Grate

The grate was a network of bronze grating set into the altar of burnt offering in the tabernacle, halfway down from the top, beneath the ledge that projected around the altar's middle. Rings at the four corners of the grating held the poles used to carry the altar (Ex. 27:4–5; 38:4–5). The grating served a practical function: it held the fire and coals while allowing ash and fat to fall through below the ledge. The entire altar and its bronze grating were constructed according to God's specification given to Moses on the mountain, ensuring that the central place of Israel's worship was built exactly as directed.