Make a horn on each of its four corners, so that the horns are of one piece, and overlay it with bronze.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it; and you shall overlay it with brass.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV You shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it. And you shall overlay it with bronze.
- NASB You shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze.
- NLT Make horns for each of its four corners so that the horns and altar are all one piece. Overlay the altar with bronze.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Horns were made at the altar's four corners, of one piece with it, and overlaid with bronze. These horns held significance for sacrifice and refuge.
Overview
The altar's horns, integral to its structure, were used in applying sacrificial blood and were grasped by those seeking sanctuary (1 Kings 1:50). They symbolized the altar's power and the refuge atonement provides. The refuge found at the altar's horns ultimately points to the safety sinners find in Christ's atoning sacrifice.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ps 118:27The LORD is God; He has made His light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
- 1 Kgs 1:50But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, got up and went to take hold of the horns of the altar.
- Exod 29:12Take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; then pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.
- Lev 4:7The 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.
- Lev 4:25Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.
- Heb 6:18Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
- Lev 4:18He 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.
- Lev 8:15Moses 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.
- 1 Kgs 2:28When 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.
- Num 16:38–39As for the censers of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, hammer them into sheets to overlay the altar, for these were presented before the LORD, and so have become holy. They will serve as a sign to the Israelites.”
- Lev 16:18Then 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.
- 1 Kgs 8:64On 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.
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 27:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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