Bible Strands
Ezekiel 41:22
There was an altar of wood three cubits high and two cubits square. Its corners, base, and sides were of wood. And the man told me, “This is the table that is before the LORD.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The visionary seer receives architectural measurements from a divine guide within the temple vision. This description occurs during the detailed survey of the inner sanctuary's layout and furnishings.
The words — The text identifies the object as הַמִּזְבֵּחַ (ha.mizbeach), literally "the altar," constructed of עֵץ (etz), meaning "wood." Its dimensions are specified as three cubits high and two cubits square.
The thread — The vision explicitly equates this altar with the "table before the LORD," a designation that appears in Ezekiel 23:41 and Ezekiel 44:16 regarding ministerial access. Malachi 1:7 later references this same "table of the LORD" to confront corrupt worship practices.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to observe the exact physical specifications given for the sacred object before drawing theological conclusions. It demands a disciplined distinction between the measured artifact and the divine presence it signifies.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The altar of wood was three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said unto me, This is the table that is before the Lord.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 23:41 You sat on a couch of luxury with a table spread before it, on which you had set My incense and My oil,
- Ezekiel 44:16 They alone shall enter My sanctuary and draw near to My table to minister before Me. They will keep My charge.
- Malachi 1:7 By presenting defiled food on My altar. But you ask, ‘How have we defiled You?’ By saying that the table of the LORD is contemptible.
- Malachi 1:12 “But you profane it when you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is contemptible.’
- Exodus 30:1 “You are also to make an altar of acacia wood for the burning of incense.
- Leviticus 24:6 and set them in two rows—six per row—on the table of pure gold before the LORD.
- 1 Kings 6:20 The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.
- Revelation 8:3 Then another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.
- Exodus 25:23 You are also to make a table of acacia wood two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high.
- Exodus 25:28 Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that the table may be carried with them.