Exodus 27:2

2 Forsooth horns shall be by [the] four corners thereof; and thou shalt cover it with brass. (It shall have horns at its four corners, and thou shalt cover it with bronze.)

Exodus 27:2 Meaning and Commentary

Ver. 2 And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners
thereof
Which were either for ornament, or for keeping what was laid upon the altar from falling off, or for the fastening of the sacrifice to them, and were what criminals fled to for refuge, and laid hold on; and may denote the power of Christ, who is the horn of salvation to preserve his people from a final falling away, and from ruin and destruction, and his protection of those that fly to him for refuge; and these horns being at the corners of the altar may respect the four parts of the world, from whence souls come to Christ for everlasting salvation:

his horns shall be of the same;
that is, made of the same wood as the altar itself and so may lead to observe the like things: or "upwards out of it" ^F2, the altar; prominent from it, as the Arabic version, and so the sacrifices could be bound to them, ( Psalms 118:27 ) :

and thou shalt overlay it with brass;
with plates of brass, that it may endure the fire, and preserve the wood from being burnt with it; this may denote not only the brightness, lustre, and glory of Christ, like the shining brass, but his great strength in bearing the sins of his people, and all the punishment due unto them, even the fire of divine wrath, without being consumed by it. Jarchi observes, that it was overlaid with brass, because it was to make atonement for the impudence of the forehead, which is as brass, ( Isaiah 48:4 ) .

---

FOOTNOTES:

F2 (wnmm) "sursum exeo", Noldius, p. 615.

Exodus 27:2 In-Context

1 Also thou shalt make an altar of the wood of shittim, which shall have five cubits in length, and so many in breadth, that is, square, and three cubits in height. (And thou shalt make an altar out of shittim wood, or acacia wood, which shall be five cubits in length, and as many in breadth, that is, square, and three cubits in height.)

2 Forsooth horns shall be by [the] four corners thereof; and thou shalt cover it with brass. (It shall have horns at its four corners, and thou shalt cover it with bronze.)

3 And thou shalt make into the uses of the altar, pans to receive [the] ashes, and tongs, and fleshhooks, and firepans; thou shalt make all these vessels of brass. (And thou shalt make for use with the altar, pans to receive the ashes, and tongs, and fleshhooks, and firepans; thou shalt make all these vessels out of bronze.)

4 And thou shalt make a brazen griddle in the manner of a net, and by the four corners thereof shall be four brazen rings, (And thou shalt make a bronze griddle, fashioned like a net, and at its four corners shall be four bronze rings,)

5 which griddle thou shalt put under the firepan of the altar; and the griddle shall be till to the midst of the altar. (and thou shalt put the griddle under the rim of the altar, set-in half-way up the altar.)