Ancient Altars in the Old Testament Context
The Hebrew term mizbe'ah, derived from a root meaning "to slay," designates structures of earth or unhewn stone on which sacrifices were offered in ancient Israel [1]. These installations served as the primary locus of cultic activity before the centralization of worship in Jerusalem, and their construction, placement, and materials reveal much about early Israelite religion and its surrounding context.
Materials and Construction
Exodus 20:24–25 prescribes altars of earth or unworked stone, explicitly forbidding the use of hewn stones lest the tool used to shape them defile the altar [1]. This regulation distinguishes Israelite practice from surrounding cultures and underscores the principle that human craftsmanship must not intrude upon the sacred space where atonement occurs. The Tabernacle itself contained multiple altars: the bronze altar of burnt offering and the golden altar of incense [3]. Later rabbinic tradition held that certain Temple altars, though overlaid with metal, derived their ritual status from their wooden core, rendering them immune to impurity as fixed installations rather than movable vessels [5, 7, 8].
Placement and Visibility
Altars were typically erected in conspicuous locations—on mountaintops, at city gates, or in high places [1]. This visibility served both theological and social functions: the altar marked a site of divine encounter and provided a public witness to covenant loyalty. Even pagan cultures recognized the antiquity and sanctity of certain Israelite altar sites; Tacitus and Suetonius describe an altar on Mount Carmel consulted by Vespasian, noting it had neither temple nor statue but commanded reverence for its age [6]. When Elijah repaired "the altar of the Lord" on Carmel, he likely restored a structure from the period of the Judges or earlier [6].
Illicit Altars and Reform
The proliferation of unauthorized altars became a persistent problem. Jeroboam's establishment of rival shrines at Dan and Bethel introduced what later prophets condemned as altars "made for sin" [4]. Hosea 8:11 critiques Ephraim's multiplication of altars, which, though ostensibly for atonement, functioned as instruments of idolatry [4]. Reforming kings like Josiah systematically destroyed these installations, including rooftop altars dedicated to astral deities [2, 9]. The Deuteronomic insistence on cult centralization sought to eliminate such competing sites and consolidate worship at the Jerusalem Temple.
Sources
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Altar — (Heb. mizbe'ah, from a word meaning "to slay"), any structure of earth (Ex. 20:24) or unwrought stone (20:25) on which sacrifices were offered. Altars were generally erected in conspicuous places (Gen. 22:9; Ezek. 6:3; 2 Kings 23:12; 16:4; 23:8; Acts 14:13). The word is used in Heb. 13:10 for the sacrifice offered upon it--the sacrifice Christ offered. Paul found among the many altars erected in Athens one bearing the inscription, "To the unknown God" (Acts 17:23), or rather "to an [i.e., some] unknown God." The reason for this inscription cannot now be accur”
- 2 Chronicles “They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence; and the incense altars that were on high above them he cut down; and the Asherah poles, and the engraved images, and the molten images, he broke in pieces, and made dust of them, and strewed it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. -- 2 Chronicles 34:4”
- Exodus “the table and its vessels, the pure lamp stand with all its vessels, the altar of incense, -- Exodus 31:8”
- Hosea (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Hosea 8:11: Because Ephraim hath, made many altars to sin,.... Not with an intention to commit sin, but to offer sacrifice for sin, and make atonement for it, as they thought; but these altars being erected for the sake of idols, and sacrifices offered on them to them, they sinned in so doing, and were the cause of sin in others, who were drawn into it by their example; as they were made to sin, or drawn into it, by Jeroboam their king, These altars were those set up at Dan and Bethel, and in all high places, and tops of mountains, where they sacrificed to idols; and which was con”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Chagigah 27a.6: This is a mistake, for the coating is not important, and their coating is nullified and considered subordinate to them, so that they are indeed considered wooden vessels in a fixed place and therefore not susceptible to impurity. Although generally the status of a vessel does follow its coating, the Temple table and its altars are exceptions, as derived from the verse in Ezekiel cited above (41:22). There is therefore no need to mention that they are compared to the ground. Since these altars are made of wood they do not contract impurity, irrespective of whe”
- 1 Kings (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 18:30: He repaired the altar of the Lord - There had been an altar of Jehovah in that place, called, even among the heathens, the altar of Carmel, probably built in the time of the judges, or, as the rabbins imagine, by Saul. Tacitus and Suetonius mention an altar on Mount Carmel, which Vespasian went to consult; there was no temple nor statue, but simply an altar that was respectable for its antiquity. "Est Judaeam inter Syriamque Carmelus; ita vocant montem Deumque: nec simulachrum Deo, aut templum situm tradidere majores: aram tantum, et reverentiam." - Tacit. Hist. l”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Chagigah 54a.53:6: This is a mistake, for the coating is not important, and their coating is nullified and considered subordinate to them, so that they are indeed considered wooden vessels in a fixed place and therefore not susceptible to impurity. Although generally the status of a vessel does follow its coating, the Temple table and its altars are exceptions, as derived from the verse in Ezekiel cited above (41:22). There is therefore no need to mention that they are compared to the ground. Since these altars are made of wood they do not contract impurity, irrespective of ”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Chagigah 54b.53:6: This is a mistake, for the coating is not important, and their coating is nullified and considered subordinate to them, so that they are indeed considered wooden vessels in a fixed place and therefore not susceptible to impurity. Although generally the status of a vessel does follow its coating, the Temple table and its altars are exceptions, as derived from the verse in Ezekiel cited above (41:22). There is therefore no need to mention that they are compared to the ground. Since these altars are made of wood they do not contract impurity, irrespective of ”
- 2 Kings (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 2 Kings 23:12: the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz--Altars were reared on the flat roofs of houses, where the worshippers of "the host of heaven" burnt incense (Zep 1:5; Jer 19:13). Ahaz had reared altars for this purpose on the oleah, or upper chamber of his palace, and Manasseh on some portion of the roof of the temple. Josiah demolished both of these structures.”