compass of the altar. Probably the margin or place where the priests stood. The "place" of 2 Chronicles 30:16. A raised position from which the sacrificing priest is said to "come down", Leviticus 9:22.
Related Commentaries of Exodus 27:5
Exodus 27:5
5 And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar.