The Temple in the Days of our Savior Described, Chapter 34
CHAP. XXXIIII. Of the Altar of Burnt-offering.
THe Altar that Moſes made in the wilderneſſe, becauſe it was to be carried up and downe, was of light materialls and of ſmall dimenſions: for[a]Exod. 27.1. it was of Shittim-wood, and but five cubits ſquare, and three cubits high, with a grate of braſſe hanging within it for the fire and Sacrifice to lye upon. And therefore when it is called the brazen Altar, 2 Chron. 1.5. it is becauſe it was plated over with braſſe, Exod. 38.1. But when Solomon came to build the Temple, and there was to be no more removing of the Tabernacle of the Congregation as there had been before,[b]2 Chron. 4.1. he made the Altar farre larger and weightier then that of Moſes: namely of braſſe and of twenty cubite ſquare and ten cubits high.
I ſhall not be curious to inquire whether Solomons Altar were of braſſe indeed or no, or whether it is ſaid to be of braſſe, though it were of ſtone, becauſe it ſucceeded in ſtead of Moſes his brazen one as[c]Vid. Kimc. in 1 King. 8.64. ſome Jewes conceive,[d]Vid. Lev. Gerſ. ibid. or as others, becauſe though it were of ſtone, yet it was overlaid with braſſe: I ſee no reaſon why it ſhould not be properly and literally underſtood that it was of maſſie braſſe indeed: for why may we not well conclude by the plating of Moſes his Altar over with braſſe, that it was made of wood onelyonly for lightneſſe, and had it not been for that, it had been all of braſſe as well as the outſide: And that that outſide plating, might be a warrant to Solomon to make his Altar of Maſſie braſſe: It is true indeed that there is a command of making an Altar of Earth or ſtone, Exod. 20. but it may very well be queſtioned, whether theſe altars meant not ſuch as were made upon ſpeciall and emergent occaſions, namely upon the Lords ſingular appearing to particular perſons, as to Gedeon, Manoah and others, who upon ſuch appearances built Altars and ſacrificed. Judg. 6.26. & 13.19. 1 Kin. 18.30, 31.
There is but little to be diſcovered about the exact faſhion and fabrick, of Solomons Altar, becauſe the Scripture ſpeaketh very conciſely of it: For it ſaith onelyonly thus, He made an Altar of Braſſe, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof. 2 Chron. 4.1. So that it was foure times as big in it ſquare, as was the Altar made by Moſes, and three times as high, and a cubit over: but whether it were exactly of the faſhion of that of Moſes, as whether the middle ſpace within its ſquare were hollow like his, or made up with ſtone, and whether it had a grated hearth like his or a ſolid, and what was the manner of the aſcending and going up to it, may be rather apprehended by ſuppoſall, then certainely knowne by any ſcripturall deſcription or demonſtration.
The ſacrifices that are recorded to have been offered ſometimes at once, both upon the Altar of Moſes and that of Solomom, are exceeding wonderfull, and may cauſe a man to marvaile, how ſo vaſt numbers ſhould be laid and burnt in ſo little a ſpace as even the larger of them was of, though a very large time ſhould be allowed for it: as Solomons 1000. ſacrifices upon Moſes his Altar, 1 King. 3.4. and the peoples 700. oxen and 7000. ſheep upon Solomons, 2 Chron. 15.11, &c. Moſes his Altar was but five cubits ſquare, and how long a time might be required for 1000. beaſts whole-burnt-offerings, for ſo they are called, to be burnt in ſo ſmall a compaſſe? David Kimchi upon that place and ſtory gloſſeth thus. He offered not all theſe ſacrifices in one day, but before he returned againe from Gibeon to Jeruſalem: yet it ſeemeth by our Rabbines that they tooke it to be done at one time. The greateſt ſolemnities that ever were at Jeruſalem laſted ordinarily but ſeven daies; or at the utmoſt but fourteene, when they would double their feſtivity, as at the dedication of the Temple, 1 King. 8.65. now grant Solomon fourteene, nay twice fourteene dayes ſtay at Gibeon, yet will it ſeeme difficult that he ſhould diſpatch ſo many ſacrifices even in that time. And at his owne Altar at Jeruſalem, how vaſt is the number of ſacrifices that is mentioned, 1 King. 8.63. And Solomon offered a ſacrifice of peace-offerings, which he offered to the Lord, two and twenty thouſand oxen and an hundred and twenty thouſand ſheepe: ſo the King and all the children of Iſrael dedicated the houſe of the Lord. The ſame day did the King hallow the middle of the Court, &c.
Allow the whole fourteene daies that are ſpoken of in ver. 65. unto this buſineſſe, and yet the text ſeemes to limit it to a ſhorter time, and for all that, a man may rather ſtand amazed at ſuch a thing as this doing, then find out any ſatisfactory apprehenſion how it ſhould be done. Sure the divine fire upon the Altar, was of a more ſingular quickneſſe of diſpatch then ordinary fires: or elſe I know not what can be ſaid to theſe things. The Jewes do reckon ſeverall wonders that were continually acted at the Temple, as that no flies infeſted that place, though there were ſo much ſlaughtering of beaſts there, and that the ſmoke of the Altar alwayes went ſtraight up and was never blowne aſide by the winde, &c. which though it may be they are the leſſe beleeved for the relators ſakes, yet certainly well weighed in themſelves they carry very good ſenſe and reaſon in them. For who would have been able in the ſummer to have ſtood in the Court neare the Altar where there was ſo much blood ſhed, and fleſh ſtirring, if the ſlaughter place there had been troubled with ſtink, flies and waſpes, as our common ſlaughter houſes are? And how reeky and ſmokie a place would the Temple and all the places about it have been, and how would thoſe that attended the ſervice, have been choaked and ſtifled, and no man able to have indured in the Court, if the ſmoak from off the Altar had been blowne up and down with every puffe of winde, as we ordinarily ſee ſmoak to be? So that for the prevention of ſuch unconveniences as theſe which would have made the ſervice intolerable and unacceſſible, we cannot but acknowledge a continuall miraculous providence and diſpenſation. And ſo in this particular that we have in hand: that multitudes of ſacrifices, ſuch as were eſpecially at the three feſtivalls, ſhould be diſpatched by the fire within the time allotted for the offering of ſuch ſacrifices, is rather to be aſcribed to miracle then to any thing elſe. The Altar is called Ariel, the Lords lion, as we ſhall obſerve by and by, and it was a lion of a very quick devouring.
Now whereas it is ſaid that Solomon did hallow the middle of the Court that was before the houſe of the Lord, for there he offered burnt-offerings and meat-offerings and the fat of the peace-offerings becauſe the brazen Altar that was before the Lord was too little to receive them: lay this alſo in too, and yet it will be difficult enough to apprehend the diſpatch of ſo many thouſand ſacrifices in ſo ſhort a time, if this conſideration be not alſo laid in therewithall. But the queſtion that is moſt ordinarily raiſed out of theſe words is, in what ſenſe to underſtand this hallowing of the middle of the Court: whether he burnt the ſacrifices upon the very pavement, as is the opinion of Rabbi Judah, or whether he ſet up Moſes Altar by his owne Altar and offered on it, or whether he built an Altar of ſtone by his brazen one, for theſe opinions are alſo held, but me thinkes the greater queſtion is about the place, and what is meant by the middle of the Court? Upon which quaere, theſe two things, may firſt be taken into obſervation. 1. That fire from heaven in the time of David, had apponted out the exact place of offering ſacrifice or of the Altar, 1 Chron. 21.1. and to go about that piece of ſervice in any other place of the Court, required either a propheticall warrant, or a diſpenſation through meere neceſſity, both which diſpenſers were concurred here. 2. That this place which Solomon hallowed in the Court, was hallowed by the very ſervice performed upon it; The Altar of Moſes was hallowed at its firſt ſetting up, by being anointed, and ſo doe the Jewes, not without good ground, aſſert that Solomons Altar was hallowed likewiſe: but this neceſſitated place, for ſo let me call it, which Solomon was conſtrained to ſet apart for that ſervice, was not ſo ſerved, but his very ſacrificing there did hallow the place: namely for ſuch a preſent imployment, but not for future. And ſo the current of the text may be interpreted, he hallowed the middle of the Court, for there he offered burnt-offerings: ſo that whereas the other altar, being anointed ſanctified the gift, this extraordinary Altar did not ſo much ſanctifie the offering at the firſt, as was ſanctified by it: And ſo the Temple after the returne out of the Babylonian captivity and all the utenſills belonging to it, were ſanctified by the very ſervice, for there was neither divine fire, nor any cloud of glory, nor any anointing oile to ſanctifie them.
The middle of the Court which Solomon hallowed, I ſuppoſe is to be expounded in the largeſt acceptation of either of the words, both the middle, and the Court: for the word the middle of a thing in the Scripture language, is not alwaies taken for the very Center of the thing mentioned, but for any part within that thing, be it in it whatſoever it will, as in the middle of the land and in the middle of the Congregation, meaneth but within the land, and in the Congregation: So is the phraſe to be underſtood here, that Solomon hallowed the Court in any part of it for the burning of the Sacrifices, though the preciſe compaſſe of the Altar, was fixedly pointed out as the onelyonly place for ſuch a purpoſe, by fire from heaven: And as for the word the Court, the preſent occaſion doth ſeeme to extend the ſenſe of it to the whole compaſſe of the holy ground: for if we looke upon the vaſt and infinite number of ſacrifices that were to be ſlaine and offered, we can doe no leſſe, and all little enough too, then allow the whole compaſſe of the holy ground for it: And the word the Court, ſtandeth not in oppoſition to the mountaine of the houſe, but both the mountaine of the houſe, and the Court it ſelfe, are both called by that generall name the Court in contradiction to the very body of the Temple.
Ezekiels Altar is ſaid to be twelve cubits long, and twelve cubits broad, ſquare in the foure ſquares thereof. Ezek. 43.16. which[g]Zevathin per. 5. R. Sol. in Ezek. 43. & …id. per. 3. the Talmudicks doe reckon up to foure and twenty cubits upon every ſide of the ſquare: for they ſuppoſe that the account is not as meaſuring from corner to corner on every ſide, but meaſuring from the very midſt or center of the Altar to any of the ſides, and thither was twelve cubits: And the reaſon of this their conſtruction is, becauſe it is ſaid foreign Towards the foure ſquares of it. It might ſeeme (ſay they) that the whole Altar was but twelve cubits ſquare in all: but when it is ſaid foreign Towards the foure ſquares thereof, it ſheweth, that he meaſureth from the middle, twelve cubits every way: And of this ſquare, namely of foure and twenty cubits on every ſide, they hold the Altar to have been after the captivity, and ſo they deſcribe it. R. Joſe ſaith, At the firſt the Altar was but 28. cubits on every ſide: And according to this meaſure it narrowed in its riſing till the fire place was but twenty cubits ſquare: But when the children of the captivity came up, they added thereunto foure cubits on the North, and foure cubits on the Weſt like the faſhion of the letter foreign Gamma.
As Solomons Altar was ten cubits high, 2 Chron. 4.1. ſo alſo was the Altar at the ſecond Temple, and ſo the Jeruſalem Talmud doth witneſſe ſaying foreign [b]Talm. Jeruſ. in Erubin. per. 7.The height of the Altan was ten cubits: And of that height is Ezekiels Altar, whoſe coppy the children of the captivity did very much follow: Now as it was impoſſible for the Prieſts when the Altar was ſo high, to ſtand on the ground and to ſerve upon it, ſo had they an expeſſe prohibition againſt going up to the Altar by ſteps, leſt their nakedneſſe under their looſe coates ſhould be diſcovered, Exod. 20.26. Therefore as a temper betweene theſe two exigents, there was a gentle riſing made from the ground to the top of the Altar whereon the Prieſts might go up to the Altar to ſerve upon it, and this riſing was called foreign Kebeſh which may well be engliſhed the riſe of the Altar.
The gloſſe upon the Miſhneb in the treatiſe Zabim, and R. Nathan from thence hath taught us to underſtand the manner of this riſing, by that inſtance and deſcription that they give of the word foreign.[i]Zabi. per. 3. Aruch in foreign That it is a great planke that mariners have, that when they will come downe out of the Ship, they deſcend, or come downe upon it, to ſave their feet from touching of the water: and this planke is called foreign Kebeſh; And ſo in the treatiſe of the Sabbath they have a caſe, about a foreign Keb…ſh or ſuch a planke[k]Shabbath. …er. 16. Sect. 8. Doth an Idolater make a foreign Deſcent for himſelfe, to goe downe by? an Iſraelite may goe downe after him. But doth he make it for the Iſraelite? it is not lawfull for him to goe upon it: There is an example of Rubban Gamaliel and the Elders, they were to come out of a ſhip: and an Idolater had made foreign a deſcent for himſelfe, Rabban Gamaliel and the Elders came downe by it. So that by this parallel we may obſerve the manner and nature of this foreign Kebeſh or riſe to the Altar that it was a ſloping gentle riſing, but made of ſtone whereby the Prieſts might goe up to the Altar, without danger of diſcovering their nakedneſſe: we might call it a riſing cauſey to the top of the Altar; for ſo doth[l]Maymon. in Shekalim. per. Maimony call the Arched cauſey over the valley of Kidron to mount Olivet by which the red cow was brought to her burning foreign by this very name Kebeſh.
Now as for the manner and forme of the Altar and of this riſing up to it, and for the right underſtanding of all, which is not very facil, divers things are to be obſerved. As,
1. There are reckoned theſe ſeverall parts of the Altar. Firſt, the foundation, foreign which alſo in Ezekiel is call foreign The boſome or bottome upon the ground. Ezek. 43.13, 14. This was one cubit high from the ground, and one cubit broad: and the length of this foundation upon every ſide of the ſquare was 32 cubits. And therefore whereas it was ſaid before, that the breadth of the Altar and its riſe was 62 cubits from North to South, it is to be ſo taken, as that the riſe is to be accounted a thing different from the Altar it ſelfe, and lying a great ſpace further out then the compaſſe of the Altar did, as we ſhall ſee anon: Now this foundation which is ſaid to be 32 cubits ſquare every way, did not hold the compleate meaſure of a cubit broad in every part of it, but in the Southeaſt corner of it, it wanted ſomewhat to make the corner a perfect angle anſwerable to the other corners. And this is that which the Talmud meaneth when it ſaith foreign [m]Mid. ubi ſupr.The foundation was a perfect walke, all along on the North ſide, and all along on the South: but on the South it wanted one cubit, and on the Eaſt one cubit. That is, were a man upon the foundation, he might walke upon all the length of the North ſide, and might turne at the North weſt corner, and ſo walke on the Weſt quarter: but would he doe ſo, to goe off from the South quarter to the Eaſt he could not, for when he was to turne at the Southeaſt Angle, there was no ſuch Angle there, as there was at the other corners, for it was broken off, and wanted a cubit on the South ſide, and a cubit on the Eaſt, which two cubits ſhould have met to have brought the corner into a ſharpe point like the others. Now the reaſon of the defect is given by them elſe where, to be becauſe, that very corner onelyonly of all the Altar was not in the tribe of Benjamin, but in the tribe of Judah. For they held it neceſſary that all the Altars ſhould be in the lot of Benjamin, becauſe of thoſe words of Jacob [u]Gen. 49.27.Benjamin ſhall raven as a wolfe, in the morning he ſhall devoure the pray, and in the Evening he ſhall divide the ſpoile: which how they underſtood of the Sanctuary and Altar being built within Benjamins lot, appeares by the gloſſes that the Jeruſalem Targum and Jonathan put upon it. Benjamin, ſay they, is likened to a devouring wolfe, becauſe be was a ſtrong tribe: In his Country the divine Majeſty of the Lord of all the world was to dwell, and in his poſſeſſion was the houſe of the Sanctuary to be built; In the morning the Prieſts ſhall offer the daily lambe, till it be the fourth houre of the day, and between the Evenings they ſhal offer the other lambe and at Even they ſhall divide what remaineth of the reſt of the ſacrifices, and every one ſhall eate his portion. But more copiouſly in the treatiſe Zevachin or concerning ſacrifices, where this very point about the want of this corner of the Altar is copiouſly diſcuſſed. The fifth chapter of that book, ſetteth it ſelfe purpoſely to deſcribe the ſeverall places where the ſeverall ſacrifices were flaine beſides the Altar: and after other things it falls upon the queſtion that is before us about this deficient angle of the Altar, and it handles and determins it thus[o]Talm. Bak. in Z…vachin per. …. in Gemara. The Southeaſt corner had no foundation: what was the reaſon? Rabbi Eliezer ſaith becauſe it was not in the portion of the Ravener: As Rah: Samuel the ſonne of Rabbi Iſaac ſaith foreign The Altar took up one cubit in the portion of Judah: Rab. Levi bar Chama ſaith, R. Chama bar Chaninah ſaith there went a line out of the portion of Judah, and entred upon the portion of Benjamin. And righteous Benjamin was troubled at it as it is ſaid foreign (The gloſſary renders it, he was carefull for it every day) Yet righteous Benjamin obtained to become foreign Hoſt to the holy bleſſed God as it is ſaid; And he ſhall dwell betweene his ſhoulders: The meaning of which paſſage is to this purpoſe: that the line that parted the lots or portions of the two tribes Judah and Benjamin, came juſt over at this point of the Altar, that if this angle of the foundation had beene made like the other, a cubit of the Altar would have been in the lot of Judah, which they had no ſcripture warrant for, for the Altar was to be in the lot of the Ravenor, that is of Benjamin that ſhould raven as a wolfe, therefore they choſe rather to make no angle at all at this point of the foundation, then to make it, ſince it would fall in the portion of Judah.
As this Southeaſt point of the foundation was remarkable for this, that it had no corner, ſo was the Southweſt corner of it remarkable for another thing, and that was, for two holes that were in it near to the Angles point, one upon the Weſt foundation, & the other upon the South, into which the blood that was poured upon the foundation did run, and ſo into a ſinke or common-ſhore under ground, which emptied it ſelfe into the vally of Kidron.
2 The baſe or foundation having thus riſen one cubit from the ground and carried a cubit breadth round about, but onelyonly in the Angle that hath been mentioned, the ſquare of the body of the Altar, was growen then, a cubit narrower on every ſide, and ſo it was but 30 cubits upon every ſide of the ſquare; and thus it held for five cubits high, and then it narrowed one cubit more, and this narrowing was called foreign the Circuit of the Altar: And there the ſquare was but eight and twenty cubits on every ſide: But here the Talmuds meaſure differeth from the meaſure of Ezekiel, which though Rabbi Solomon obſerveth, yet he concludeth that the meaſure in the Talmud was the true meaſure in the ſecond Temple. Ezekiel ſaith that from the bottoms upon the ground, to the lower ſettle were two cubits, whereas the Talmud ſaith but one, and from the lower ſettle to the higher, Ezekiel reckoneth foure cubits, but the Talmud five: In which difference in the particulars yet there is agreement in the main ſumme, and both of them doe raiſe the Circuit of the Altar 6 cubits high, and therefore we ſhall not ſpend time to reconcile them here, but leave them to be taken up by and by; onelyonly we cannot paſſe over the word that Ezekiel uſeth, for both the Foundation and the Circuit, and that is foreign Azarah which is the common word that is uſed for the Court: Becauſe that as the people did tread in the Court at the time of the ſervice, ſo did the Prieſts upon theſe ledges or ſides of the Altar: eſpecially upon the higher, which was called the circuit of the Altar, when they went about it to beſprinkle the hornes of it with the blood of the ſacrifices: The manner of which action the Talmudick chapter lately cited, giveth us the relation of, in the Miſhneh, in theſe words[p]Zebachin ubi ſupr. Sect. 3. The ſin-offering of the congregation, or of a private perſon, and the goats, offered at the beginnings of the months, or at the ſolemne times, their ſlaughter was on the North ſide of the Altar, and the taking of their blood in ſome of the veſſells of the ſervice was on the Northſide and it required a fourefold putting on the foure hornes. How was this done? He went up the foreign Riſe of the Altar, and turned off to the foreign circuit of it: He went to the Southeaſt horne, and then to the Northeaſt, ſo to the Northweſt, and laſtly to the Southweſt, and the blood that was left be powred upon the foundation on the South ſide: Either of theſe ledges the Rabbines ſometimes call foreign [q]Vid. R. Sol. in Ezek. 43Malhen, either becauſe they were as floores whereon the Prieſts trod, for ſo the word is ſometimes taken, or becauſe they were often rubd to keep them white,[r]vid. Aruch. in voce. ſince there was ſo much blood ſprinkled on them:[s]Mid. per. 3. For the whole Altar was whited over twice a yeare, namely at the paſſeover and at the feaſt of Tabernacles. Rabbiſaith, that it was rubbed with a map on the eve of every Sabbath.
3. A cubit height above this upper ledge which was called the Circuit, there was a narrowing againe, a cubit breadth, and there began the hornes of the Altar, and now the ſquare was but ſix and twenty cubits upon every ſide. The hornes were at every corner a cubit ſquare being hollow, and riſing a cubit upward; for it is a uſuall ſaying among the Jewes that foreign [t]Maym. in Beth habbechir. per. ….The height of every horne was five hands breadth, or a common cubit, which is to be taken ſo as that the hornes roſe but one cubit ſtraight up from their foundation or firſt beginning, abating by degrees from a cubit ſquare in the bottome, into a pyramidicall ſharp, but ſo as that for one cubit height it roſe ſtraight, & then pointed outward like the tip of a horne: The loweſt part of theſe hornes, was ſeven cubits from the ground, and therefore theſe words, binde the ſacrifice with coards to the hornes of the Altar, Pſal. 118. can hardly be taken in propriety, as if the ſacrifice ſtood tied to the Altar till it was offered; but as the Chaldee paraphraſeth it, it meaneth, Tie the lambe that is to be offered, with coards till ye come to offer him, and ſprinkle his blood upon the hornes of the Altar Joab in feare of his life is ſaid to have fled to the Altar and to lay hold upon the hornes of it. 1 King. 2.29. in which paſſage the Hebrew doctors ſay he was doubly deceived, firſt in that he thought to have refuge and eſcaping, for wilfull murder, and ſecondly in that he looked for ſafety by taking hold of it, whereas the refuge of the Altar, was on the top of it foreign [u]Kimch. in 1 King. 2.Our Rabbines ſay, ſaith David Kimchi, the Altar was no refuge but for manſlaughter committed unawares and but on the top of it. But whether Joab or they were the likelier to be deceived in this thing, I leave to them to diſcuſſe between them: But this certainly cannot goe unobſerved, that God in giving of the patterne of the Altar, was ſo punctuall for the making of hornes to it in the corners of it, as that that is a ſpeciall charge, both about the Altar of burnt-offering Exod. 27.2. Thou ſhalt make the hornes of it upon the foure corners thereof. And alſo about the Altar of incenſe Exod. 30.2. The hornes thereof ſhall be of the ſame. Now what the Lord intended to ſignifie by this ſo exact a preſcription, it is not good to be too bold to go about to determine, yet we not unprofitably look upon them as a leſſon for inſtruction: reading to us that as the Altar ſignifieth Chriſt, who offered himſelfe upon himſelfe, the manhood upon the Altar of the Godhead, and as the double Altar, of ſacrifice and incenſe typified the offering up of Chriſt at his death, and the continuall incenſe of his mediation, ſo the hornes of both Altars may well be conceived to ſignifie, the dignity vigor and merit of his death and mediation: upon which whoſoever slayeth hold by aſſured faith ſhall eſcape condemnation: and unto which (as the Prieſts to theſe hornes at every ſacrifice mentioned) a ſinner in every ſervice is to make his addreſſe and application.
It is not an improper conception of Rabbi Solomon, about the law concerning the cities of refuge Exod. 21.13.[w]R. Solain, Exod. 21. that as God enjoyned them when they ſhould come into the (and of Canaan to appoint a place for the manſlayer that had killed a man at unawares to flee unto, ſo that while they were in the wilderneſſe God appointed them a place for refuge, upon ſuch occaſion, and that was the campe of the Levites: Now the addition that followes in the next verſe that they ſhould take a wilfull murderer from his Altar, to put to death, doth not onelyonly confirme that his ſuppoſall, but it doth give ſome intimation, that even in the Land of Canaan, and when their refuge cities were ſer out, yet the Altar was then a Sanctuary for thoſe that fled to it in ſuch or ſuch caſes: A very eminent figure of deliverance from condemnation by laying hold upon Chriſts merits,
[x]Vid. Kimchi. Ibid.The Jewes diſpute why Joab, whom they hold to have been preſident of the Sanbedrin, and knew the law well enough that a wilfull murderer ſhould not eſcape by the Altar, why he ſhould flee thither: And they anſwer, that it was either to fave his eſtate, which had he been ſlaine elſewhere had been forfeit: or to obtaine his buriall, which had he been Judged and condemned judicially, he had loſt and been caſt away unburied: But it ſeemeth rather that the occurrence which is mentioned immediately before, and which occurred immediately before, namely about Abiathar, did give him occaſion to doe what he did: For though Abiathar were in the ſame fault with Joab, in the matter of Adonijah, yet had he eſcaped death (being onelyonly put from his office) upon theſe two reaſons, becauſe he had borne the Arke and was High-prieſt, and becauſe he had been afflicted and partner with David in his afflictions; Under this latter predicament Joab fell as well as he, and might hope for favour in that reſpect equally with him: And as for the former, Ioab indeed was not, nor could not be a Prieſt, yet, thought he, I will doe as much towards that as I can, that is, lay hold on the hornes of the Altar, and there devote my ſelfe to God and his ſervice by that ſolemne Ceremony, and it may be for theſe two conſiderations, Solomon will ſpare me, as he did Abiathar (For that the laying hold of the Altar in this kinde had a vow in it for the future, as well as a preſent ſafety, might be argued from the nature of the Altar, which made holy what touched it, and from the very circumſtance of laying hold upon it.) But Ioab to the wilfull murder of Ab…er and Amaſa, had added contempt and oppoſall of the King upon Davids throne, which figured him that was to reigne over the houſe of Iſrael for ever, and therefore unfit to eſcape, and uncapable to be any ſuch vo…ary.
4.[y]Mid. ubi ſup. Maym. ubi ſupr. A cubit above the firſt riſing of the hornes of the Altar, the ſquare narrowed a cubit againe and ſo was now but 24 cubits every way, and ſo held on to that flat of it on the top where the fire lay: The cubits-ledge, that the abatement made to be as a bench round about, was foreign the place whereupon the Prieſts went, and ſtood about the Altar to lay on the pieces of the ſacrifice, or to ſtirre them as they lay in the fire: And this helpeth us to judge concerning the manner and faſhion of the hornes ſpoken of laſt: namely, that they did not riſe directly upright higher then the Altar it ſelfe, for then it had been impoſſible for the Prieſt to goe about the Altar upon this ledge, for the hornes would have hindered if they had riſen a full cubit ſquare up hither: but their forme is to be conceived as was ſaid before, namely, that they roſe indeed up even with this ledge, but they ſo ſharpened and bended outward when they came levell with it, that the Prieſts had paſſage betwixt them and the Altar.
From the foreign Circuit of the Altar upward, which was four cubits, was that part which more peculiarly was called Harel, and Ariel, Ezek. 43.15. And Harel was four cubits, and from Ariel upwards were the foure hornes. He had deſcribed the graduall riſings of the Altar hitherto in the verſes before, in theſe characters and deſcriptions.
Verſe 13. The bottome ſhall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, This was the Foundation of which we have ſpoken, a cubit high and a cubit broad.
And the border thereof by the edge thereof round about a ſpan: The edge of this foundation was not ſharpe as are the edges of ſtone ſteps, but it was wrought as are the ſtone borders of our chimney hearths, with a border of a ſpan over: and ſo the bloud that was poured upon this foundation could not runne off to the pavement, but was kept up that it might run downe at the holes forementioned, into the common-ſhore.
foreign And thus was the top of the Altar: The top of the Altar was alſo finiſhed with ſuch another bordering.
Verſ. 14. And from the bottome upon the ground even to the lower ſettle, two cubits. Not that the foundation called here the lower ſettle, was 2 cubits thick in the flatneſſe of it, as it lay upon the ground, for the verſe before ſaith that the bottome was but a cubit, but that from this foundation, there aroſe a ſlope riſing a cubit height, which was ſomewhat thicker then the body of the Altar preſently above it, and ſo from the ground to the top of this riſing, where the ſquare narrowed were two cubits: and from the top of this ſloping where the ſquare narrowed, to the circuit, was properly but four cubits, but from the foundation five. And ſo though the Talmud ſpeaketh differently from the Prophet (when it ſaith the foundation or lower ſettle was but one cubit high, and he, two: and when it ſaith the height from the lower to the higher ſettle, or from the foundation to the circuit was five cubits, and the Prophet ſaith but foure,) yet do they both meane but one and the ſame thing, but underſtood as hath been ſpoken: namely, the one taketh the foundation or lower ſettle, barely as it lay flat upon the ground, and the other takes it with this cubitall ſlope riſing from it, made leaning a cubit height to the body of the Altar: and this interpretation helpeth to underſtand that which David Kimchi profeſſeth he cannot tell what to make of; and that is, why the upper ſettle which was narrower by two cubits in the ſquare, is called the greater, and the lower, which was larger in the ſquare, is called the leſſer: The reaſon whereof is this, becauſe the upper, though it were leſſe in compaſſe, yet was larger in breadth, becauſe this leaning ſlope riſing that we ſpeak of, tooke up a good part of the breadth of the lower, and ſo the walke upon it was not ſo cleere and large as it was upon the other.
And then the Prophet tels us, that when the body of the Altar was thus riſen ſix cubits high to the upper ſettle, which the Talmudicks call the circuit, That thence Harel was to be four cubits, and from Ariel and upward, the four hornes.
[1]Kimch. in Ioc. Conſt. Lemp. in Mid. P. 97.There are ſome that conceive that Harel and Ariel are indeed but one and the ſame word, though ſo diverſly written, from whom I cannot much differ, as to point of Grammar, becauſe the Letters foreign do admit of ſuch alternancy in the language, yet me thinks the difference of the words ſhould hold out ſome difference of the ſenſe: and Harel to ſignifie the Lords Mountaine, and Ariel the Lords Lion upon that Mountaine; the lower part at the hornes more properly Harel, and the upper more properly Ariel. But ſince the text gives the[2]Vid. R. Sol. ibid. name Ariel to all that part that was from the Roote of the hornes upward, we ſhall not much ſtick upon it. The word Harel, if you will conſtrue it the Mountaine of the Lord, David Kimchi tels you that it is as much as to ſay The houſe of the Lord, and becauſe they ſerved other Gods in every place upon high hils, this which was the Hill of the Lord was but four cubits high: And if you will take the word Ariel, our Rabbins of happy memory, ſaith he, ſay the Altar was called Ariel (or the Lords Lion) becauſe the holy fire that came downe from heaven couched on it like a Lion.
The word Ariel doth alſo ſignifie one exceeding ſtrong, 2 Sam. 23.20. and ſo doth Arel, Eſay 337. But take it whether way you will here, either for a ſtrong thing or for the Lords Lion, the Altar was very properly ſo called, either becauſe of the devouring of many ſacrifices Lion-like, or becauſe of the great ſtrength and prevalency the people had by ſacrifice, the Lord owning them wonderfully in that ſervice, whileſt gone about according to his will: or becauſe of the ſtrong Lion Chriſt, whom the Altar and Sacrifices did repreſent. Jeruſalem, and eſpecially Zion the City where David dwelt, is alſo called Ariel, the ſtrong one, or the Lion of the Lord, becauſe of its prevalency againſt all enemi…s whatſoever, whileſt it continued to be the Lords, through the ſtrength of thoſe promiſes that were made unto it: but when it forſooke the Lord, and became prophane, it is threatned that it ſhall become as the other Ariel, or the Altar, where was continually aboundance of ſhedding of blood and ſlaughter, Eſay 29.1, 2.
The very top of the Altar was four and twenty cubits ſquare, and this was called foreign Maaracab, or the Hearth, where, as we obſerve elſewhere, there were three fires continually burning, but eſpecially one very great one for the ſacrifices. And thus was the bulke and platforme of the Altar; It was a large pile of 10 cubits high riſing by degrees, ſo as that at the foot it was 32 cubits on every ſide of the ſquare, but at the top came to be but four and twenty.
The riſing thus, 1 The baſe one cubit riſing, and then the ſquare leſſened a cubit. 2 The body of the Altar riſing plaine 5 cubits, and then leſſening one cubit in the ſquare. 3 A cubit riſing againe, and the ſquare leſſening a cubit, and at the bench where it narrowed there ſtood the four hornes out at the four corners. 4 A riſing againe one cubit, and a narrowing one cubit, and there was the bench where the Prieſts ſtood to ſerve. 5 And then a riſing two cubits, and there was the Hearth.
Thus ſtood the Altar, and thus ſtood the Prieſts upon the higheſt bench to ſerve, but how came they up thither? If they could have gone up the ſteps that we have mentioned, namely, where the ſquare ſtill deſcended, yet was it unlawfull, becauſe of that command Exod. 20.26. But they could not goe up that way neither, for we have ſeene that between the firſt bench and the ſecond there was five cubits riſing, which is a meaſure farre beyond any mans ſtepping up: the way therefore for them to goe both to the top of the Altar, to their bench two cubits below the top, and to the other benches, as there was occaſion, was thus provided.
[3]Mid. per. 3.There was a gentle riſing cauſey (for ſo let us call it, they called it foreign Chebbeſh) on the South ſide of the Altar 16 cubits broad, that beganne 32 cubits from the Altar foot and roſe eaſily to the head of it in a gentle aſcent, made of the ſame materials that the Altar was, of which hereafter, ſo that this cauſey lay out from the Altar two and thirty cubits on the South ſide, leaving on either ſide it four cubits breadth, which it wanted of the breadth of the Altar.
[4]Gloſſ. in Tamid. per. ult. Maym. in beth habbech. per. 2.On the Weſt ſide of it there ſtood two tables, one of ſilver, on which they ſet and laid the veſſels of the ſervice: the other of marble which was called the Table of the fat, on which they laid the pieces of the Sacrifice when they were to bee brought up to the Altar. And there was alſo on[5]Middoth ubi ſupra. the ſame ſide of it, and (as[6]C. Lemp. in Mid. pag. 112. it is probably conjectured) made in the very ſide of the cauſey or riſe it ſelfe, a place into which thoſe birds that being preſented to be offered, did prove unfit, were caſt, till ſome convenient time to convey them away, this was called foreign Rebubah, for ſo we may conclude upon[7]Aruch in foreign R. Nathans credit who ſo readeth, though others differ: foreign [8]Maym. in beth habbech. per. 2.And there (ſaith the generall conſent) they laid up the birds unmeet for offering. [9]Tamid. per. 1.On the Eaſt ſide of it, was the place where they laid the guts and garbidge of the birds that were offered, and where he that cleanſed the incenſe Altar poured downe the aſhes he brought forth, and he that brought the firſt aſhes from off the burnt offering Altar, did the like: But theſe things continued not long there after they were laid downe, but were ſpeedily by ſome or other conveyed away: [10]Tamid per. 7.By the marble Table, which was called the Table of the fat, the Prieſts ſtood when they ſounded their trumpets at the time of divine ſervice.
[11]Talm. in Zevach. per. 6.The ordinary way of going up this riſe or cauſey, or bridge, or call it what yee will, was on the right ſide of it, that is, on the Eaſt, and to come downe on the Weſt, (onelyonly upon three occaſions mentioned in the place cited in the margine, he came downe the ſame way he went up, but backward,) and this helps us ſomewhat to underſtand a ſtory (which we ſhall have occaſion to looke after elſewhere,) related in Joma, [12]Joma. per. 2.of two Prieſts going a ſtrife who ſhould firſt get up to cleanſe the Altar of its aſhes, (which was the firſt worke done in the morning) the one of them thruſt the other off the bridge and broke his leg, becauſe they went ſo neere the ſides though they had roome enough to have gone up in the middle without danger, but the manner was not to goe up that way.
[13]Maym. ubi ſupr.As a man went up, firſt there was a little cauſey on the Eaſt ſide, that brought him from the firſt beginning of this great cauſey to the foundation of the Altar if he had occaſion to goe thither: And as he went up higher, when he was come as high as the circuit, there was another to carry him off thither, if he had occaſion to ſprinkle bloud upon the hornes of the Altar: But above that I read not of any ſuch come off, not that the Prieſts had not conſtant occaſion to ſtep off to the uppermoſt ledge or bench, for there they uſed to ſtand continually when they were turning the pieces in the fire, or the like; but becauſe by the time that the riſe was come up thither, the ſtep off was ſo eaſie, that a leſſe matter then what deſerved the name of foreign a bridge would ſerve the turne.
Thus was the forme of the Altar and the aſcent to it: but I muſt mention here before I have done with the forme of it, ſomewhat that was viſible upon it, that had ſome reference alſo to the forme of it, and that was,[14]Middoth, per. 3. A red line that went round about it in the juſt middle betweene the bottome and the top, to be a direction to the Prieſts that they might ſprinkle the blood above or beneath (for ſometime they did the one and ſometime the other, as we ſhall ſhew when we treat concerning Sacrifice) as the occaſion called upon them to doe, and not miſtake. For whereas ſome blood was to be poured or ſprinkled at the bottome of the Altar, and ſome upon the hornes of it, ſome below, ſome above, to make ſure that either of theſe ſhould keep its right place and not tranſgreſſe, they ſet this line to be a bound between them.
The materials and manner of working up this renowned pile, let the Reader take in the Talmuds and in Maymonide his owne words and expreſſions[15]Maym. ubi ſupr. Talm. in Zevach. fol. 54. When they built the Altar (ſay they) they built it ſolid like a pillar and they made no hollow in it: but one brought whole great ſtones and little (for an iron tool might not be uſed upon them) and he brought morter and pitch and lead, and mixt all and poured all into the great baſe that he had laid according to his meaſure, and ſo he built on upwards: and he put in the middeſt of the building a piece of wood or of ſtone at the South eaſt horne according to the meaſure of the foundation, and ſo he put in the midſt of every one of the hornes till he had finiſhed the building; then he tooke away thoſe pieces that were in the midſt of the building, and ſo the South eaſt horne was left without a foundation and the reſt of the hornes were left hollow.
[16]Midd. per. 3.Theſe ſtones that made the Altar and the riſe to it are recorded to have been gotten in the valley of B…bbaccerem, a place mentioned in Neh. 3.14. & Jer. 6.1. and the ſame record tels us, That twice a year the Altar was whited, namely at the Paſſeover and at the Feaſt of Tabernaeles: and the Temple whited once a yeare, namely, at the Paſſeover: Rabbi ſaith, on the Eve of every Sabbath they rubbed the Altar with a map becauſe of the bloud; they might not plaſter it with an iron Trowell, leſt that touching ſhould defile it; for iron was made to ſhorten mans dayes, and the Altar was made for the prolonging mans life, and it is not fit that that which would ſhorten ſhould bee lifted up upon that that would lengthen.
Thus was the faſhion and proportion of the Altar the Lords Table, Mal. 1.7. the holineſſe of it was ſuch that it ſanctified the gift. Mat. 23.19. that is, whatſoever came upon it, being fit to be offered foreign The Altar ſanctified whatſoever was fit for it. It is a Talmudicke maxime in the Treatiſe Zevachin, the very beginning of the ninth chapter: And at the ſeventh Hala…h of the ſame chapter, they ſay, That as the Altar ſanctified what was fit for it, ſo alſo did the riſe of the Altar: and there they diſcourſe at large what things if they were once brought to the top of the Altar might come downe and what might not, which we ſhall not inſiſt upon.
Before we part from the Altar, we have yet one thing more to take into obſervation about it, and that is the baſe and wretched affront that ungodly Ahaz put upon it, in not only ſetting up another Altar by it, but alſo in removing the Lords Altar out of its place, and out of its honourable imployment to give place to his. The ſtory is 2 King. 16. He ſends the patterne of an Idolatrous Altar from Damaſcus, and Ʋriah the Prieſt maketh one according to that patterne: and when the King came home and ſaw the Altar, he offered upon it his burnt-offering, meat-offering, drinke-offering, &c. And hee brought alſo the brazen Altar which was before the Lord from the forefront of the houſe, from between the Altar and the houſe of the Lord, and put it on the North ſide of the Altar, verſ. 14. Rabbi Solomon expounding this place, conceiveth that by the Altar of the Lord is not meant the Altar properly and indeed, but ſome appurtenances that related and belonged to the ſervice of the Altar, and this concluſion he produceth from two or three traditionall Premiſes: his words are theſe, This Altar that he removed cannot be the brazen Altar that Moſes made, for that was laid up; and it cannot be the Altar of ſtone which Solomon made, which indeed is called the brazen Altar in the Booke of Chronicles, for that could not be removed from place to place, but by pulling downe: and behold we have a Tradition, that the fire that came downe from heaven in the dayes of Solomon, went not off the Altar till Manaſſ…h came and cauſed it to goe off, for he pulled the Altar downe: So that I cannot interpret the Altar here but of the lavers and baſes of braſſe which ſerved for the Altar, and ſtood beſide it, them Ahaz removed, &c.
You need not marvaile if he goe alone in his opinion when you looke upon it, and how it is ſtrained, and eſpecially from this pinch, becauſe though the Altar of Solomon is called brazen, yet he holds it to have been of ſtone, and overlaid: were it of braſſe or were it of ſtone, Ahaz his modeſty was not ſo much but that he would pull it downe to ſerve his turne as well as remove it. It appeareth by the Text alledged that Ʋriahs modeſty was a little more then Ahaz had; for he had ſet his Altar behinde the Altar of the Lord, betwixt it and the Eaſt gate, ſo that the Lords Altar was betwixt that new-found one and the Temple (it ſeemeth the ſpace at the entring in from the Eaſt gate, was more open in the times of the firſt Temple then it was in the ſecond.) But when Ahaz comes, he removes Solomons Altar towards the North, and brings up his own and ſets it in the place of it, and ſo does as it were ſupplant the Lord of his poſſeſſion and uſurpe upon it, putting the Lords Altar out of uſe as well as out of its place, and giving his owne the greatneſſe becauſe it was the greater, in the imployment for all the Sacrifices that were to be offered, both ordinary and extraordinary, both of the King and People: while the Altar of the Lord muſt ſtand by as a cypher, onelyonly with this dignity, which was leſſe then none at all, The brazen Altar ſhall be for me to ſeeke to when I thinke good. As for the departure of the divine fire from off the Altar, which had come downe in the daies of Solomon, of which our Rabbin ſpeaketh, it is not unworthy ſome of the Readers thoughts: For the Temple was ſo oft prophaned, yea and ſometimes ſhut up, before the captivity into Babel, as 2 Chron. 24.7. & 28.24. &c. that it is hardly to be imagined, but that the fire which had been continued from the deſcent of that divine fire, was at ſome of theſe times or other extinguiſhed. And then quaere how Hezekiah and Joſiah in their reformation did for fire againe upon the Altar.