Altars of Earth, Stone, and Wood/2
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Altars of Earth, Stone, and Wood
Exegetical Approaches
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Overview
Before the Mishkan
Before the sin of the Golden Calf, when there were private altars, they were made out of earth or stone. After the sin of the Golden Calf, when the altar was only in the Mishkan, it was made out of wood and brass.
Sources: Hoil Moshe
מִזְבַּח אֲדָמָה and מִזְבַּח אֲבָנִים – According to the Hoil Moshe, until the Sin of the Golden Calf, anyone was allowed to build an altar wherever they wanted to ("בְּכָל הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר אַזְכִּיר אֶת שְׁמִי אָבוֹא אֵלֶיךָ וּבֵרַכְתִּיךָ"). The verses in Shemot 20 give the requirements for these altars: they must be made of either earth or uncut stones, and cannot have steps.
The Altar in the Tabernacle – Once the Israelites sinned with the Golden Calf, Hashem prohibited personal worship, and required all sacrifices to be made in one centralized location, on the altar in the Tabernacle. The requirements for an altar from Shemot 20 do not apply to this altar.
נְבוּב לֻחֹת –
Wooden Altar –
The Altar at Mt. Sinai –
The Altar at Mt. Eival –
Changes in Plans –
Location of command – The command for an earthen or stone altar is found in chronological order, while the command for building the wooden altar (and the rest of the Tabernacle) is out of order.
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Crux of the position –
Outside of the Mishkan
Other Specific Altars
According to this approach, the commandments to build earthen and stone altars are specific commands, fulfilled on only one occasion, and are unrelated to the Tabernacle.
Sources: Ibn Ezra
מִזְבַּח אֲדָמָה – Ibn Ezra identifies the earthen altar with the altar Moshe builds besides Mt. Sinai in Shemot 24. Even though the altar at the Tabernacle was filled with earth, it is never called "earthen", and therefore the verse in Shemot 20 cannot be referring to it.
מִזְבַּח אֲבָנִים – Ibn Ezra identifies the stone altar with the only altar made of stone in Torah, the altar to be built on Mt. Eival in Devarim 27.
The Altar in the Tabernacle – Ibn Ezra understands "נְבוּב לֻחֹת" to mean that the altar was hollow, and was filled with earth (which would also explain why the wood did not burn down). This, however, is not enough to call this altar an "earthen altar".
Location of command – The commands to build an earthen or stone altar and a wooden altar are found in the chronological order in which they were given.
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Crux of the position –
Bamot in General
While wooden altars are used only in the central altar in the Tabernacle (and later in the Temple), the earth and stone altars are used for individual altars (bamot) outside the Tabernacle and the Temple.
מִזְבַּח אֲדָמָה and מִזְבַּח אֲבָנִים – The earthen and stone altars can be built for a number of reasons:
- Allowing one to slaughter בשר תאוה. For example, in Shemuel I 14:32-35 Shaul commands his soldiers to slaughter their sheep and cattle on a large stone, instead of pouring the blood on the ground.
- In a place where Hashem's name was mentioned ("בְּכָל הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר אַזְכִּיר אֶת שְׁמִי"). This includes a direct command (such as on Har Eival, in Devarim 27:5-6 and Yehoshua 8:30-35, and by Gideon, in Shoftim 6:26-27), the appearance of the Sechinah or an angel , or the attendance of the Aron or another of the vessels from the Tabernacle or Temple.
נְבוּב לֻחֹת –
Wooden Altar –
The Altar at Mt. Sinai –
The Altar at Mt. Eival – This altar was one of the stone altars mentioned in Shemot 20. It is considered a place where Hashem's name was mentioned, since there was a direct command to build it.
Location of command –
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Crux of the position –
Always
The earth and stone altar in Shemot 20 is the same altar as the wooden one in the Tabernacle.
Sources: Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Mekhilta DeRashbi, Bavli Zevachim, Targum Neofiti, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Targum Yerushalmi, R. Saadia Gaon, Rashi, Rashbam, R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, Rambam, Chizkuni, R. Avraham b. HaRambam, Ramban, Ralbag, Seforno, Netziv
מִזְבַּח אֲדָמָה – Two possibilities are raised regarding this phrase:
- An altar connected to earth –
- An altar filled with earth –
מִזְבַּח אֲבָנִים – Most commentators associate this altar with other specific altar including the altar at Mt. Eival, the altar in Shilo, in Nov, in Giveon, and in the Temple. As Ibn Ezra points out, according to this, the two verses of "מִזְבַּח אֲדָמָה" and "מִזְבַּח אֲבָנִים" are not parallel. On the other hand, R. Natan in the Bavli explains that the stone altar is referring to the specific altar in Shiloh which was filled with stone as oppose to being filled with earth.
נְבוּב לֻחֹת – These commentators explain this phrase to mean that the altar was made of wooden boards and the inside was hollow.
Wooden Altar – The Netziv suggests that Shemot 27:1 is referring back to the altar in Shemot 20 when saying "הַמִּזְבֵּחַ" with the additional ה' הידיעה.
The Altar at Mt. Sinai –
The Altar at Mt. Eival –
Location of command –
The roof of the altar –
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Crux of the position –
