Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 27:4
And thou shalt make for it a grate of network [of] brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brazen rings in the four corners thereof.
4. a grating ] Exo 35:16, Exo 38:4-5; Exo 38:30, Exo 39:39 . This formed a vertical support for the ‘ledge’ ( v. 5), resting on the ground, and supporting it at its outer edge.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 4. Thou shalt make for it a grate] Calmet supposes this altar to have been a sort of box, covered with brass plates, on the top of which was a grating to supply the fire with air, and permit the ashes to fall through into the siroth or pan that was placed below. At the four corners of the grating were four rings and four chains, by which it was attached to the four horns; and at the sides were rings for the poles of shittim wood with which it was carried. Even on this there is a great variety of opinions.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
A grate of net-work, which was competently strong and thick, this being as it were the hearth of the altar, upon which they laid both the wood and the sacrifices, and it was full of holes, through which the blood and ashes might fall down into the place appointed for them.
Upon the net, or rather at, or beside, or under the net, for so the rings were placed, as their use shows, and the Hebrew preposition al is oft so used.
Four brazen rings, which were either,
1. Peculiar to the grate, which by these was carried apart from the altar, having the perpetual fire kept in it; for had it been carried with the altar, the cloth wherewith the altar was covered, Num 4:13, would have been endangered by the fire. Or,
2. Common to the altar, to which these were fixed on the outside, as on the inside to the grate, that by them the grate might be both kept even and upright, and also carried together with the altar, and that with such caution that the fire included might not hurt the covering-cloth, which was not difficult to do.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. a grate of network of brasssunklatticework to support the fire.
four brazen ringsbywhich the grating might be lifted and taken away as occasion requiredfrom the body of the altar.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And thou shalt, make for it a grate of network of brass,…. Or “sieve”, as in Am 9:9, it was a plate of brass with holes in it, to let through either the blood that drained from the parts of the sacrifice, or the ashes of it; for this was the focus or hearth, on which the sacrifice and the wood were laid and burnt: this, according to the Targum of Jonathan on Ex 38:4 was to receive the coals and bones which fell from the altar: and so may denote the purity of Christ’s sacrifice, which was offered up without spot to God, and the use of him as the altar to sanctify our gifts, and take away the sins of our holy things:
and upon the net shalt thou make four brazen rings in the four corners thereof; by which, with chains put into them, the grate was fastened to the four horns of the altar, and the use of them was to let it down and hang in the middle of the altar, and to take it up when there was occasion for it; though some think these rings were not “in” the grate, but “by” it, as the particle may be rendered, a little lower than that, on the sides of the altar; into which the staves after mentioned were put, and with which the altar was carried when removed from place to place.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The altar was to have a grating, net-work, i.e., a covering of brass made in the form of a net, of larger dimensions that the sides of the altar, for this grating was to be under the “compass” ( ) of the altar from beneath, and to reach to the half of it (half-way up, Exo 27:5); and in it, i.e., at the four ends (or corners) of it, four brass rings were to be fastened, for the poles to carry it with. (from circumdedit ) only occurs here and in Exo 38:4, and signifies a border ( Targums), i.e., a projecting framework or bench running round the four sides of the altar, about half a cubit or a cubit broad, nailed to the walls (of the altar) on the outside, and fastened more firmly to them by the copper covering which was common to both. The copper grating was below this bench, and on the outside. The bench rested upon it, or rather it hung from the outer edge of the bench and rested upon the ground, like the inner chest, which it surrounded on all four sides, and in which there were no perforations. It formed with the bench or carcob a projecting footing, which caused the lower half of the altar to look broader than the upper on every side. The priest stood upon this carcob or bench when offering sacrifice, or when placing the wood, or doing anything else upon the altar. This explains Aaron’s coming down ( ) from the altar (Lev 9:22); and there is no necessity to suppose that there were steps to the altar, as Knobel does in opposition to Exo 20:26. For even if the height of the altar, viz., three cubits, would be so great that a bench half-way up would be too high for any one to step up to, the earth could be slightly raised on one side so as to make the ascent perfectly easy; and when the priest was standing upon the bench, he could perform all that was necessary upon the top of the altar without any difficulty.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(4) A grate of network.Rather, a grating of network. The position of the grating is doubtful. According to one view, it reached from the middle of the altar to its base, and protected the sides of the altar from the feet of the ministering priests. According to another, it surrounded the upper part of the altar, and was intended to catch any portions of the victims that accidentally fell off. There are no sufficient data to enable us to determine between these views.
Upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings.The brazen altar, like the ark and the table of shewbread, was to be carried by the priests when the Israelites changed their camping-ground. It therefore required rings, like them (Exo. 25:12; Exo. 25:26). These were, in the case of the altar, to be attached to the network, which must have been of a very solid and substantial character.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4, 5. A grate of network The design of this is not made very clear by the statements of these verses . The compass of the altar is commonly supposed to have been a projecting border or framework running around the outside, and affording a place for the officiating priest to stand, or pass around, when arranging the fire or the victims offered . Accordingly, this network grating has by some been explained as reaching from this border to the ground, and so being beneath it, (Hebrews, from below.) It would thus serve as a support for the border. Others have imagined that it extended horizontally beyond the border, and served to catch coals or any thing else which might fall from the altar. Others, however, have located the grate inside of the altar, so as to serve for a sieve through which ashes might fall, as through a fire grate, into a hollow place within the altar, from whence they were removed by means of the shovels. In this case the four brazen rings at the corners were for the purpose of easily lifting the grate out, or setting it in its place. There appears nothing by which to determine which of these views is correct. If the rings mentioned in Exo 27:7 are identical with those upon the net, then the first view named above would be the most natural explanation. But as the staves to fit into those rings are mentioned as for the altar, while these were for the net, we are not justified in assuming that they were identical. But while the exact location and purpose of this grating are not certainly fixed, the general form and appearance of the altar probably resembled the preceding cut.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exo 27:4 And thou shalt make for it a grate of network [of] brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof.
Ver. 4. A grate. ] Which served for a hearth, and represented Christ bearing the fire of his Father’s displeasure.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
a grate of network: Exo 35:16, Exo 38:4, Exo 38:5
rings in the four corners thereof: Exo 25:12
Reciprocal: Exo 30:4 – rings
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 27:4. Thou shalt make for it a grate of net-work This was the principal part of the altar. It was let into the hollow about the middle of it, and here the fire was kept, and the sacrifice burned. It was a broad plate of brass full of holes, like a net or sieve, and partly hollow that the fire might burn the better, and the ashes might fall through to the bottom of the altar, where there was a door on the east side to open and take out the ashes.
Now this brazen altar was a type of Christ dying to make atonement for our sins. Christ sanctified himself for his church as their altar, (Joh 17:19,) and by his mediation sanctifies the daily services of his people. To the horns of this altar poor sinners flee for refuge, and are safe in virtue of the sacrifice there offered.