Altar

The altar (Hebrew mizbeah, from a root meaning to slaughter) was the central structure of Israelite worship — a raised platform or table on which sacrifices and offerings were presented to God. Altars appear from the earliest pages of Scripture, built by Noah after the flood, Abraham at Shechem and Bethel, and the patriarchs at moments of divine encounter. The Mosaic law specified two principal altars for the tabernacle: the altar of burnt offering in the outer court, made of acacia wood overlaid with bronze (Exod. 27:1–8), and the altar of incense within the Holy Place, made of acacia wood overlaid with gold (Exod. 30:1–10). Only priests of Aaron's line were authorized to officiate at these altars.

The altar of burnt offering was the place where sin offerings, burnt offerings, peace offerings, and thank offerings were presented, providing the mechanism of atonement and communion at the center of Israel's covenant worship. The New Testament interprets Christ's sacrifice as the definitive fulfillment of the altar's function (Heb. 9–10), and Hebrews 13:10 declares that Christians have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.