Exodus 30:1

Young's Literal Translation

`And thou hast made an altar [for] making perfume; [of] shittim wood thou dost make it;

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
"You shall make an altar to burn incense on. You shall make it of shittim wood.

King James Version
And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.

Lexham English Bible
"And you will make an altar for burning incense; you will make it of acacia wood,

New Century Version
"Make an altar out of acacia wood for burning incense.

New English Translation
"You are to make an altar for burning incense; you are to make it of acacia wood.

Amplified Bible
"You shall make an altar upon which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.

New American Standard Bible
"Now you shall make an altar as a place for burning incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Fvrthermore thou shalt make an altar for sweete perfume, of Shittim wood thou shalt make it.

Legacy Standard Bible
"Moreover, you shall make an altar as a place for burning incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.

Contemporary English Version
The Lord said to Moses: Build an altar of acacia wood where you can burn incense.

Complete Jewish Bible
(vii) "You are to make an altar on which to burn incense; make it of acacia-wood.

Darby Translation
And thou shalt make an altar for the burning of incense: of acacia-wood shalt thou make it;

Easy-to-Read Version
"Make an altar from acacia wood. You will use this altar for burning incense.

English Standard Version
"You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.

George Lamsa Translation
YOU shall make an altar to burn incense upon; of shittim wood shall you make it.

Good News Translation
"Make an altar out of acacia wood, for burning incense.

Christian Standard Bible®
“You are to make an altar for the burning of incense; make it of acacia wood.

Literal Translation
And you shall make an altar, a place for burning incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Thou shalt make also an incense altare to burne incense, of Fyrre tre,

American Standard Version
And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of acacia wood shalt thou make it.

Bible in Basic English
And you are to make an altar for the burning of perfume; of hard wood let it be made.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And thou shalt make an aulter for sweete incense: of Sittim wood shalte thou make it.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon; of acacia-wood shalt thou make it.

King James Version (1611)
Andthou shalt make an Altar to burne incense vpon: of Shittim wood shalt thou make it.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And thou shalt make the altar of incense of incorruptible wood.

English Revised Version
And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of acacia wood shalt thou make it.

Berean Standard Bible
You are also to make an altar of acacia wood for the burning of incense.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Also thou schalt make an auter of the trees of Sechym, to brenne encense;

Update Bible Version
And you shall make an altar to burn incense on: of acacia wood you shall make it.

Webster's Bible Translation
And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: [of] shittim wood shalt thou make it.

World English Bible
"You shall make an altar to burn incense on. You shall make it of acacia wood.

New King James Version
Exodus 37:25-28">[xr] "You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood.

New Living Translation
"Then make another altar of acacia wood for burning incense.

New Life Bible
"Make an altar for burning special perfume. Make it of acacia wood.

New Revised Standard
You shall make an altar on which to offer incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And thou shalt make an altar, for burning incense, of acacia wood, shalt thou make it:

Douay-Rheims Bible
Thou shalt make also an altar to burn incense, of setim wood.

Revised Standard Version
"You shall make an altar to burn incense upon; of acacia wood shall you make it.

THE MESSAGE
"Make an Altar for burning incense. Construct it from acacia wood, one and one-half feet square and three feet high with its horns of one piece with it. Cover it with a veneer of pure gold, its top, sides, and horns, and make a gold molding around it with two rings of gold beneath the molding. Place the rings on the two opposing sides to serve as holders for poles by which it will be carried. Make the poles of acacia wood and cover them with a veneer of gold.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Moreover, you shall make an altar as a place for burning incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.

Contextual Overview

¹ `And thou hast made an altar [for] making perfume; [of] shittim wood thou dost make it; <sup>2</sup> a cubit its length, and a cubit its breadth, (it is square), and two cubits its height; its horns [are] of the same. <sup>3</sup> `And thou hast overlaid it with pure gold, its top, and its sides round about, and its horns; and thou hast made to it a crown of gold round about; ⁴ and two rings of gold thou dost make to it under its crown; on its two ribs thou dost make [them], on its two sides, and they have become places for staves, to bear it with them. ⁵ `And thou hast made the staves of shittim wood, and hast overlaid them with gold; <sup>6</sup> and thou hast put it before the vail, which [is] by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy-seat which [is] over the testimony, whither I am met with thee. <sup>7</sup> `And Aaron hath made perfume on it, perfume of spices, morning by morning; in his making the lamps right he doth perfume it, ⁸ and in Aaron's causing the lamps to go up between the evenings, he doth perfume it; a continual perfume before Jehovah to your generations. ⁹ `Ye do not cause strange perfume to go up upon it, and burnt-offering, and present, and libation ye do not pour out on it; ¹⁰ and Aaron hath made atonement on its horns, once in a year, by the blood of the sin-offering of atonements; once in a year doth he make atonement for it, to your generations; it [is] most holy to Jehovah.'

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

The Samaritan inserts the first ten verses of this chapter after Exodus 26:32.

an altar: Exodus 30:7, Exodus 30:8, Exodus 30:10, Exodus 37:25-28, Exodus 40:5, Leviticus 4:7, Leviticus 4:18, 1 Kings 6:20, 2 Chronicles 26:16, Revelation 8:3

to burn incense: Where so many sacrifices were offered, it was essentially necessary to have some pleasing perfume to counteract the disagreeable smells that must have arisen from the slaughter of so many animals, the burning of so much flesh, the sprinkling of the blood. No blood was ever sprinkled on this altar, except once a year, on the grand day of expiation. It was called also the golden altar - Numbers 4:11, and the incense was as constantly burnt on it every day, as the morning and evening sacrifice of a lamb was burnt on the brazen altar.

Reciprocal: Exodus 31:8 - the altar Exodus 35:15 - the incense Exodus 40:26 - General Leviticus 10:1 - put incense Leviticus 16:13 - And he Numbers 3:31 - the altars 1 Kings 6:22 - also 1 Kings 7:48 - the altar 1 Chronicles 6:49 - Aaron 1 Chronicles 28:18 - the altar 2 Chronicles 4:19 - the golden 2 Chronicles 13:11 - sweet incense 2 Chronicles 32:12 - one altar Isaiah 65:3 - altars Ezekiel 41:22 - altar Luke 1:11 - the altar Revelation 8:4 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 29:31
And Jehovah seeth that Leah [is] the hated one, and He openeth her womb, and Rachel [is] barren;

Genesis 30:1
And Rachel seeth that she hath not borne to Jacob, and Rachel is envious of her sister, and saith unto Jacob, `Give me sons, and if there is none -- I die.'

Genesis 30:3
And she saith, `Lo, my handmaid Bilhah, go in unto her, and she doth bear on my knees, and I am built up, even I, from her;'

Genesis 30:4
and she giveth to him Bilhah her maid-servant for a wife, and Jacob goeth in unto her;

Genesis 30:8
and Rachel saith, `With wrestlings of God I have wrestled with my sister, yea, I have prevailed;' and she calleth his name Napthali.

Genesis 30:14
And Reuben goeth in the days of wheat-harvest, and findeth love-apples in the field, and bringeth them in unto Leah, his mother, and Rachel saith unto Leah, `Give to me, I pray thee, of the love-apples of thy son.'

Genesis 30:16
And Jacob cometh in from the field at evening; and Leah goeth to meet him, and saith, `Unto me dost thou come in, for hiring I have hired thee with my son's love-apples;' and he lieth with her during that night.

Genesis 30:18
and Leah saith, `God hath given my hire, because I have given my maid-servant to my husband;' and she calleth his name Issachar.

Genesis 30:19
And conceive again doth Leah, and she beareth a sixth son to Jacob,

Genesis 30:20
and Leah saith, `God hath endowed me -- a good dowry; this time doth my husband dwell with me, for I have borne to him six sons;' and she calleth his name Zebulun;

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon,.... The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan call it incense of spices, properly enough, for it was made of various spices; of which see Exodus 30:34 and this was necessary on a natural and civil account, to remove those ill smells from the sanctuary, occasioned by the number of beasts continually slain in it; but chiefly on a religions account, to denote the acceptableness of the service of the sanctuary to God:

of shittim wood shall thou make it: of the same that the altar of burnt offering was made, which was covered with brass, but this with gold, as after related; of this sort of wood, Exodus 30:34- : as this altar was a type of Christ, the shittim wood may respect his human nature; which wood, though it sprung out of the earth, was not common, but choice and excellent, and very strong durable, and incorruptible; and so Christ, though he was man made of an earthly woman in his human nature, yet was chosen out of the people, is the chiefest among ten thousand, and excellent as the cedars, the man of God's right hand, whom he made strong for himself; and though he died in it, he saw no corruption, he now lives, and will live for evermore; in which nature he acts the part of a Mediator, and intercedes for his people, and offers up their prayers, perfumed with the much incense of his mediation, to which this altar has a special respect.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Exodus 37:25-28; Exodus 40:26-27. The altar of incense was to be a casing of boards of shittim wood Exodus 25:5, Exodus 25:18 inches square and three feet in height (taking the cubit as 18 inches), entirely covered with plates of gold. Four “horns” were to project upward at the corners like those of the altar of burnt-offering Exodus 27:2. A crown or moulding of gold was to run round the top. On each of two opposite sides there was to be a gold ring through which the staves were to be put when it was moved from place to place.

Exodus 30:4

By the two corners thereof - Not corners. See the margin. The sense appears to be: And two gold rings shalt thou make for it under its moulding; on its two sides shalt thou make them (i. e. one ring on each side).

Exodus 30:6

The place for the altar of incense was outside the veil, opposite to the ark of the covenant and between the candlestick on the south side and the showbread table on the north Exodus 40:22-24. It appears to have been regarded as having a more intimate connection with the holy of holies than the other things in the holy place; and the mention of the mercy-seat in this verse, if we associate with it the significance of incense as figuring the prayers of the Lord’s people Psalms 141:2; Revelation 5:8; Revelation 8:3-4, seems to furnish additional pound for an inference that the incense altar took precedence of the table of showbread and the candlestick.

Exodus 30:7

The lamps - See Exodus 25:37.

Exodus 30:7-8

The offering of the incense accompanied that of the morning and evening sacrifice. The two forms of offering symbolized the spirit of man reaching after communion with Yahweh, both in act and utterance. See Psalms 141:2.

Exodus 30:9

By this regulation, the symbolism of the altar of incense was kept free from ambiguity. atonement was made by means of the victim on the brazen altar in the court ontside; the prayers of the reconciled worshippers had their type within the tabernacle.

Exodus 30:10

See the marginal references.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER XXX

The altar of burnt incense, 1.

Dimensions, 2.

Golden crown, 3.

Rings and staves, 4, 5.

Where placed, 6, 7.

Use, 8-10.

The ransom price of half a shekel, 11-13.

Who were to pay it, 14.

The rich and the poor to pay alike, 15.

The use to which it was applied, 16.

The brazen laver, and its uses, 17-21.

The holy anointing oil, and its component parts, 22-25.

To be applied to the tabernacle, ark, golden table, candlestick,

altar of burnt-offerings, and the laver, 26-29.

And to Aaron and his sons, 30.

Never to be applied to any other uses, and none like it ever to

be made, 31-33.

The perfume, and how made, 34, 35.

Its use, 36.

Nothing similar to it ever to be made, 37, 38.

NOTES ON CHAP. XXX

Verse Exodus 30:1. Altar to burn incense — The Samaritan omits the ten first verses of this chapter, because it inserts them after the 32d verse of chap. xxvi. Exodus 26:32.

Shittim wood — The same of which the preceding articles were made, because it was abundant in those parts, and because it was very durable; hence everywhere the Septuagint translation, which was made in Egypt, renders the original by ξυλον ασηπτον, incorruptible wood.