Exodus 30:1

“And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon, etc.] The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan call it incense of spices, properly enough, for it was made of various spices; of which (see <023034>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, ((see Gill on “<022505>Exodus 25:5”)) as…”

“THE ALTAR OF INCENSE. (Exo. 30:1-38) thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon, &c.--Its material was to be like that of the ark of the testimony, but its dimensions very small [Exo 25:10].”

“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…”

“The altar of incense was to be about a yard high, and half a yard square, with horns at the corners, a golden cornish round it, with rings and staves of gold for the convenience of carrying it, Exo 30:1-5. It doth not appear that there was any grate to this altar for the ashes to fall into, that they might be taken away; but when they burn incense, a golden censer was brought, with coals in it, and placed upon the altar, and in that censer the incense was burnt, and with it all the coals were taken away, so that no coals or ashes fell upon the altar. The altar of incense in Ezekiel's temple is double to what it is here, Eze 41:22, and it is there called an altar of wood, and there is no…”

“30:1-10 Plans for the altar of acacia wood are included here rather than with the plans for the other items in the sanctuary (25:23-40), perhaps because of the reference to the priest’s use of it in 30:7-10.”

“The Samaritan inserts the first ten verses of this chapter after Exo 26:32. an altar: Exo 30:7, Exo 30:8, Exo 30:10, Exo 37:25-28, Exo 40:5; Lev 4:7, Lev 4:18; Kg1 6:20; Ch2 26:16; Rev 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 ( Num 4:11); and the incense was as constantly burnt on it every day, as the morning and evening sacrifice…”

“The Altar of Incense and Incense-Offering bring the directions concerning the sanctuary to a close. What follows, from Ex 30:11-31:17, is shown to be merely supplementary to the larger whole by the formula "and Jehovah spake unto Moses," with which every separate command is introduced (cf. Exo 30:11, Exo 30:17, Exo 30:22, Exo 30:24, Exo 31:1, Exo 31:12). Exo 30:1-6 (cf. Exo 37:25-28). Moses was directed to make an altar of burning of incense (lit., incensing of incense), of acacia-wood, one cubit long and one broad, four-cornered, two cubits high, furnished with horns like the altar of burnt-offering ( Exo 27:1-2), and to plate it with pure gold, the roof (גּג) thereof (i.e., its upper side…”