New English Translation
Exodus 27:1
1“You are to make the altar of acacia wood, seven feet six inches long, and seven feet six inches wide; the altar is to be square, and its height is to be four feet six inches.
Exodus 27:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.
- New International Version (NIV)“Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits broad. The altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“You shall make an altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide—the altar shall be square—and its height shall be three cubits.
Context of Exodus 27:1
“You are to make the altar of acacia wood, seven feet six inches long, and seven feet six inches wide; the altar is to be square, and its height is to be four feet six inches. 2You are to make its four horns on its four corners; its horns will be part of it, and you are to overlay it with bronze. 3You are to make its pots for the ashes, its shovels, its tossing bowls, its meat hooks, and its fire pans – you are to make all its utensils of bronze.
Read all of Exodus 27Exodus 27:1 word by word
וְעָשִׂ֥יתָ אֶת־הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ עֲצֵ֣י שִׁטִּ֑ים חָמֵשׁ֩ אַמּ֨וֹת אֹ֜רֶךְ וְחָמֵ֧שׁ אַמּ֣וֹת רֹ֗חַב רָב֤וּעַ יִהְיֶה֙ הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ וְשָׁלֹ֥שׁ אַמּ֖וֹת קֹמָתֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And thou shalt makeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- an altarמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
- shittimשִׁטָּהshiţţâh shiţţîym · acaciaH7848
- woodעֵץ‛êts · tree: woodH6086
- fiveחָמֵשׁchâmêsh chămishshâh · fiveH2568
- cubitsאַמָּה'ammâh · cubitH520
- longאֹ֫רֶךְ'ôrek · lengthH753
- broadרֹ֫חַבrôchab · widthH7341
- shall be foursquareרָבַעrâba‛ · to squareH7251
- and the heightקוֹמָהqômâh · heightH6967
- threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
Cross-references for Exodus 27:1
- Exodus 20:24‘You must make for me an altar made of earth, and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be honored I will come to you and I will bless you.
- Exodus 24:4and Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Early in the morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain and arranged twelve standing stones – according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
- Exodus 38:1He made the altar for the burnt offering of acacia wood seven feet six inches long and seven feet six inches wide – it was square – and its height was four feet six inches.
- Exodus 40:10Then you are to anoint the altar for the burnt offering with all its utensils; you are to sanctify the altar, and it will be the most holy altar.
- 2 Samuel 24:18So Gad went to David that day and told him, “Go up and build an altar for the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
- 2 Chronicles 4:1He made a bronze altar, 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 15 feet high.
- Ezekiel 43:13“And these are the measurements of the altar: Its base is 1¾ feet high, and 1¾ feet wide, and its border nine inches on its edge. This is to be the height of the altar.
- Hebrews 13:10We have an altar that those who serve in the tabernacle have no right to eat from.
Commentaries on Exodus 27:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Thou shalt make an altar - מזבח mizbeach, from זבח zabach, to slay: Septuagint, , from , to sacrifice or from to kill, etc. See Clarke's note on Genesis 8:20. Four square - As this altar was five cubits long and five broad, and the cubit is reckoned to be twenty-one inches, hence it must have been eight feet nine inches square, and about five feet three inches in height, the amount of three cubits, taken at the same ratio.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
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The altar of burnt offerings. (1-8) The court of the tabernacle. (9-19) The oil for the lamps. (20-21) Verses 1-8 In the court before the tabernacle, where the people attended, was an altar, to which they must bring their sacrifices, and on which their priests must offer them to God. It was of wood overlaid with brass. A grate of brass was let into the hollow of the altar, about the middle of which the fire was kept, and the sacrifice burnt. It was made…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-8The square altar for burnt offerings, like the tabernacle frames, was made of acacia wood covered with metal. Yet, to match the other features outside the sanctuary, they covered it with bronze (27:2–3; see 27:10, 17, 19).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 27:1
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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries