a rim

July 10, 2017

The altar table or hearth (Ezek 43:15-43:17)

“The altar hearth was

Four cubits.

From the altar hearth

Projecting upward were

Four horns,

One cubit high.

The altar hearth

Shall be square.

Twelve cubits long

By twelve cubits wide.

The ledge also

Shall be square,

Fourteen cubits long

By fourteen cubits wide,

With a rim around it,

Half a cubit wide.

Its surrounding base was

One cubit wide.

Its steps

Shall face east.”

Ezekiel continued with his description of the altar hearth or the altar table where the sacrifices would be laid. This was much bigger and higher. This altar hearth or table was 4 cubits or nearly 8 feet high. It had 4 horns that were on it, each one cubit or nearly 2 feet high. This was a huge square altar table or hearth of 12 cubits. Thus, it was nearly 24 feet long by 24 feet wide. There was a square ledge with a rim around it that was even larger, 14 cubits square or nearly 28 feet square. Thus, there were 3 square layers on top of each other. This altar also had a surrounding base with steps that faced east.

July 10, 2017

The altar base (Ezek 43:13-43:14)

“These are the dimensions

Of the altar

By cubits.

The cubit is a cubit

With a handbreadth.

Its base shall be

One cubit high,

One cubit broad,

With a rim

Of one span

Around its edge.

This shall be

The height of the altar.

From the base

On the ground

To the lower ledge,

Two cubits,

With a width

Of one cubit.

From the smaller ledge

To the larger ledge,

Four cubits,

With a width

Of one cubit.”

Ezekiel continued with his detailed explanation about the size of the altar. First, he started with the altar base that was relatively small. His measurement was the larger cubit that also included a hand size or another 5 inches to the already normal 18-inch cubit. Thus, the altar base was one cubit, only 23 inches high, or just less than 2 feet high and wide. However, it had a rim around its edge. Apparently, there were 2 ledges, a small ledge and a larger ledge. The smaller lower ledge was only 2 cubits high and 1 cubit wide. The larger ledge was 4 cubits high and 1 cubit wide.