Bronze Altar

The bronze altar is the altar of burnt offering standing in the tabernacle court, commanded at Sinai as a square structure of acacia wood (Exodus 27:1) and made by Bezalel with bronze from the wave offering (Exodus 38:1, 30). It is the place of Israel's blood sacrifice: the remaining blood of the sin offerings is poured out at its base (Leviticus 4:7), and at Aaron's ordination fire comes out from before Yahweh and consumes the burnt offering on it (Leviticus 9:24). In David's day it remains with the tabernacle at the high place of Gibeon, where Solomon seeks counsel before building the temple (1 Chronicles 21:29; 2 Chronicles 1:5-6). At the temple's dedication the bronze altar proves too small to receive all the offerings (1 Kings 8:64; 2 Chronicles 7:7). Ahaz later displaces it in favor of an altar copied from Damascus, reserving the bronze altar 'to inquire by' (2 Kings 16:14-15), and Hezekiah's priests cleanse it during his restoration of the temple (2 Chronicles 29:18). In Ezekiel's vision of judgment, the six executioners take their stand beside the bronze altar (Ezekiel 9:2).