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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comKeil and Delitzsch Commentary - Exodus 27:4 - 27:4
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The altar was to have מִכְבָּר a grating, רֶשֶׂת מַעֲשֵׂה net-work, i.e., a covering of brass made in the form of a net, of larger dimensions that the sides of the altar, for this grating was to be under the “compass” (כַּרְכֹּב) of the altar from beneath, and to reach to the half of it (half-way up, Exo 27:5); and in it, i.e., at the four ends (or corners) of it, four brass rings were to be fastened, for the poles to carry it with. כַּרְכֹּב (from כַּרְכָּב circumdedit) only occurs here and in Exo 38:4, and signifies a border (סֹבְבָא Targums), i.e., a projecting framework or bench running round the four sides of the altar, about half a cubit or a cubit broad, nailed to the walls (of the altar) on the outside, and fastened more firmly to them by the copper covering which was common to both. The copper grating was below this bench, and on the outside. The bench rested upon it, or rather it hung from the outer edge of the bench and rested upon the ground, like the inner chest, which it surrounded on all four sides, and in which there were no perforations. It formed with the bench or carcob a projecting footing, which caused the lower half of the altar to look broader than the upper on every side. The priest stood upon this carcob or bench when offering sacrifice, or when placing the wood, or doing anything else upon the altar. This explains Aaron's coming down (יָרַד) from the altar (Lev 9:22); and there is no necessity to suppose that there were steps to the altar, as Knobel does in opposition to Exo 20:26. For even if the height of the altar, viz., three cubits, would be so great that a bench half-way up would be too high for any one to step up to, the earth could be slightly raised on one side so as to make the ascent perfectly easy; and when the priest was standing upon the bench, he could perform all that was necessary upon the top of the altar without any difficulty.