Exodus 27:5

27:5 The altar was evidently a hollow square (27:1, 8), with the grating placed inside it to allow ashes to fall to the ground underneath.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

put it under the compass of the altar beneath--that is, the grating in which they were carried to a clean place (Lev 4:12).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(5) Under the compass of the altar beneath.—The position of the network depends upon this expression. Was “the compass of the altar” its circumference at the top, or was it a belt or step encircling the altar half-way up? The low height of the altar—four feet six inches—would seem to make a “step” unnecessary; but the altar may undoubtedly have been surrounded by a “belt” for ornament.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5. the ledge] ‘the ledge’ (Exo_38:4†) which such an altar would naturally have for the priests to stand upon: cf. the frequent use of the phrases to go up to and to come down from an altar in connexion with sacrificing: Exo_20:26, Lev_9:22, 1Ki_12:33, 2Ki_16:12; 2Ki_23:9; Sir_50:11; Sir_50:20.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath,.... That is, the grate was to be put within the square compass of the altar, in the hollow part of it, for the wood and sacrifice to be laid upon it:

that the net may be even to the midst of the altar; and as the altar was three cubits high, this net or grate was let down by chains to its rings a cubit and a half, and being of such a depth was capable of containing a great deal.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Midst. Hanging down half way. On this, the wood designed to consume the victim, was placed. The Septuagint and Vulgate refer which to the rings, and the present Hebrew refers to the grate, or net. But it seems to be inaccurate. The rings were fixed about the middle of the altar’s height, to the same holes, through which the bars intended for its removal were put. The altar stood upon feet, which took up half the height, and let in air below the grate, to fan the fire, and to prevent the brass from melting. All the altars described in the table of Isis, are of this nature. (Calmet) --- The Septuagint do not distinguish the grate from the hearth, or little altar, (arula) as they use the word hearth, escharaboth, (ver. 4. and 5,) and place it about the middle of the altar, or where the feet supported the box or frame of the altar, which was almost a yard high. The hearth may therefore denote the bottom of the frame, where the grate was suspended by four rings.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Under the compass, i.e. within the square and hollow space of the altar.

That the net may be even to the midst of the altar, or, and the net shall be at (the Hebrew ad being here used for el, as Hos 14:2; Joe 2:12; Amo 4:6,8), the midst of the altar. And these words seem added to explain the word

beneath, to show that as it was not to be at the top, so neither at the bottom of the altar, but in the midst of it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Thou shalt put it under the compass. The "compass" (karkob) is spoken of as if it were something well-known; yet it had not been previously mentioned. Etymologically the word should mean "a cincture" or "band" round the altar; and thus far critics are generally agreed. But its position, size, and object, are greatly disputed. Some hold that it was a broad bench, or step, on which the officiating priests stood at the time of a sacrifice, and that its position was about the middle of the altar. Others think that it was a mere border round the top, from which the net-work depended, and that the object of both was to catch anything that might fall from the altar. Others again, while placing it mid-way in the altar, regard it as a mere ornament, only projecting slightly, and forming a sort of finish to the net-work. This, which is the view of Knobel, seems to be, on the whole, the most probable one. That the net may be even to the midst of the altar. If the" compass" was at the top, the net must have extended thence to the middle. If it was mid-way in the altar, the net must have covered the lower half. To us this latter seems the more probable view. But the point is uncertain.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Yahweh continues to tell Moses what the people need to do.

You must put the grate under the ledge of the altar

The grate was placed inside the altar. This can be stated clearly in the translation. AT: "You must put the grate under the rim of the altar, on the inside of the altar" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

grate

This is a frame of crossed bars for holding wood when burning. See how you translated this in Exodus 27:4.

You must make poles for the altar

These poles were used for carrying the altar. This can be stated clearly in the translation. AT: "You must make poles for carrying the altar" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

altar

acacia

bronze

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

כרכב המזבח THE COMPASS OF THE ALTAR — כרכב is a surround. Anything which encompasses an object all the way round is called כרכב, just as we read in the Talmudical section beginning with the words הכל שוחטין (Chullin 25a): The following come under the description of unfinished wooden vessels — all such as have still to be polished and to be rounded off (ולכרכב; i. e. making a rim by hollowing out the centre). This is similar to the practice of making rounded grooves in the boards that form the sides of chests and wooden chairs. For the altar too he made a hollowing round about — its width was a cubit — in its wall for ornamentation. It was made at the end of three cubits of its height (measuring from the top of the altar). This is according to the view of him who says (cf. v. 1): its (the altar's) height was twice its length. And if you ask how, then, can I explain the statement, “and the height thereof shall be three cubits” I reply, that this gives the measurement from the edge of the surround upwards. This surround served only as an ornamentation, but a surround for the priests to walk upon when officiating the copper altar had only on its top within its horns (running from one horn to the other). Thus we read in Treatise Zevachim 62a: What is the כרכב? The sunken space between one horn of the altar and the other, this being a cubit in width, and, from that space inward (towards the centre of the altar) a space of another cubit upon which the priests could walk right round the altar, thus making a surround two cubits in width. These two cubits were called כרכב. The criticism is there made to this definition: But is it not written, “[and thou shalt put it (the grate)] under the compass of the altar beneath” — which statement teaches us that the כרכב was on the side of the altar and not on its top since the covering formed by the grate was beneath it? Whereupon the Talmud replies (lit., the replier replies), that in fact there were two surrounds, one for ornamentation (that below) and another (on the top) for the priests that they should not slip off when walking round. The one on the side of the altar was intended for ornamentation, and beneath it they put the grate as a covering and its width reached to the middle of its (the altar’s) height, measuring this from the ground. It also served to mark the middle of its height separating the two halves of the altars side upon which were put respectively the sacrifical blood which had to be sprinkled above (on the upper part; this was the blood of a חטאת) and the blood which had to be sprinkled below (that of עולה,שלמים and אשם). Corresponding to this there was made for the altar in the “Eternal House” (the Temple at Jerusalem) a sign consisting of a red line (Zevachim 53a; Mishnah Middot 3:1). As to the ascent (כבש — the inclined plane) upon which they went up to the top of the altar, it is true that Scripture does not expressly mention it in this section but we have it already implied in the statement in the section beginning with the words מזבח אדמה תעשה לי (Exodus 20:21—23): “Thou shalt not go up by steps [unto my altar]” — i. e. thou shalt not make steps on its ascent, but thou shalt make an unbroken ascent, — this tells us that it had such an ascent. — So do we read in the Mechilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 20:23:1). — For the altar of earth there spoken of is identical with the altar of copper described here and it was called an altar of earth because they used to fill the hollow space within it (within its coppered walls) with earth at every place where they encamped in the wilderness. This ascent was on the south of the altar, its top standing away from the altar just a hair’s breadth (i. e. almost touching the altar). Its foot reached to the cubit adjacent to the hangings of the court on the south, (i. e. it was one cubit distant from those hangings of the enclosure). This latter statement is according to him who holds that its height (that of the altar) was ten cubits, whilst according to him who holds that the command, (v. 1) “and three cubits shall be the height thereof” is to be taken literally (cf. Rashi on v. 1) the length of the ascent was only ten cubits, for since the altar was lower the slope leading to its top could not be a very long one. So did I find in the Boraitha דמ"ט מדות (cf. Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 419). And as regards this statement that it stood away from the top of the altar just a hair’s breadth, in Treatise Zevachim 62b they (the Rabbis) derived it from a Biblical text.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.