The altar of Herod's temple, thougli larger than all former altars, preserved their main character- istics. It stood in front of the temple, in the inner- most court. It was built of unhewn stone ; no iron tool was used in its construction. In this the letter of the law in Exodus was adhered to, while its evident intention was evaded. A new inter- pretation of the law against the use of hewn stone was given by Jewish tradition in the words of Johanan ben Zakkai : ' The altar is a means of establishing peace between the people of Israel and their Father in heaven ; therefore iron, which is used as an instrument of murder, should not be swung over it.' The altar was of huge dimensions. According to Jo.sephu3 (BJ V. v. 6) it was 15 cubits high and 50 cubits square at the ba.se ; according to the more reliable tradition of the Mishna, which enters into precise details, it was 32 cubits square at the base and correspondingly less in height.t Like the earlier altars, it rose up in a serir.s (if tcrrnccs nr sla'ji's, (■(inliiictini; :it irregular iiitiTVHls. (Thr lirst l.imliii- h ;is a cul.it froiu the unmnd, iin.l a .-ul.il in l.iv.-uUli; \<liilr .^. cubits iii,i;lier ciiim- .-i s.rcul landin,-). The Inurth on the top still measured 24 cubits in lenijth and breadth. The altar-hearth was made accessible to the mini- stering priests by a structure on the south side, built in the form of a very gradual acclivity, and making a pathway 32 cubits Ion" by 16 broad. Beside this main ascent were small stairs to the several stages of the altar. Round the middle of the entire altar ran a red line as an indication to the priest when he sprinkled with blood the upper and lower parts of the altar. At the south- west comers of the hearth and of the altai-'s base were openings to carry ofl' the wine of the drink- offerings or the blood sprinkled on the side of the altar. These ojienings led into a subterranean canal which connected with the t^idron. At the corners of the altar-hearth were projections, called horns. The supposition that the.se were a survival of the time when the victims were slain as well as burnt on the altar, ami rei|uired to be Iwund upon the hearth, ha,^ .i( 1( a t thr lecom- mendation of simplicity ; hut u ,ti , rl\ , xplains the peculiar sacretlness attaclaM li il' alia} horn.s, or the imiwrtant part they lia.l in ih'- iiiual (IK Pi 22», Lv 8" 93 16"*; in ci'il.ain ca.M^s tliey were sprinkled with blood, K>: -".»'-, l.v 4'). The ex- planation given by Stadc and c .( hii s connects them with the worship of .lahweh as symbolized by a young bull. Northward from the altar was the place of slaughtering, with rings fastened in the ground, to which the animals were tied ; it was
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provided also with pillars and tables for purposes of hanginfi, flaying, and washing. The temple, together with the altar and the place of slaughter, were separated from the rest of the inner court by a wall of partition, a culjit high, to mark oil' the part reserved for the priests from that free to Israelites generally.
On this great altar the fire was kept burning night and day ; it was the centre of the Jewish ritual. On it, morning and evening, was offered the daily burnt-oHering in the name of the people, accompanied with meal-oH'erings and drink-offer- ings. On the Sabbaths and during the festival days, the public offerings were greatly augmented. Still more vast was tlie number of private .sacri- fices which were offered day by day ; and on the festival days, when Jerusalenr was crowded with worshippers, thousands of priests officiated, and the great altar was scarcely sufficient to burn the masses of flesh that were heaped continuously upon it.
The altar of incense, or the golden altar, stood within the Holy Place. It was of very modest dimensions, and was used chiefly for the offering of incense, which took place twice daily, in the morning before the burnt-oft'ering, and in the evening after it.
Besides an incidental mention of the altar (Mt 23^^, Lk IP'), there are two pregnant sayings of Christ in the Gospels where the altar is concerned. In the first (Mt S'^- ^) He opposes to the mere e.\- temalism of the altar-worship the higher claims of brotherhood, teaching that what God reciuires is mercy and not sacrifice. In the otlR^r (Mt 23"*-=") He exposes the puerility of the ilistinction made, in swearing, between the altar and the gift upon it. It was by such miserable casuistry that the scribes and Pharisees evaded the most solemnly assumed obligations.
Literature. — Benzinger's and Nowack's Heh. Arch, (Index, s.v. 'Altar'); Josephus, BJ v. v. 6, and c. Apimi. i. 22; Jlishna, Middoth iii. 1-4 ; Schenkel, Bibellexicon, ' Brandopferaltar ' ; Lightfoot, The Temple Service ; Schurer, HJP ii. i. 24 ; VVell- hausen, Prolegomena (' Die Opfer'), and Beste des A rab. Ueiden- thmns'^, 101 f. ; W. R. Smith, RS (Index, s.v. 'Altar'); Perrot and Chipiez, Bistoire de I' Art (Eng. tr., sections on Phtenicia and Judaea). See also Lightfoot (J. B.), ' Essay on the Chr. Ministry' in Pkil. pp. 251, 261, 265, and in D/sscrtofions, pp. 217, 229, 234 ; Westcott (B. F.), Hebren'S, pp. 453-461.