fourH702
• cornersפִּנָּהpinnâh · cornerH6438
• shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlayצָפָהtsâphâh · to overlayH6823
• bronzeנְחֹ֫שֶׁתnechôsheth · bronzeH5178

Cross-references for Exodus 27:2

• Exodus 29:12Then you shall take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; and you shall pour out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.
• Leviticus 4:7The priest shall also put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense which is before the Lord in the tent of meeting; and all the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the doorway of the tent of meeting.
• Leviticus 8:15Next Moses slaughtered it and took the blood and with his finger put some of it around on the horns of the altar, and purified the altar. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it, to make atonement for it.
• Leviticus 16:18Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it; he shall take some of the blood from the bull and some of the blood from the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides.
• 1 Kings 1:50Adonijah also was afraid of Solomon, and he got up, and went, and took hold of the horns of the altar.
• 1 Kings 2:28Now the news came to Joab because Joab had followed Adonijah, though he had not followed Absalom. So Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and took hold of the horns of the altar.
• Psalms 118:27The Lord is God, and He has given us light; Bind the festival sacrifice to the horns of the altar with cords.
• Hebrews 6:18so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to hold firmly to the hope set before us.
• Numbers 16:38As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their own lives, have them made into hammered sheets as plating for the altar, since they did present them before the Lord and they are holy; and they shall serve as a sign to the sons of Israel.”
• 1 Kings 8:64On the same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the house of the Lord, because there he offered the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the peace offerings; for the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to hold the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the peace offerings.

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

• Altar
• Tabernacle
• Types

In the dictionaries

• Altar
• Hollow
• Horn
• Color; Colors
• Corner
• Exodus, the Book of
• Four
• Genesis
• Horns of the Altar
• Law in the Old Testament

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