Topic
Horns of the Altar
8 passages cited, from 1 classic reference work.
These works date from 1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Exodus 27:2ISBE
And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass.
- Exodus 29:12ISBE
And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.
- Exodus 37:25ISBE
¶ And he made the incense altar of shittim wood: the length of it was a cubit, and the breadth of it a cubit; it was foursquare; and two cubits was the height of it; the horns thereof were of the same.
- Leviticus 4:7ISBE
And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is…
- Leviticus 4:18ISBE
And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the…
- Leviticus 4:30ISBE
And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar.
- 1 Kings 1:50ISBE
¶ And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
- Ezekiel 43:15ISBE
So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns.
In the reference works
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 8 references
(qare-noth ha-mizbeach):
1. The Brazen Altar:
These projections at the four corners of the altar of burnt offering were of one piece with the altar, and were made of acacia wood overlaid with brass (Ex 27:2, "bronze"). In Ezekiel's altar-specifications their position is described as being on a level with the altar hearth (Eze 43:15). Fugitives seeking asylum might cling to the horns of the altar, as did Adonijah (1Ki 1:50), which is one proof among many that worshippers had at all times access to the neighborhood of the altar. On certain occasions, as at the consecration of Aaron and his sons (Ex 29:12), and a sin offering for one of the people of the land (Le 4:30), the horns were touched with sacrificial blood.
2. The Golden Altar:
The altar of incense, standing in the outer chamber of the sanctuary, had also four horns, which were covered with gold (Ex 37:25). These were touched with blood in the case of a sin offering for a high priest, or for the whole congregation, if they had sinned unwittingly (Le 4:7,18).
W. Shaw Caldecott
Texts: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.