There was an altar of wood three cubits high and two cubits square. Its corners, base, and sides were of wood. And the man told me, “This is the table that is before the LORD.”
Parallel translations
- WEB The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits; and its corners, and its length, and its walls, were of wood: and he said to me, This is the table that is before Yahweh.
- KJV The altar of wood was three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said unto me, This is the table that is before the LORD.
- NKJV The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits. Its corners, its length, and its sides were of wood; and he said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.”
- NASB The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits; its corners, its base, and its sides were of wood. And he said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.”
- NLT There was an altar made of wood, 5-1/4 feet high and 3-1/2 feet across. Its corners, base, and sides were all made of wood. “This,” the man told me, “is the table that stands in the Lord’s presence.”
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
A wooden altar stood before the sanctuary, which the guide calls the table before Yahweh. It marks the place of communion in God's presence.
Overview
The guide identifies a wooden altar, likely the altar of incense or the table of showbread, as the table before the Lord. It signified continual fellowship and offering before God. This table foreshadows the communion believers enjoy with God through Christ, who is the bread of life and our peace (John 6:35, Ephesians 2:14).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Mal 1:7By presenting defiled food on My altar. But you ask, ‘How have we defiled You?’ By saying that the table of the LORD is contemptible.
- Ezek 44:16They alone shall enter My sanctuary and draw near to My table to minister before Me. They will keep My charge.
- Ezek 23:41You sat on a couch of luxury with a table spread before it, on which you had set My incense and My oil,
- Mal 1:12“But you profane it when you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is contemptible.’
- 1 Kgs 6:20The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.
- Exod 30:1–3“You are also to make an altar of acacia wood for the burning of incense.
- Lev 24:6and set them in two rows—six per row—on the table of pure gold before the LORD.
- Rev 8:3Then another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.
- 1 Kgs 6:22So he overlaid with gold the whole interior of the temple, until everything was completely finished. He also overlaid with gold the entire altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.
- Rev 3:20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.
- Exod 30:8When Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he must burn the incense perpetually before the LORD for the generations to come.
- Prov 9:2She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table.
- 1 Cor 10:21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons too.
- Exod 25:28–30Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that the table may be carried with them.
- Song 1:12While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance.
- 1 Kgs 7:48Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD: the golden altar; the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence;
- 2 Chr 4:19Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of God: the golden altar; the tables on which was placed the Bread of the Presence;
- Exod 25:23You are also to make a table of acacia wood two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high.
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Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 41:22 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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