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Altars in the Old Testament

Altar*	Altar Type	Material	Reference
Noah’s altar	open-air	earth	Gen 8:20–22
Abram’s altar at Moreh	open-air	earth	Gen 12:6–7 (compare Gen 22:2)
Abram’s altar between Bethel and Ai	open-air	earth	Gen 12:8 (compare Gen 13:3–4)
Abram’s altar at Mamre/Hebron	open-air	earth	Gen 13:18
Abraham’s altar at Moriah	open-air	earth	Gen 22:2, 9 (compare Gen 12:6–7)
Isaac’s altar at Beersheba	open-air	earth	Gen 26:25
Jacob’s altar at Shechem	open-air	earth	Gen 33:20
Jacob’s altar at Bethel	open-air	earth	Gen 35:1–7
Moses’ altar after the Amalekites	open-air	earth	Exod 17:14–16
Moses’ altar at Sinai	open-air	earth	Exod 24:4–8
[Balaam’s seven altars]	open-air	earth	Num 23
Joshua’s altar on Ebal	open-air	unhewn stone	Josh 8:30–31 (compare Deut 27:4–7)
The eastern tribes’ altar of witness	open-air	earth	Josh 22:10–34
Gideon’s altar	open-air	stone slab	Judg 6:17–24
[Altar to Baal built by Gideon’s father]	open-air	uncertain	Judg 6:25–32
Manoah’s altar	open-air	stone slab	Judg 13:19–20
Israelites’ altar during crisis with the tribe of Benjamin	open-air	uncertain	Judg 21:1–7
Samuel’s altar at Ramah	open-air	uncertain	1 Sam 7:17
Saul’s altar	open-air	stone slab	1 Sam 14:31–35
David’s altar in Jerusalem	open-air	uncertain	2 Sam 24:18–25; 1 Chr 21:18–27
[Altar of the prophets of Baal]	open-air	uncertain	1 Kgs 18:22–26
Elijah’s altar	open-air	stone	1 Kgs 18:30–35
[Israelites’ altars mentioned by Isaiah]	open-air	brick	Isa 65:3
Altar of the tabernacle	tabernacle‡	acacia wood; bronze	Exod 27:1–8; 40:6–7 (compare 2 Chr 1:5)
Incense altar for the tabernacle	tabernacle‡	acacia wood; gold	Exod 30:1–10
Bronze altar for Solomon’s temple	temple‡	bronze	2 Chr 4:1
Incense altar for Solomon’s temple	temple‡	gold	1 Kgs 6:22; 7:48
Altar at Shiloh	tabernacle‡	unknown	1 Sam 2:33
Altar at Gibeon	high place†	unknown	1 Kgs 3:4; 1 Chr 21:29
[Jeroboam’s altar at Bethel]	high place†	unknown	1 Kgs 12:32–33 (compare 2 Kgs 23:15)
[Ahab’s altar to Baal in Samaria]	temple of Baal	unknown	1 Kgs 16:32
[Ahaz’s altar in the temple, and other idolatrous actions]	temple‡	unknown	2 Kgs 16:10–16; compare 2 Chr 28:22–27
[Manasseh’s altars to Baal and other deities]	high places†, temple‡	unknown	2 Kgs 21:1–9; 2 Chr 33:1–9 (compare 2 Chr 33:10–20)
[Altars destroyed in Asa’s reform]	high places†	unknown	2 Chr 14:2–5
[Altars to Baal destroyed in Johoiada’s reform]	temple of Baal	unknown	2 Kgs 11:17–18; 2 Chr 23:17
[Illicit altars to Yahweh destroyed by Hezekiah]	high places†, temple‡	unknown	2 Kgs 18:22; 2 Chr 30:14
[Altars to various deities destroyed in Hezekiah’s reform]	high places†	unknown	2 Chr 31:1
[Altars to various deities destroyed in Josiah’s reform]	various	unknown	2 Kgs 23:1–20; 2 Chr 34:1–7
Ezekiel’s vision of a bronze altar	temple‡	uncertain	Ezek 43:13–17
Restored altar after the Babylonian exile	temple‡	unknown	Ezra 3:2; Neh 10:34
Restored incense altar in the Second Temple	temple‡	unknown	Luke 1:11

*Foreign or illicit altars are in [brackets].

†The various “high places” condemned in Scripture may have had altars at them (compare 2 Kgs 23:20; 2 Chr 34:5).

‡The ministry before tabernacle and temple altars was restricted to Aaron and his sons (Num 18:1–7)

	About Faithlife Study Bible Faithlife Study Bible (FSB) is your guide to the ancient world of the Old and New Testaments, with study notes and articles that draw from a wide range of academic research. FSB helps you learn how to think about interpretation methods and issues so that you can gain a deeper understanding of the text.
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