Exodus 20:24

An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
altar	מִזְבַּ֣ח miz.Bach	H4196	an altar · noun, common masculine singular construct
earth	אֲדָמָה֮ 'a.da.Mah	H127	soil (from its general redness) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
make	תַּעֲשֶׂה ta.'a.seh-	H6213	to do or make · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
sacrifice	וְזָבַחְתָּ֣ ve.za.vach.Ta	H2076	to slaughter an animal (usually in sacrifice) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
offerings	עֹלֹתֶ֙יךָ֙ 'o.lo.Tei.kha	H5930	a step or (collectively · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
offerings	שְׁלָמֶ֔יךָ she.la.Mei.kha	H8002	properly · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
sheep	צֹֽאנְךָ֖ tzo.ne.Kha	H6629	a collective name for a flock (of sheep or goats) · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
oxen	בְּקָרֶ֑ךָ be.ka.Re.cha	H1241	beef cattle or an animal of the ox family of either gen… · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
places	הַמָּקוֹם֙ ha.ma.kOm	H4725	properly · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
record	אַזְכִּ֣יר 'az.Kir	H2142	properly · verb, hiphil imperfect, 1st person common singular
name	שְׁמִ֔י she.Mi	H8034	an appellation · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
come	אָב֥וֹא 'a.Vo'	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
bless	וּבֵרַכְתִּֽיךָ u.ve.rakh.Ti.kha	H1288	to kneel · conjunction + verb, piel sequential perfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 12:5 But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek…
Psalms 132:13-14 For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.
2 Chronicles 6:6 But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.
1 Kings 9:3 And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which t…
Deuteronomy 12:11 Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command…
2 Chronicles 7:16 For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually…
Deuteronomy 16:11 And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite…
Deuteronomy 26:2 That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and s…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 20:22–end

Moses having gone into the thick darkness, where God was, God there spoke in his hearing only, privately and without terror, all that follows hence to the end of ch. 23, which is mostly an exposition of the ten commandments; and he was to transmit it by word of mouth first, and afterwards in writing, to the people. The laws in these verses related to God's worship. I. They are here forbidden to make images for worship (Exo 20:22, Exo 20:23): You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven (such was his wonderful condescension, much more than for some mighty prince to talk familiarly with a company of poor beggars); now you shall not make gods of silver. 1. This repetition of the second…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 20:24

An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me--a regulation applicable to special or temporary occasions.

Adam Clarke on Exodus 20:24

Thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings - The law concerning which was shortly to be given, though sacrifices of this kind were in use from the days of Abel. In all places where I record my name - Wherever I am worshipped, whether in the open wilderness, at the tabernacle, in the temple, the synagogues, or elsewhere, I will come unto thee and bless thee. These words are precisely the same in signification with those of our Lord, Mat 18:20 : For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. And as it was Jesus who was the angel that spoke to them in the wilderness, Act 7:38, from the same mouth this promise in the law and that in the Gospel proceed…

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John Gill on Exodus 20:24

An altar of earth thou shall make unto me,.... This was a temporary precept, and only in force until the tabernacle was built, and respects occasional altars, erected while on their travels, and were to be made of turfs of earth, and so easily and quickly thrown up, as their case and circumstances required, and as easily thrown down, as it was proper they should, after they had no more use for them, lest they should be abused to superstitious uses; for afterwards the altar for burnt offerings was made of Shittim wood covered with brass, and that in the temple was wholly a brazen one, Exodus 27:1 this precept seems to suggest the plainness and simplicity in which God would be worshipped, in o…

The Church Fathers

To make an altar of earth for the Lord is to place our hope in the incarnation of the Mediator. Our gift is accepted by God when, on this altar, our humility rests whatever it does upon faith in the Lord's incarnation. We place the gift we offer on an altar made of earth if we base all our actions on faith in the Lord's incarnation.
— Paterius, EXPOSITION OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT, EXODUS 30

To make an altar of earth for the Lord is to place our hope in the incarnation of the Mediator. Our gift is accepted by God when, on this altar, our humility rests whatever it does upon faith in the Lord's incarnation. We place the gift we offer on an altar made of earth if we base all our actions on faith in the Lord's incarnation. Exposition of the Old and New Testament, Exodus
— Pacian of Barcelona,

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

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…
Earth — (1.) In the sense of soil or ground, the translation of the word adamah’. In Gen. 9:20 “husbandman” is literally “man of the ground or earth.” Altars were to be built of earth (Ex. 20:24). Naaman…
Law of Moses — Is the whole body of the Mosaic legislation (1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:25; Ezra 3:2). It is called by way of eminence simply “the Law” (Heb. Torah, Deut. 1:5; 4:8, 44; 17:18, 19; 27:3, 8). As a written…
Sheep — Are of different varieties. Probably the flocks of Abraham and Isaac were of the wild species found still in the mountain regions of Persia and Kurdistan. After the Exodus, and as a result of…
Altar · Mosaic commandments prescribing the construction of — Mosaic commandments prescribing the construction of
Altars · Designed for sacrifice — Designed for sacrifice
Desert, Journey Of Israel Through The · Moral law given — Moral law given
Ox, The · Used for: Sacrifice — Used for: Sacrifice
Peace Offerings · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Prayer, Public · God promises to bless in — God promises to bless in
Sacrifices · Always offered upon altars — Always offered upon altars
Sheep

Exodus 20:24

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 20:22–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 20:24

Adam Clarke on Exodus 20:24

John Gill on Exodus 20:24

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Exodus 20:24

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 20:22–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 20:24

Adam Clarke on Exodus 20:24

John Gill on Exodus 20:24

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Exodus 20:24-25

Keil & Delitzsch on Exodus 20:24–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Exodus 20:22-26

Rashi on Exodus 20:23