Limitless Word
Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.
Exodus 27:8 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB You shall make it with hollow planks. They shall make it as it has been shown you on the mountain.
  • BSB Construct the altar with boards so that it is hollow. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain.
  • NKJV You shall make it hollow with boards; as it was shown you on the mountain, so shall they make it.
  • NASB You shall make it hollow with planks; as it was shown to you on the mountain, so they shall make it.
  • NLT The altar must be hollow, made from planks. Build it just as you were shown on the mountain.

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

The altar was to be made of hollow planks, exactly as shown to Moses on the mountain. Once more, faithful adherence to God's pattern was commanded.

Overview

Built hollow with boards, the altar followed the divine design revealed on Sinai. The repeated emphasis on the mountain pattern shows that even the altar of sacrifice conformed to God's revelation. As with the whole sanctuary, its God-given design pointed beyond itself to the heavenly realities fulfilled in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Exod 25:40And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.
  • Exod 25:9According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
  • Heb 8:5Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
  • Matt 15:9But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
  • 1 Chr 28:11Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat,
  • 1 Chr 28:19All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.
  • Exod 26:30–37And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount.
  • Col 2:20–23Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Exodus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Exodus 27:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ExodusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 27:8 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.