Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 16:14

And he brought also the brazen altar, which [was] before the LORD, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar.

14. And he brought &c. ] The R.V. adheres to the Hebrew order. And the brasen altar which was before the Lord, he brought from the forefront of the house. This brasen altar is described 2Ch 4:1, its length and breadth being each twenty cubits, and its height ten cubits. It is also mentioned, but not described, 1Ki 8:64. This altar, placed in its position when the temple was built, and standing exactly in front of the porch and entrance to the temple, Ahaz now removed.

from between the [R.V. his ] altar and the house ] At first the new altar was set a little behind the brasen one, but on the same line as one looked at them from the temple-porch. This arrangement Ahaz changes, and taking away the brasen altar, he leaves his own in the front of the temple, and carries the older and more sacred altar to the north side of the new one. Thus they both stood in a line parallel to the front of the house, but the king’s new altar had the place of honour, before the temple-doors.

north side of the [R.V. his ] altar ] As before.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Hereto the Brasen altar (marginal reference) had, it would seem, occupied a position directly in front of the temple porch, which it exactly equalled in width. Now Ahaz removed it from this place, and gave the honorable position to his new altar, which he designed to supersede the old far all ordinary purposes 2Ki 16:15.

From between the altar … – Urijah, having received no official directions, had placed the new altar in front of the old, between it and the eastern gate of the court. Ahaz consequently on his arrival found the brasen altar between the (new) altar and the house of the Lord.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 14. Put it on the north side] He seems to have intended to conform every thing in the Lord’s house as much as possible to the idolatrous temples which he saw at Damascus, and to model the Divine worship in the same way: in a word to honour and worship the gods of Syria, and not the God of heaven. All the alterations specified here were in contempt of the true God. Thus he provoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers, 2Ch 28:25.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

The brazen altar of burnt-offerings, made by Solomon, and placed there by Gods appointment. Which was before the Lord, i.e. from before the Lords house: See Poole “Lev 1:3“. From between the altar and the house of the Lord; or rather, from between his altar, &c., or, that altar, &c. His new altar was at first set below the brazen altar, and at a further distance from the temple. This he took for a disparagement to his altar; and therefore most impiously and audaciously takes that away, and puts his in its place.

On the north side of the altar; or, of that altar; or, of his altar; as before. So he put Gods altar out of its place and use.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And he brought also the brasen altar which was before the Lord,…. That which Solomon made, 2Ch 4:1, which stood in the court by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord, Le 1:5 from the forefront of the house; the frontispiece of the temple, which was at the eastern gate of it:

from between the altar and the house of the Lord for it seems Urijah had placed the new altar behind the old one, more out of sight; the brasen altar standing between that and the eastern gate, or entrance into the temple; wherefore he removed the brasen altar, and put his new one in the room of it:

and put it; that is, the brasen altar of Solomon:

on the north side of the altar; of the new altar, at the right hand as they went into the temple; where it was as in a corner, in greater obscurity, and the new altar more in view as they came into the temple.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Soon after this Ahaz went still further, and had “the copper altar before Jehovah,” i.e., the altar of burnt-offering in the midst of the court before the entrance into the Holy Place, removed “from the front of the (temple-) house, from (the spot) between the altar (the new one built by Urijah) and the house of Jehovah (i.e., the temple-house(, and placed at the north side of the altar.” does not mean removit, caused to be taken away, but admovit, and is properly to be connected with , notwithstanding the fact that is inserted between for the sake of greater clearness, as Maurer has already pointed out.

(Note: There is nothing in the text to support the view of Thenius, that Urijah had the brazen altar of burnt-offering erected by Solomon moved farther forwards, nearer to the temple-house, and the new one put in its place, whence it was afterwards shifted by Ahaz and the new one moved a little farther to the south, that is to say, that he placed the two altars close to one another, so that they now occupied the centre of the court.)

On the use of the article with in the construct state, see Ewald, 290, d.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

(14) And he brought also the brasen altar . . .Literally, And as for the brasen altar, he brought it near (to the new one), away from the front of the house, to wit, from between the (new) altar, and the house of Jehovah; and put it at the side of the (new) altar northward. The brasen altar used to stand before the Lord, i.e., in the middle of the court of the priests, and in front of the Temple proper. The verse seems to imply that Urijah had pushed it forward nearer to the sanctuary, and set the new Syrian altar in its place. Ahaz, not satisfied with this arrangement, which appeared to confer a kind of precedence on the old altar, drew it back again, and fixed it on the north side of his new altar.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

14. The brazen altar This stood in the midst of the inner court, the court of the priests. See cut, page 68. It was, according to 2Ch 4:1, twenty cubits square and ten cubits high. Its position is described as before the Lord, that is, in front of the holy place.

Brought from the forefront of the house Moved from its old sacred place in front of the temple, and placed, as the sequel shows, nearer to the north side of the court, so as not to stand between the (new) altar and the house of the Lord. In the spot where Urijah had placed it, the new altar was not properly before the Lord, inasmuch as the brazen altar stood between it and the holy place. So the king changed the position of both altars, placing the new one nearer to the temple, and the brazen altar on the north side of it. He would not have the new altar occupy a secondary place. So, says Wordsworth, “the new altar became the principal central object, and the brazen altar was only an adjunct and appendage to it.”

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

2Ki 16:14 And he brought also the brasen altar, which [was] before the LORD, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar.

Ver. 14. And put it on the north side. ] As it were, in a corner out of the way. a

a Quasi vicarium et precarium in angulo collocavit. – Vatab.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)