THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
Altar
Above
was
the Altar
lijKnx)* This at each corner was surmounted by a horn a cil>it in hiijrht (see Toy's "Ezekiel," £zekiel. In the opinion of 8. HO. T. p. inn. many scholars this description holds irood for the Temple of Jerusalem, in which probably Ezekiel bad served; perhaps therefore it was such an Altar arose.
tliis
lieartli
twelve cubits square and four high.
BR0NZ£ altar of THK
466
people of Israel and their Father in heaven; therefore, iron, which is used as an instrument of murWhat a guaranty der, should not be swung over it. for those that endeavor to establish peace between
man and man. and between
nations and nations, that
MO evil shall befall them!" said
(Mek same
Jolianiiii
ben Zakkai
Jelhro. 11; Tosef., B. I.C. vii. (i). And in the " If the altar of the Lord must spirit he said
TKMI'LE, Ukstored.
(Afler Calmet.)
as this which Ahaz saw at Damascus. Ezckiel is also in like manner a witness to the presence of the table-altar of showbrcad in the Temple (Ezek. xli. 22).
In the poste.xilic temple the principal Altar was of stone (Hag. ii. 15, IMacc. iv. 44f<.wi;.).while the table of showbread or " golden " Altar and PostexiUc Altar of incense also found places (I Josephns, JIacc. i. 21. iv. 49 ct scq. Days.
be built of whole stones (according to Detit. xxvii. 6). all the more should the men that perform the peaceful work of divine instruct ion be whole-souled and peaceful" (ih. 7). In a similar strain: "If the very stones of the altar are to be treated with respect and with deconim, how much more living man!" (Mek. I.e., end). The Hebrew name for Altar (riDTD) is explained as signifying," It wipes away sin it nourishesthe higher
man;
§4; "Contra Ap." i. 22). "U'hen these implements were defiled by the heathen sacrifice of Antiochus Epiphanes they were replaced
Metaphor-
by new ones
Meaning' of
"Ant.".ii.
5,
Mace. iv. 44 et sec/.. 49 et scq.). All these formed a part of Herod's temple. The main Altar was of stone, and according to Josephus ("B. J." V. 5, g 6), fifty cubits square and fifteen high, though the dimensions are differently given in the Mishnah (Middot, iii. 1). It was approached G. A. B. by a gradual ascent. In Ba'bbinical Literature : " The Altar is the means of establishing peace between the (I
ical
fosters love for atones forall guilt " (Kct. it
God; and 10/;): its
it
four
D"n. nsin, ni3T. rh^no (initialsof inrhihili.zekut.berakali.hnyniin). point to Forgiveness, .Justification, Blessing, and Life (Tan., Terumah, 10).
letters
Name.
was considered a miracle and a proof of the manifestiition of the Shekiuah that the continual fire upon the Altar did not destroy the copper with which the stones were overlaid (Lev. R. vii. Tan., It
Terumah.
11).
The Altar was made a
special object of veneration
