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He put the golden altar in the Tent of Meeting before the veil;
Exodus 40:26 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the vail:
  • BSB Moses placed the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting, in front of the veil,
  • NKJV He put the gold altar in the tabernacle of meeting in front of the veil;
  • NASB Then he placed the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the veil;
  • NLT He also placed the gold incense altar in the Tabernacle, in the Holy Place in front of the inner curtain.

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

Moses placed the golden altar of incense in the Holy Place before the veil. It stood at the threshold of God's immediate presence.

Overview

The altar of incense was positioned just outside the veil, directly before the Most Holy Place, where fragrant incense rose toward God. Its placement linked the daily incense offering to the ark and mercy seat beyond the veil. The rising incense is a biblical picture of prayer ascending to God, ultimately effective through Christ's mediation.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Exod 40:5You shall set the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the screen of the door to the tabernacle.
  • Heb 7:25Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, seeing that he lives forever to make intercession for them.
  • Matt 23:19You blind fools! For which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift?
  • 1 Jn 2:1My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.
  • Heb 10:1For the law, having a shadow of the good to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect those who draw near.
  • Exod 30:1–10“You shall make an altar to burn incense on. You shall make it of acacia wood.
  • John 17:1–26Jesus said these things, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you;
  • John 11:42I know that you always listen to me, but because of the multitude that stands around I said this, that they may believe that you sent me.”

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 40:26YouTube · 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 40:26 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.