Exodus 20:24

Exodus 20:24 . An altar of earth — It is meant of occasional altars, such as they reared in the wilderness before the tabernacle was erected, and afterward upon special emergencies, for present use. They are appointed to make these very plain, either of earth or of unhewn stones. That they might not be tempted to think of a graven image, they must not so much as hew the stones into shape that they made their altars of, but pile them up as they were in the rough. In all places where I record my name — Or where my name is recorded; that is, where I am worshipped in sincerity; I will come unto thee, and will bless thee.

(24) An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me. —The earliest altars were, naturally, either of earth, or of unhewn stones, gathered into a heap, since these could be constructed with little labour, and without tools. But, as civilisation advanced, more elaborate structures took the place of the primitive ones. It became usual to erect altars of hewn stone, adorned with carvings more or less rich, among which might often be introduced human and animal forms. We must understand the command here given, and that of Exodus 20:25 , as intended to forbid structures of this latter kind, which, if allowed, might have led on to idolatry. Thy burnt offerings and thy peace offerings.—Sacrifice began soon after Paradise was quitted (Genesis 4:3-4), and shortly became a universal practice. Noah offered sacrifice on leaving the ark (Genesis 8:20); and in the family of Abraham the rite was an established one (Genesis 12:7; Genesis 15:9; Genesis 22:7; Genesis 26:25; Genesis 31:54, &c.). Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Phœnicians, Greeks, Romans, Scythians, Celts, Germans, all equally regarded sacrifice as a main element of their religion; and if the Hebrews had not offered actual sacrifices during their oppression in Egypt, they had, at any rate, maintained the wish to offer them, and it was (primarily) for the purpose of sacrificing that they had quitted Egypt.

An altar thou shalt make for thy present use, or whilst thou art in the wilderness: this he commanded, partly, that they might easily and readily erect an altar upon all occasions, which it might be hard for them to do there of better materials; partly, to mind them how much more God regarded the inward holiness than the outward pomp of their devotions; partly, because God would make a conspicuous difference between them and idolaters, who used much cost and curiosity about their altars; partly, that the altars might, after they left them, fall down and moulder away, and not remain as lasting monuments, which might be afterward abused to idolatry by any persons that came thither; partly, because they were uncertain of their stay any where, except at Sinai, and therefore must raise such altars as they could suddenly do. But this command only concerned their wilderness state; for there were better and more durable altars in the tabernacle and temple. In all places, therefore there is no need of building any stately altar in a certain place, as if my presence were fixed there, and not to be enjoyed elsewhere. Where I record my name , or, cause my name to be remembered by you; i.e. not in every place which you shall invent, but in all such places as I shall appoint for the remembrance or celebration of my name, or for the service of my majesty, whether it be in the wilderness, and in divers parts thereof, or in the tabernacle and temple.

Nothing could be more appropriate as the commencement of the book of the covenant than these regulations for public worship. The rules for the building of altars must have been old and accepted, and are not inconsistent with the directions for the construction of the altar of the court of the tabernacle, Exodus 27:1-8 (compare Joshua 22:26-28 ).

Verse 24. - An altar of earth . Among the nations of antiquity altars were indispensable to Divine worship, which everywhere included sacrifice. They were often provided on the spur of the occasion, and were then "constructed of earth, sods, or stones, collected upon the spot." The patriarchal altars bad probably been of this character, and it was now provided that the same usage should continue: at any rate, elaborate structures of hewn and highly ornamented stone should not be allowed, lest thus idolatry should creep in, the images engraved upon the altars becoming the objects of worship. Thy burnt offerings and thy peace offerings . The mode in which these are introduced implies that sacrifice was already a long-standing practice. The patriarchal sacrifices are well known ( Genesis 8:20 ; Genesis 12:7 ; Genesis 22:9 ; Genesis 35:1 ). Jethro had recently offered sacrifice in the camp of Israel ( Exodus 18:12 ). If the Israelites had not sacrificed to God during the sojourn in Egypt, at any rate they had kept up the idea of sacrifice; and it was for the purpose of offering sacrifices that Moses had demanded permission to go with all his nation into the wilderness. I will come unto thee and I will bless thee. The promise is conditional on the observance of the command. If the altars are rightly constructed, and proper victims offered, then, in all places where he allows the erection of an altar, God will accept the sacrifices offered upon it and bless the worshippers.

24 . altar ] The word in Heb. ( mizbçaḥ ) means a ‘place of slaughter or sacrifice.’ Altars of earth were also common among the Romans (Tert. Apol. 25 attributes temeraria de caespite altaria to the earliest times; cf. the arae gramineae of Aen. xii. 118 f., and the ‘positusque carbo in Caespite vivo’ of Hor. Od. iii. 8. 3 f., &c.), and, according to Sil. Ital. iv. 703, the Carthaginians: for an example of a large natural stone , extemporized rapidly into an altar, see 1 Samuel 14:32-35 . On the probable primitive idea of an altar among the Semites, as an artificial substitute for a natural object, especially a rock or boulder, supposed—like other striking natural objects, as a tree, stream, or spring ( EB. iii. 2981 f.)—to be the abode of a deity or numen loci , see Rel. Sem. 2 206 ff., or DB. s.v. Altar. Ancient rock-altars have been discovered recently in Palestine; see the writer’s Schweich Lectures on Modern Research as illustrating the Bible (1908), p. 66 f.; and cf. Jdg 6:20 f. shalt sacrifice , &c.] ‘The words are addressed not to the priests, but to Israel at large, and imply that any Israelite may approach the altar, (W. R. Smith, OTJC. 2[181] p. 358: so Di., pp. 385, 457, 460 [ed. 2, pp. 425, 500, 503]; Baudissin, DB. iv. 70a; cf. Kautzsch, DB. v. 648 f.). The right of sacrificing was not limited to the priestly class till long afterwards.

For examples of laymen offering sacrifice, see 1 Samuel 6:14 ; 1 Samuel 13:9 f., 2 Samuel 6:13 ; 2 Samuel 6:17 ; 2 Samuel 24:25 , 1 Kings 1:9 ; 1 Kings 3:4 ; in 2 Samuel 8:18 = 2 Samuel 20:26 David’s sons are priests (so Di.). [181] W. R. Smith, Old Testament in the Jewish Church , ed. 2, 1892. sacrifice ] lit. kill or slay . The verb ( zâbaḥ ) may be used of killing domestic animals for food without religious rites (see in the Heb. Deuteronomy 12:15 ; Deuteronomy 12:21 , 1 Samuel 28:24 ); but since in early times animals were seldom, if ever, killed without an accompanying sacrifice, it commonly denotes sacrificial slaying. burnt offerings, and … peace offerings ] The two commonest kinds of sacrifice, often mentioned together, especially in the earlier historical books, but also elsewhere: see e.g. Exodus 24:5 , Exodus 32:6 , Deuteronomy 27:7 (E), 1 Samuel 10:8 ; 1 Samuel 13:9 , 2 Samuel 6:17 ; 2 Samuel 24:25 , and with ‘sacrifices’ for ‘peace-offerings,’ Exodus 10:25 (see note), Exodus 18:12 , 1 Samuel 6:15 ; 1 Samuel 15:22 , 2 Kings 5:17 . In the burnt-offering (Heb. ‘ôlâh, that which goes up —most probably upon the altar, though according to others in κνίση or ‘sweet smoke’ [ Exodus 29:13 ] to heaven), the whole animal was laid on the altar, and consumed there by fire (cf.