Altars of Earth, Stone, and Wood/1/en
Altars of Earth, Stone, and Wood
Introduction
Three Altars
In Shemot 20, immediately following the Decalogue, Hashem commands to build an earthen or stone altar:
(כ) מִזְבַּח אֲדָמָה תַּעֲשֶׂה לִּי וְזָבַחְתָּ עָלָיו אֶת עֹלֹתֶיךָ וְאֶת שְׁלָמֶיךָ אֶת צֹאנְךָ וְאֶת בְּקָרֶךָ בְּכָל הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר אַזְכִּיר אֶת שְׁמִי אָבוֹא אֵלֶיךָ וּבֵרַכְתִּיךָ. (כא) וְאִם מִזְבַּח אֲבָנִים תַּעֲשֶׂה לִּי לֹא תִבְנֶה אֶתְהֶן גָּזִית כִּי חַרְבְּךָ הֵנַפְתָּ עָלֶיהָ וַתְּחַלְלֶהָ. (כב) וְלֹא תַעֲלֶה בְמַעֲלֹת עַל מִזְבְּחִי אֲשֶׁר לֹא תִגָּלֶה עֶרְוָתְךָ עָלָיו.
(20) You shall make an altar of earth for me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace-offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I record my name I will come to you and I will bless you. (21) And if you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have defiled it. (22) And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be revealed upon it.
However, only a few chapters later, in Shemot 27, Hashem commands the construction of a wooden ("עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים") altar plated with "נְחֹשֶׁת" (copper / brass / bronze).
(א) וְעָשִׂיתָ אֶת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים חָמֵשׁ אַמּוֹת אֹרֶךְ וְחָמֵשׁ אַמּוֹת רֹחַב רָבוּעַ יִהְיֶה הַמִּזְבֵּחַ וְשָׁלֹשׁ אַמּוֹת קֹמָתוֹ. (ב) וְעָשִׂיתָ קַרְנֹתָיו עַל אַרְבַּע פִּנֹּתָיו מִמֶּנּוּ תִּהְיֶיןָ קַרְנֹתָיו וְצִפִּיתָ אֹתוֹ נְחֹשֶׁת.
(ח) נְבוּב לֻחֹת תַּעֲשֶׂה אֹתוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר הֶרְאָה אֹתְךָ בָּהָר כֵּן יַעֲשׂוּ.
(1) And you shall make the altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits wide; the altar shall be square, and its hight shall be three cubits. (2) And you shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it; and you shall plate it with brass.
(8) Nevuv Luchot shall you make it; as it has been showed you on the mountain, so shall they make it.
Of what was the altar supposed to be made? What is the relationship between the earthen, stone, and wooden altars?
Other Altars
In addition to these general commands to build an altar, there are a number of other altars mentioned in Torah. In fact, in between these two commands, we are told of an actual altar that Moshe built:
(ד) וַיִּכְתֹּב מֹשֶׁה אֵת כָּל דִּבְרֵי ה' וַיַּשְׁכֵּם בַּבֹּקֶר וַיִּבֶן מִזְבֵּחַ תַּחַת הָהָר וּשְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה מַצֵּבָה לִשְׁנֵים עָשָׂר שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. (ה) וַיִּשְׁלַח אֶת נַעֲרֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּעֲלוּ עֹלֹת וַיִּזְבְּחוּ זְבָחִים שְׁלָמִים לַה' פָּרִים. (ו) וַיִּקַּח מֹשֶׁה חֲצִי הַדָּם וַיָּשֶׂם בָּאַגָּנֹת וַחֲצִי הַדָּם זָרַק עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ.
(4) And Moshe wrote all the words of Hashem, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. (5) And he sent the youths of the children of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to Hashem. (6) And Moshe took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
While we are not told exactly what this altar is made of, it seems clear that it is not the altar mentioned in Shemot 27, to be built in the Mishkan. A more explicit parallel to the altar in Shemot 20 can be found in Devarim 27, where Moshe is commanded to build an altar at Mt. Eival:
(ה) וּבָנִיתָ שָּׁם מִזְבֵּחַ לַה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ מִזְבַּח אֲבָנִים לֹא תָנִיף עֲלֵיהֶם בַּרְזֶל. (ו) אֲבָנִים שְׁלֵמוֹת תִּבְנֶה אֶת מִזְבַּח ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ וְהַעֲלִיתָ עָלָיו עוֹלֹת לַה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ.
(5) And you shall build there an altar to Hashem your God, an altar of stones; you shall not lift up an iron tool on them. (6) You shall build the altar of Hashem your God of uncut stones; and you shall offer burnt offerings thereon to Hashem your God.
This is the only other altar which is called a "stone altar". What is the relationship between the altars built at Mt. Sinai and at Mt. Eival and the altars mentioned in Shemot 20 and 27?
Additional Questions
- What does "בְּכָל הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר אַזְכִּיר אֶת שְׁמִי אָבוֹא אֵלֶיךָ וּבֵרַכְתִּיךָ" (Shemot 20:20) mean?
- Given that the priests wore pants (Shemot 28:42), why is Shemot 20 concerned about the revealing of nakedness if one walks up stairs to the altar?
- What does "נְבוּב לֻחֹת" mean?
- How did the wooden altar survive the constant fire of the sacrifices?
