The altar hearth shall be four cubits high, and four horns shall project upward from the hearth.
Parallel translations
- WEB The upper altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar hearth and upward there shall be four horns.
- KJV So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns.
- NKJV The altar hearth is four cubits high, with four horns extending upward from the hearth.
- NASB The altar hearth shall be four cubits; and from the altar hearth shall extend upward four horns.
- NLT The top of the altar, the hearth, rises another 7 feet higher, with a horn rising up from each of the four corners.
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 top of the altar, the hearth where offerings burn, is measured and crowned with four horns.
Overview
The hearth is the place where the sacrifice is consumed by fire, and the four horns mark it as a place of atonement and refuge. Horns in Scripture symbolize strength and were touched with sacrificial blood for cleansing. This altar foreshadows Christ, on whom the fire of judgment fell so that sinners might find mercy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Exod 27:2Make a horn on each of its four corners, so that the horns are of one piece, and overlay it with bronze.
- Lev 9:9The sons of Aaron brought the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and applied it to the horns of the altar. And he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.
- 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 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.
- Isa 29:7All the many nations going out to battle against Ariel—even all who war against her, laying siege and attacking her—will be like a dream, like a vision in the night,
- Isa 29:1–2Woe to you, O Ariel, the city of Ariel where David camped! Year upon year let your festivals recur.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
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How Ezekiel 43:15 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.