Purpose and Placement of the Incense Altar/1/en

Purpose and Placement of the Incense Altar

Introduction

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Out of Place

Shemot 25-29 contain a detailed account of the instructions to build the Tabernacle.  On the whole, the order is fairly logical, proceeding from inside to out.  The instructions begin with the vessels in the Sanctuary (the Ark, Table and Menorah), move to the construction of the Tabernacle itself, describing its coverings and boards, and conclude with the commands regarding the Copper Altar and courtyard which are found outside.  Shemot 28-29 then focus on the priestly garments and the Seven days of Consecration, ending with several verses which serve to conclude the entire unit of instructions.  

Somewhat surprisingly, it is only after these concluding remarks that we read of the command to build the Incense Altar.¹  Even though it, too, is housed in the Outer Sanctum, next to the Table and Menorah, it is not listed together with these vessels.  Moreover, it is not even found in the main body of instructions at all and comes only as part of the appendix to the unit.² Why does the Torah distinguish the Incense Altar from the other vessels?  What does this imply about the altar's role and how it relates to the Tabernacle as a whole?  Does it not share the goals and functions of the rest of the project?  Why is the nation commanded to bring the incense at all; of what use is the fragrance to Hashem?³

¹ The troubling location of the command is highlighted when one compares the Masoretic text of Tanakh with the Samaritan Pentateuch and one of the Qumran scrolls (4QpaleoEx) which place the command in Chapter 26, closer to where we would have expected it.

² This appendix includes instructions related to more minor vessels and tools of the Tabernacle, including the commands to bring 1/2 shekel donations, to build the Water Basin, and make the anointing oil.

³ Interestingly, while the various sacrifices are said to emit a "רֵיחַ נִיחֹחַ לַי"י" (a pleasing fragrance to God), this term is not found in relation to the incense anywhere, and raises the question of how central the incense's scent was to its function and purpose.