Bronze Altar
The square acacia altar measures 5 × 5 × 3 cubits, with four horns, a bronze covering, and a hollow plank construction. It stands before the tent entrance (Exodus 27:1–8; 40:29).
Key points
- Sacrificial service belongs to the outer court.
- Look for: A square altar with horns at its corners.
- Illustrated location: Courtyard
- A reconstruction from Exodus 25–30 and 40, with the bread arrangement from Leviticus 24. The Tabernacle has one lampstand with seven lamps and one bread table. The tent follows conventional chamber proportions inferred from boards and curtains; textual court dimensions are listed separately, while the drawn court outline and object spacing are schematic. The court and tent use different drawing scales, and some furnishings are enlarged for visibility; this is not a single-scale plan. The text does not specify the basin’s size, the lampstand’s height, a complete visual blueprint, or the exact appearance of the cherubim. Their drawn forms and decorative patterns are interpretations. Roof and walls are opened to reveal spaces whose access was restricted. The raised illustrative ground base is a display device, not a prescribed Tabernacle floor; Exodus does not specify a floor material. The rear boards, individual silver sockets, carrying fittings, and small service utensils are simplified or omitted.
- Preparing and offering the gifts (Orthodox reception): Bread and wine are prepared at the prothesis and carried through the nave in the Great Entrance to the Holy Table. Against the background of biblical offerings, Orthodox theology understands the Eucharist as participation in Christ’s once-for-all self-offering.
- The Great Entrance carries gifts still to be consecrated. The Eucharist does not repeat Christ’s death, and the preparation table is not a surviving animal-sacrifice altar.
Scripture
- Exodus 27:1–19 — The square acacia altar measures 5 × 5 × 3 cubits, with four horns, a bronze covering, and a hollow plank construction. It stands before the tent entrance (Exodus 27:1–8; 40:29).
- Exodus 40:1–38 — The square acacia altar measures 5 × 5 × 3 cubits, with four horns, a bronze covering, and a hollow plank construction. It stands before the tent entrance (Exodus 27:1–8; 40:29).
- Hebrews 9:1–12, 24–28 — Preparing and offering the gifts: Bread and wine are prepared at the prothesis and carried through the nave in the Great Entrance to the Holy Table. Against the background of biblical offerings, Orthodox theology understands the Eucharist as participation in Christ’s once-for-all self-offering.
- Hebrews 10:10–22 — Preparing and offering the gifts: Bread and wine are prepared at the prothesis and carried through the nave in the Great Entrance to the Holy Table. Against the background of biblical offerings, Orthodox theology understands the Eucharist as participation in Christ’s once-for-all self-offering.