Leviticus 6:13

The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
fire	אֵ֗שׁ 'Esh	H784	fire (literally or figuratively) · noun, common both genders singular absolute
ever	תָּמִ֛יד ta.Mid	H8548	properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
burning	תּוּקַ֥ד tu.Kad	H3344	to burn · verb, hophal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
altar	הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ ha.miz.Be.ach	H4196	an altar · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
out	תִכְבֶֽה tikh.Veh	H3518	to expire or (causatively) to extinguish (fire · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine 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).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Leviticus 6:8-13

Hitherto we have had the instructions which Moses was directed to give to the people concerning the sacrifices; but here begin the instructions he was to give to the priests; he must command Aaron and his sons, Lev 6:9. The priests were rulers in the house of God, but these rulers must be ruled; and those that had the command of others must themselves be commanded. Let ministers remember that not only commissions, but commands, were given to Aaron and his sons, who must be in subjection to them. In these verses we have the law of the burnt-offering, as far as it was the peculiar care of the priests. The daily sacrifice of a lamb, which was offered morning and evening for the whole congregati…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Leviticus 6:9

THE LAW OF THE BURNT OFFERING. (Lev 6:8-13) Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This . . . law of the burnt offering--In this passage Moses received instructions to be delivered to the priests respecting their official duties, and first the burnt offering--Hebrew, "a sacrifice, which went up in smoke." The daily service consisted of two lambs, one offered in the morning at sunrise, the other in the evening, when the day began to decline. Both of them were consumed on the altar by means of a slow fire, before which the pieces of the sacrifice were so placed that they fed it all night. At all events, the observance of this daily sacrifice on the altar of burnt offering was a daily expression…

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Adam Clarke on Leviticus 6:13

The fire shall ever be burning - See on Lev 6:9 (note) and Lev 6:20 (note). In imitation of this perpetual fire, the ancient Persian Magi, and their descendants the Parses, kept up a perpetual fire; the latter continue it to the present day. This is strictly enjoined in the Zend Avesta, which is a code of laws as sacred among them as the Pentateuch is among the Jews. A Sagnika Brahmin preserves the fire that was kindled at his investiture with the poita, and never suffers it to go out, using the same fire at his wedding and in all his burnt-offerings, till at length his body is burnt with it - Ward's Customs.

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…
Burnt offering — Hebrew olah; i.e., “ascending,” the whole being consumed by fire, and regarded as ascending to God while being consumed. Part of every offering was burnt in the sacred fire, but this was wholly…
Festivals, Religious — There were daily (Lev. 23), weekly, monthly, and yearly festivals, and great stress was laid on the regular observance of them in every particular (Num. 28:1-8; Ex. 29:38-42; Lev. 6:8-23; Ex. 30:7-9;…
Fire — (1.) For sacred purposes. The sacrifices were consumed by fire (Gen. 8:20). The ever-burning fire on the altar was first kindled from heaven (Lev. 6:9, 13; 9:24), and afterwards rekindled at the…
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…
Nadab — Liberal, generous. (1.) The eldest of Aaron’s four sons (Ex. 6:23; Num. 3:2). He with his brothers and their father were consecrated as priests of Jehovah (Ex. 28:1). He afterwards perished with…
Wood-offering — (Neh. 10:34; 13:31). It would seem that in the time of Nehemiah arrangements were made, probably on account of the comparative scarcity of wood, by which certain districts were required, as chosen by…
Altar Of Burnt Offering, The · The fire upon: Was continually burning — The fire upon: Was continually burning
Fire · Sacred: Always burning on the altar — Sacred: Always burning on the altar
Peace Offerings · The priest: Laid it upon the daily burnt offering to be consumed with it

Leviticus 6:13

Word by word — the Hebrew

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Leviticus 6:8-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Leviticus 6:9

Adam Clarke on Leviticus 6:13

Dictionary and topics

Leviticus 6:13

Word by word — the Hebrew

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Leviticus 6:8-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Leviticus 6:9

Adam Clarke on Leviticus 6:13

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Leviticus 6:13

John Calvin on Leviticus 6:8-15

Keil & Delitzsch on Leviticus 6:13

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Leviticus 6:12-13

Rashi on Leviticus 6:13