The Golden Altar

Ritual Objects

The Golden Alter (Mizbeach Hazahav), which is also known as the Altar of Incense, is located within the Temple shrine and is used for burning incense.

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On it Aaron shall burn aromatic incense: he shall burn it every morning when he tends the lamps, and Aaron shall burn it at twilight when he lights the lamps—a regular incense offering before יהוה throughout the ages. You shall not offer alien incense on it, or a burnt offering or a meal offering; neither shall you pour a libation on it. Once a year Aaron shall perform purification upon its horns with blood of the sin offering of purification; purification shall be performed upon it once a year throughout the ages. It is most holy to יהוה.

Exodus 30:7-10

Adonoy brought a plague upon the king. It is explained in Divrei Hayomim that he entered the Temple to burn incense on the Incense Altar.

Rashi on II Kings 15:5:1

9) R. Shimon b. Elazar says: Plague-spots come also because of pride. For thus do we find with Uzziyahu (king of Judah), viz. (II Chronicles 26:16) "But when he grew strong, his heart grew proud to (the point of) corruption. And he rebelled against the L–rd his G d, and he came into the sanctuary of the L–rd to burn incense on the incense altar (II Chronicles 26:17) And there after him Azaryahu the Cohein and with him Cohanim of the L–rd, eighty strong (II Chronicles 26:18) And they stood over Uzziyahu the king, and they said to him: 'It is not for you, Uzziyahu, to burn incense to the L–rd…

Sifra, Metzora, Section 5 9

The privilege of burning incense on this inner altar was assigned though a special lottery, in which only first-timers were allowed to participate. This is because of the tradition that whoever performed this task would be materially blessed, and it was desired to spread this blessing around to as many different priests as possible.

Introductions to the Babylonian Talmud, Yoma, Summary of Perek II 4

R. Simeon further discoursed on the verse: “And thou shalt make an altar (mizbeah) to burn incense upon” (Ex. 30, 1). ‘This verse’, he said, ‘raises a problem, for we find that there were two altars, namely, the altar of burnt-offering and the altar of incense, the former the outer altar and the latter the inner one. Now, why was the altar of incense called mizbeah (lit. slaughtering-place), seeing that it had no connection with animal slaughter? The explanation is that this altar was efficacious in defeating and subduing the numerous powers of the “other side”…

Zohar, Vayakhel 41:471-472

It is stated: “And he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord, and make atonement for it; and he shall take of the blood of the bull, and of the blood of the goat, and place it upon the corners of the altar round about” (Leviticus 16:18). This altar is the golden altar, since the outer altar is not before the Lord in the Sanctuary. He began to cleanse the altar, sprinkling the blood downward. From where does he begin? He begins from the northeast corner, and proceeds to the northwest corner, and then to the southwest corner…

Mishnah Yoma 5:5

It is worth knowing that the sequence in which the furnishings of the Tabernacle are reported here was also the sequence in which the furnishings of Solomon’s Temple were constructed. The Ark was positioned in the Holy of Holies, on the far side of the dividing curtain, פרוכת. The table was positioned on the near side of that curtain on the north side of the heychal. The lampstand was positioned on the south side of the heychal, whereas the altar for incense, the “golden” altar, was positioned between the two former, slightly forward towards the entrance of the Tabernacle…

Rabbeinu Bahya, Shemot 37:1:2

MISHNA 6:2 The priest who won the right to bring the coal pan filled with coals to the inner altar for the burning of the incense first piled the coals on the inner altar and then flattened them, distributing them evenly on the altar with the bottom of the coal pan. And when he finished distributing the coals, he prostrated himself and emerged from the Sanctuary. MISHNA 6:3 The priest who won the right to burn the incense would take the smaller vessel containing the incense from within the spoon…

Tamid 33a:10-13

And Solomon made all the furnishings that were in the House of God: the altar of gold; the tables for the bread of display;

II Chronicles 4:19

Another kohain spread the burning coals with the back of the censer; he bowed and withdrew. Another heaped the incense on the coals from the center of the Altar outwards; they taught him to spread them in this manner so that his arms should not be burned.

Selichot Nusach Polin, Erev Rosh Hashana 25:17

The incense offering is offered on the Golden Altar in the Temple each day. No other entity is offered on it. If one offered any incense other than this or offered this incense, but it was donated by an individual or a group, or one offered a sacrifice on it, or poured a libation on it, one is liable for lashes, as [ibid.:9] states: "You shall not offer upon it foreign incense, a burnt offering, or a meal offering."

Mishneh Torah, Vessels of the Sanctuary and Those Who Serve Therein 2:11

[276] And therefore the altar of incense receives special honour, not only in the costliness of its material, its construction and its situation, but by taking every day the earlier place in subserving the thanksgiving which men render to God. For it is not permitted to bring the victim of the whole-burnt-offering outside until the incense has been offered inside at the first glimpse of day.

On the Special Laws, Book I 51:4

The incense altar was one cubit by one cubit square. It was placed in the Sanctuary, exactly [midway] between north and south, between the Table and the Menorah, towards the outside. These three were all placed beyond the first third of the Temple building, in front of the Parochet, which divided the Sanctuary from the Holy of Holies.

Mishneh Torah, The Chosen Temple 3:17

Commandment 104 commands the priests to offer incense twice a day, daily, for the Torah says: "On it Aaron shall burn incense; he shall burn it mornings and at twilight" (30,7).

Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Torah Shebikhtav, Tetzaveh, Ner Mitzvah 6

In Parshas VeAtah Tetzaveh, the Golden Altar is described: “Its height will be two cubits…. It will have four horns and a gold border.” The Golden Altar was placed in the Sanctuary exactly halfway between the Table and the Menorah, positioned slightly to the east, as Rashi states in Parshas Terumah. There, Rashi states that all three were placed within the inner half of the Sanctuary.

The Third Beit HaMikdash 55:2

The interior of the Shrine was 20 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 20 cubits high. He overlaid it with solid gold; he similarly overlaid [its] cedar altar.

I Kings 6:20

[He] covered the altar with cedar wood. That is the [golden] altar of incense, but I am perplexed, why was Moshe’s [golden altar] hidden?

Rashi on I Kings 6:20:5

AND THOU SHALT MAKE AN ALTAR TO BURN INCENSE UPON. Now the altar of incense being one of the articles in the inner part of the Sanctuary, it should have been mentioned with the table and the candelabrum together with which it was placed, as indeed they are mentioned at the actual construction in the section of Vayakheil. But the reason for mentioning it here after the Tabernacle and all its vessels and the sacrifices [for the seven days of consecration], is because of what He said at the completion of them all, and the Tent shall be sanctified by My Glory…

Ramban on Exodus 30:1:1

HALAKHAH: From where the cleaning of the interior altar? Rebbi Pedat in the name of Rebbi Eleazar: He shall throw it next to the altar, to the East, on the place of ashes. It is unnecessary. If to designate [the place], it already is written, next to the altar. If to teach you that it should be put to the East of the ramp, it already is written, to the East. Also he explained, next to the altar, next to the altar. Since in one case it is to the East of the ramp, so in the other case it is to the East of the ramp…

Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 2:2:2

The Holy of Holies, Ephraim Moses Lilien 1922. Source:E. M. Lilien, eine künstlerische Entwickelung um die Jahrhundertwende.

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