Topic

Altar

Passages from across the Bible

Passages on this topic

From Nave’s Topical Bible (1896), a historical reference index. The groupings are Nave’s; the verses are shown in the text used across this site.

Built by Noah

Genesis 8:2 The springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained.

Built by Abraham

Genesis 12:7–8 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an a…
Genesis 13:18 So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the Oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.
Genesis 22:9 When they arrived at the place God had designated, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar, atop the wood.

Built by Isaac

Genesis 26:25 So Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there. His servants also dug a well there.

Built by Jacob

Genesis 33:20 There he set up an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.
Genesis 35:1–7 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your gar…

Built by Moses

Exodus 17:15 And Moses built an altar and named it The LORD Is My Banner.
Exodus 24:4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Early the next morning he got up and built an altar at the base of the mountain, along with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.

Built by Balaam

Numbers 23:1 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”
Numbers 23:14 So Balak took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Numbers 23:29 Then Balaam said, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”

Built by Joshua

Deuteronomy 27:4–7 And when you have crossed the Jordan, you are to set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I am commanding you today, and you are to coat them with plaster. Moreover, you are to build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. You must not use any iron tool on them. You shall build the al…
Joshua 8:30–32 At that time Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal to the LORD, the God of Israel, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of uncut stones on which no iron tool has been used.” And on it th…

Built by the Reubenites and Gadites

Joshua 22:10 And when they came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an imposing altar there by the Jordan.
Joshua 22:34 So the Reubenites and Gadites named the altar Witness, for they said, “It is a witness between us that the LORD is God.”

Built by Gideon

Judges 6:26–27 Then build a proper altar to the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold. And with the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down, take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering.” So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his father’…

Built by Samuel

1 Samuel 7:17 Then he would return to Ramah because his home was there, and there he judged Israel and built an altar to the LORD.

Built by Saul

1 Samuel 14:35 Then Saul built an altar to the LORD; it was the first time he had built an altar to the LORD.

Built by David

2 Samuel 24:18–19 And that day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” So David went up at the word of Gad, just as the LORD had commanded.

Built by Elijah

1 Kings 18:31–32 And Elijah took twelve stones, one for each tribe of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come and said, “Israel shall be your name.” And with the stones, Elijah built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed.

Mosaic commandments prescribing the construction of

Exodus 20:24–26 You are to make for Me an altar of earth, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats and cattle. In every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. Now if you make an altar of stones for Me, you must not build it with sto…
Deuteronomy 27:5–7 Moreover, you are to build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. You must not use any iron tool on them. You shall build the altar of the LORD your God with uncut stones and offer upon it burnt offerings to the LORD your God. There you are to sacrifice your peace offerings, eatin…
Joshua 8:30–31 At that time Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal to the LORD, the God of Israel, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of uncut stones on which no iron tool has been used.” And on it th…

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Ezekiel 43:13 These are the measurements of the altar in long cubits (a cubit and a handbreadth): Its gutter shall be a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of one span around its edge. And this is the height of the altar:

Used in idolatrous worship

Judges 6:25 On that very night the LORD said to Gideon, “Take your father’s young bull and a second bull seven years old, tear down your father’s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.
1 Kings 12:32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar; he made this offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had set up, and he installed priests in Bethel for the high places he had set up.
1 Kings 16:32 First, Ahab set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he had built in Samaria.
1 Kings 18:26 And they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound, and no one answered as they leaped around the altar they had made.
2 Kings 16:10 Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. On seeing the altar in Damascus, King Ahaz sent Uriah the priest a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction.
2 Kings 23:12 He pulled down the altars that the kings of Judah had set up on the roof near the upper chamber of Ahaz, and the altars that Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the house of the LORD. The king pulverized them there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley.
2 Kings 23:15 He even pulled down the altar at Bethel, the high place set up by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin. Then he burned the high place, ground it to powder, and burned the Asherah pole.
Isaiah 27:9 Therefore Jacob’s guilt will be atoned for, and the full fruit of the removal of his sin will be this: When he makes all the altar stones like crushed bits of chalk, no Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing.
Isaiah 65:3 to a people who continually provoke Me to My face, sacrificing in the gardens and burning incense on altars of brick,
Hosea 8:11 Though Ephraim multiplied the altars for sin, they became his altars for sinning.

Show 1 more passage

Acts 17:23

Of Burnt Offerings

Called BRAZEN ALTAR

Exodus 39:39 the bronze altar with its bronze grating, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin with its stand;
1 Kings 8:64 On that same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard in front of the house of the LORD, and there he offered the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, since the bronze altar before the LORD was too small to contain all these offerings.

Called ALTAR OF GOD

Psalm 43:4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my greatest joy. I will praise You with the harp, O God, my God.

Called ALTAR OF THE LORD

Malachi 2:13 And this is another thing you do: You cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and groaning, because He no longer regards your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands.

In the Tabernacle

Pattern of

Exodus 27:1–8 “You are to build an altar of acacia wood. The altar must be square, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high. Make a horn on each of its four corners, so that the horns are of one piece, and overlay it with bronze. Make all its utensils of bronze — its pots for removing ashes, its…

Constructed by Bezaleel

Exodus 38:1–7 Bezalel constructed the altar of burnt offering from acacia wood. It was square, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high. He made a horn at each of its four corners, so that the horns and altar were of one piece, and he overlaid the altar with bronze. He made all the altar’s utens…
Exodus 37:1 Bezalel went on to construct the ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.

Location of

Exodus 40:6 Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting.
Exodus 40:29 He placed the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, just as the LORD had commanded him.
Ezekiel 8:16 So He brought me to the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing to the east in worship of…
Matthew 23:35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

Furniture of

Exodus 27:3–7 Make all its utensils of bronze — its pots for removing ashes, its shovels, its sprinkling bowls, its meat forks, and its firepans. Construct for it a grate of bronze mesh, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the mesh. Set the grate beneath the ledge of the altar, so that the mesh…
Exodus 38:3–7 He made all the altar’s utensils of bronze — its pots, shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks, and firepans. He made a grate of bronze mesh for the altar under its ledge, halfway up from the bottom. At the four corners of the bronze grate he cast four rings as holders for the poles. And he made the…
1 Samuel 2:13–14 or for the custom of the priests with the people. When any man offered a sacrifice, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling and plunge it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or cooking pot. And the priest would claim for himself whatever the mea…

Horns of

Exodus 27:2 Make a horn on each of its four corners, so that the horns are of one piece, and overlay it with bronze.

Uses of the horns

Psalm 118:27 The LORD is God; He has made His light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.

How sanctified

Exodus 29:36–37 Sacrifice a bull as a sin offering each day for atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it. For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will become most holy; whatever touches the altar will be holy.
Exodus 29:44 So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and I will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve Me as priests.
Exodus 30:26–28 Use this oil to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony, the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand.
Exodus 40:10 Anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it shall be most holy.
Leviticus 8:10–11 Next, Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it; and so he consecrated them. He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, anointing the altar and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand, to consecrate them.
Numbers 7 On the day Moses finished setting up the tabernacle, he anointed and consecrated it and all its furnishings, along with the altar and all its utensils. And the leaders of Israel, the heads of their families, presented an offering. These men were the tribal leaders who had supervised the registratio… (whole chapter)

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Ezekiel 43:18–27 Then He said to me: “Son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is constructed, so that burnt offerings may be sacrificed on it and blood may be splattered on it: You are to give a young bull from the herd as a sin offering to the Levitical pries…

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Sanctified everything that touched it

Exodus 29:37 For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will become most holy; whatever touches the altar will be holy.
Exodus 30:29 You are to consecrate them so that they will be most holy. Whatever touches them shall be holy.
Matthew 23:18–19 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes it sacred?

A place of refuge

Exodus 21:14 But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death.
1 Kings 1:50 But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, got up and went to take hold of the horns of the altar.
1 Kings 2:28 When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah but not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar.

In Solomon's Temple

Description of

2 Chronicles 4:1 He made a bronze altar twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high.

Renewed by Asa

2 Chronicles 15:8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He then restored the altar of the LORD that was in front of…

Removed by Ahaz, and one of idolatrous fashion substituted

2 Kings 16:14–17 He also took the bronze altar that stood before the LORD from the front of the temple (between the new altar and the house of the LORD) and he put it on the north side of the new altar. Then King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, “Offer on the great altar the morning burnt offering, the evening grai…

Cleansed by Hezekiah

2 Chronicles 29:18–24 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and reported, “We have cleansed the entire house of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table of the showbread with all its utensils. Moreover, we have prepared and consecrated all the articles that King Ahaz in his unfaithfulness…

Repaired by Manasseh

2 Chronicles 33:16 Then he restored the altar of the LORD and sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it, and he told Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel.

Furniture of, taken to Babylon

2 Kings 25:14 They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes, and all the articles of bronze used in the temple service.

In Second Temple

Ezra 3:1–6 By the seventh month, the Israelites had settled in their towns, and the people assembled as one man in Jerusalem. Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests, along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates, began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings…

Ezekiel's Vision of

Ezekiel 43:13–27 These are the measurements of the altar in long cubits (a cubit and a handbreadth): Its gutter shall be a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of one span around its edge. And this is the height of the altar: The space from the gutter on the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits, and the…

See Tabernacle

See Temple

Of Incense

Called the GOLDEN ALTAR

Exodus 39:38 the gold altar, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, and the curtain for the entrance to the tent;
Numbers 4:11 Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth, cover it with fine leather, and insert the poles.

Altar of Sweet Incense

Leviticus 4:7 The priest must then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting. And he is to pour out the rest of the bull’s blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

Altar Before the Lord

Leviticus 16:18 Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on all the horns of the altar.

Pattern of

Exodus 30:1–5 “You are also to make an altar of acacia wood for the burning of incense. It is to be square, a cubit long, a cubit wide, and two cubits high. Its horns must be of one piece. Overlay with pure gold the top and all the sides and horns, and make a molding of gold around it. And make two gold rings be…

Constructed

Exodus 37:25–28 He made the altar of incense out of acacia wood. It was square, a cubit long, a cubit wide, and two cubits high. Its horns were of one piece. And he overlaid with pure gold the top and all the sides and horns. Then he made a molding of gold around it. He made two gold rings below the molding on opp…

Location of

Exodus 30:6 Place the altar in front of the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony— before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony— where I will meet with you.
Exodus 40:5 Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the Testimony, and hang the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.
Exodus 40:26 Moses placed the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting, in front of the veil,

A cover made for, of the censers of Korah

Numbers 16:36–40 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the censers from the flames and to scatter the coals far away, because the censers are holy. As for the censers of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, hammer them into sheets to overlay the altar, for these we…

Uses of

Exodus 30:7–10 And Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he tends the lamps. When Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he must burn the incense perpetually before the LORD for the generations to come. On this altar you must not offer unauthorized incense or a burnt offering or grain offering…
Exodus 30:26–27 Use this oil to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony, the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, the altar of incense,
Exodus 40:27 and he burned fragrant incense on it, just as the LORD had commanded him.
Leviticus 4:7 The priest must then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting. And he is to pour out the rest of the bull’s blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
Leviticus 4:18 He is also to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting, and he must pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
Leviticus 8:15 Moses slaughtered the bull, took some of the blood, and applied it with his finger to all four horns of the altar, purifying the altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it so that atonement could be made on it.
Leviticus 9:9 The sons of Aaron brought the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and applied it to the horns of the altar. And he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.
Leviticus 16:12 Then he must take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense, and take them inside the veil.
Leviticus 16:18 Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on all the horns of the altar.

How prepared for carrying

Numbers 4:4–15 This service of the Kohathites at the Tent of Meeting regards the most holy things. Whenever the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the veil of the curtain, and cover the ark of the Testimony with it. They are to place over this a covering of fine leather, spread a solid blue…

Carried by Kohathites

Numbers 3:27–31 From Kohath came the clans of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites; these were the clans of the Kohathites. The number of all the males a month old or more was 8,600. They were responsible for the duties of the sanctuary. The clans of the Kohathites were to camp on the s…

In Solomon's temple

1 Kings 6:19–20 Solomon also prepared the inner sanctuary within the temple to set the ark of the covenant of the LORD there. The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.
1 Kings 7:48 Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD: the golden altar; the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence;
1 Chronicles 28:18 the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense; and the plans for the chariot of the gold cherubim that spread their wings and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the LORD.

Seen in John's vision

Revelation 8:3 Then another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.
Revelation 9:13 Then the sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God

Word study: the Hebrew and Greek words behind “altar” →

Scripture text: Berean Standard Bible.