2 Kings 16:15

“And King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, etc.] Who was not to be commanded by the king in matters of worship, but to attend to the laws and institutions of God: saying, upon the great altar; meaning the new one, which either was of a larger size than the altar of God, or was greater in the esteem of Ahaz: burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meat offering; the daily sacrifice, morning and evening: and the king’s burnt sacrifice, and his meat offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings; such as were offered up at any time on the account of the rulers of the land in particular, or of the whole…”

“The brasen altar shall be for me to inquire by - The bulk of modern commentators translate - “As for the Brasen altar, it will be for me to inquire (or consider) what I shall do with it.” return to 'Top of Page'”

“Great altar - This new altar; which was greater than Solomon's. Sacrifice - Whatsoever is offered to the true God, either in my name (for possibly he did not yet utterly forsake God, but worshipped idols with him) or on the behalf of the people, shall be offered on this new altar. Enquire by - That shall be reserved for my proper use, to enquire by; at which I may seek God, or enquire of his will, by sacrifices joined with prayer, when I shall see fit. Having thrust it out from the use for which it was instituted, which was to sanctify the gifts offered upon it, he pretends to advance it above its institution, which it is common for superstitious people to do. But to overdo is to underdo.…”

“16:15-16 Ahaz ordered that standard daily sacrifices (Num 28:1-8) as well as the individual offerings of the king and people would be made on the new altar. Ahaz then restricted the bronze altar to his personal use (literally for seeking/inquiry), probably to use it for pagan divination. This demand displayed a callous insolence against the Lord and his worship. Uriah the priest complied with Ahaz’s demands (2 Kgs 16:10-11, 16), rather than resisting the king.”

“the morning: Kg2 3:20; Exo 29:39-41; Num 28:2-10; Dan 9:21, Dan 9:27, Dan 11:31, Dan 12:11 the king's burnt: Lev 4:13-26; Sa2 6:17, Sa2 6:18; Kg1 3:4, Kg1 8:64; Ch2 7:4, Ch2 7:5, Ch2 29:21-24, Ch2 29:32, Ch2 29:35; Eze 46:4-7, Eze 46:12-14 for me to inquire by: Kg2 18:4; Gen 44:5; Ch2 33:6; Isa 2:6; Hos 4:12 4 Kings (2 Kings) 16:16”

“He also commanded that the daily morning and evening sacrifice, and the special offerings of the king and the people, should be presented upon the new altar, and thereby put a stop to the use of the Solomonian altar, "about which he would consider." The Chethb ויצוּהוּ is not to be altered; the pron. suff. stands before the noun, as is frequently the case in the more diffuse popular speech. The new altar is called "the great altar," probably because it was somewhat larger than that of Solomon. הקטר: used for the burning of the sacrifices. הערב מנחת is not merely the meat-offering offered in the evening, but the whole of the evening sacrifice, consisting of a burnt-offering and a…”