“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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The description of the altar being "foursquare" isn't just about its shape; it emphasizes the solid, complete foundation for approaching God. This wasn't a delicate or flimsy structure, but a substantial, perfectly balanced base for all the sacrifices that pointed toward Christ.
“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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Following the detailed instructions for the tabernacle's furnishings, God now commands Moses to construct the central altar for burnt offerings. This altar, described with specific dimensions and materials, is to be situated in the tabernacle's courtyard, signifying its primary role in mediating between God and His people through sacrifice. Its placement and construction are crucial for the daily rituals that will remind Israel of their need for atonement and reconciliation with God.
Why give such precise measurements for the altar? These aren't random numbers, but dimensions with deep meaning for approaching God.
The altar's dimensions—five cubits long, five cubits broad, and three cubits high—weren't arbitrary. The square base (five by five cubits) symbolized stability and completeness. Think of it as a solid, grounded place for the most vital act of worship. The height of three cubits was practical, allowing priests to minister effectively without being too close to the fire or too far from the sacrifices. It’s a thoughtful design, ensuring the sacred work could be done with reverence and efficiency.
The altar is made of acacia wood, but it's also covered in bronze. What does this combination of materials tell us about approaching a holy God?
The altar is constructed of acacia wood, a durable and incorruptible wood, symbolizing the lasting nature of God's covenant and the sacrifice to come. However, this precious wood is covered entirely in bronze. Bronze, in the biblical world, represented judgment and purification, as it was made by heating metal in fire. This signifies that the sacrifices offered on the altar would face God's judgment. It's a powerful image: the enduring wood of sacrifice is protected and purified by the judgment of bronze, pointing to how our acceptance with God is grounded in His judgment being borne on our behalf.
Understand the original words
Ask a follow-up
mizbeach · Hebrew Noun
The structure where sacrifices were offered to God to atone for sin or to express thanksgiving, symbolizing the necessity of substitutionary atonement to approach a holy God.
shittim · Hebrew Noun
A durable, hard wood native to the desert regions of the Sinai Peninsula, often used in the construction of the Tabernacle and its furniture because of its resistance to decay.
ammah · Hebrew Noun
A unit of measurement in the ancient Near East, generally defined as the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, approximately 18 inches.
This verse sets the precedent that altars were to be made of earth or unhewn stones, highlighting that the acacia wood altar was an 'altar-case' to be filled, emphasizing the foundation of God's presence.
Leviticus 1:5-9This passage details the sacrificial process on the altar, showing how the burnt offerings were consumed, symbolizing the need for purification to ascend to God and the complete offering of oneself.
Hebrews 9:14This New Testament passage connects Christ's sacrifice to the Old Testament system, describing how Christ 'offered himself without blemish to God through the eternal Spirit,' underscoring the spiritual reality behind the physical altar.
Psalm 118:27This psalm speaks of binding the sacrifice to the 'horns of the altar,' illustrating the concept of subduing the flesh and yielding to God's will, mirroring Christ's obedience.
Ezekiel 43:13-17This vision of a future temple altar, which is significantly larger and square, shows the continuity and evolving significance of the altar in God's redemptive plan.
calvinExodus 27:1-8: "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."
- And thou shalt make an altar. The altar of whole burnt-offerings (holocaustorum) is here described, which, however, it was called by synecdoche, for not only entire victims were burnt there, but also parts of them only, as we shall see in Leviticus. The burnt-offerings received their name from their ascending, [14…
gillExodus 27:1: "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."
And thou shall make an altar of shittim wood,.... This is a different altar from that made of earth before the tabernacle was built, Exodus 20:24 and from the altar of incense, Exodus 30:1 this was to offer burnt offerings on, and was placed at the door of the tabernacle, in the court of the people, where they brought…
The description of the altar being "foursquare" isn't just about its shape; it emphasizes the solid, complete foundation for approaching God. This wasn't a delicate or flimsy structure, but a substantial, perfectly balanced base for all the sacrifices that pointed toward Christ.
Following the detailed instructions for the tabernacle's furnishings, God now commands Moses to construct the central altar for burnt offerings. This altar, described with specific dimensions and materials, is to be situated in the tabernacle's courtyard, signifying its primary role in mediating between God and His people through sacrifice. Its placement and construction are crucial for the daily rituals that will remind Israel of their need for atonement and reconciliation with God.
Following the detailed instructions for the tabernacle's furnishings, God now commands Moses to construct the central altar for burnt offerings. This altar, described with specific dimensions and materials, is to be situated in the tabernacle's courtyard, signifying its primary role in mediating between God and His people through sacrifice. Its placement and construction are crucial for the daily rituals that will remind Israel of their need for atonement and reconciliation with God.
"“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." — The description of the altar being "foursquare" isn't just about its shape; it emphasizes the solid, complete foundation for approaching God. This wasn't a delicate or flimsy structure, but a substan…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026