Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof.
He made an altar of brass. Steps must have been necessary for ascending so elevated an altar, but the use of these could be no longer forbidden (Exodus 20:26) after the introduction of an official costume for the priests (Exodus 28:42). It measured 35 feet by 35, and in height 17 1/2 feet. The thickness of the metal used for this altar is nowhere given; but supposing it to have been 3 inches, the whole weight of the metal would not be under 200 tons (Napier, 'Workers in Ancient Metals,' p. 107). It was larger than the altar in the old tabernacle (Exodus 27:1), but was itself destined to be supplanted in the second temple by one twice its dimensions. 'The smaller of the one described by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 43:13-17) may be explained by supposing it to relate to the brasen part; the larger in this passage to the whole rock or stonework,' (Stanley, 'Lectures on the Jewish Church,' second series, lect. 27:)