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

Other Mentions of the Incense

Outside the context of the construction of the Tabernacle, the incense is mentioned several times. Several of these passages might shed light on its function:

• Service of Yom HaKippurim – The Incense Altar is mentioned twice in this context:
• As part of the day's service, the High Priest takes a censer of incense into the Holy of Holies, where the cloud of incense covers the kaporet so that the priest "will not die". What is the import of this action, and why does it prevent death?
• Later, the priest is instructed to sprinkle blood and make atonement on the altar, a rite unique to it and the kaporet. Does this suggest that the altar played a role in achieving atonement, or only that it needed to be expiated? Interestingly, this atonement is mentioned already in our chapter ("וְכִפֶּר אַהֲרֹן עַל קַרְנֹתָיו אַחַת בַּשָּׁנָה מִדַּם חַטַּאת הַכִּפֻּרִים") making the Incense Altar the only vessel by which there is an allusion to Yom HaKippurim.⁴ What is the significance of this?
• Rebellion of Korach – In this story, too, the incense plays two roles:
• After complaining about the priestly position, the rebels are told to offer incense as a test by which Hashem would indicate whom he had chosen to serve Him. What can be learned from the fact that it was this ritual specifically which was chosen as the test?
• In the aftermath of the rebellion, a plague is brought, and Aharon is commanded to stop it via the bringing of incense. Does this suggest that the incense had some inherent powers of protection and atonement? Or, was the incense chosen merely because of its role in the earlier part of the story?

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.

⁴ The verse does not mention Yom HaKippurim by name, instead stating that the atonement will take place "once a year", since neither Yom HaKippurim, nor the service of the day, has yet been mentioned in Torah.  This makes the allusion all the more intriguing.