Illustration of a Stone Altar from Ancient Assyria
Assyrian Stone Altar
Illustration of
a Stone Altar from Ancient Assyria
Assyrian Altars
The Assyrians gained much of their knowledge from the Babylonians.
The stone altars came in three forms. The oldest form is from the
eighth century BC and is currently in the British Museum in London.
It consists of an oblong stone 55 cm long and 55 cm high, and the
top looks similar to a sofa without the back. The next type is made
from a block of stone with a triangular base, with two horizontal
ledges. Usually there is a lions foot carved at the corners between
the ledges, and there is a circular top. The third type of altar has
a castellated top as found in the palace of Sargon (722 BC) and are
currently in the Louvre Museum.
The Bible mentions
the "Altar"
2 Kings
16:11 - And Urijah the priest built an altar
according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah
the priest made [it] against king Ahaz came from Damascus.
1 Kings
8:64 - The same day did the king hallow the middle of the
court that [was] before the house of the LORD: for there he offered
burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace
offerings: because the brasen altar that [was] before
the LORD [was] too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat
offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.
Leviticus
8:30 - And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood
which [was] upon the altar, and sprinkled [it] upon
Aaron, [and] upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his
sons' garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, [and] his garments,
and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.
Leviticus
9:7 - And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar,
and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make an
atonement for thyself, and for the people: and offer the offering of
the people, and make an atonement for them; as the LORD commanded.
Ezekiel
41:22 - The altar of wood [was] three cubits
high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof,
and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, [were] of wood: and
he said unto me, This [is] the table that [is] before the LORD.
Leviticus 16:33 - And he shall make an atonement for the
holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of
the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make
an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the
congregation.
2
Chronicles 4:1 - Moreover he made an altar of
brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the
breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof.
1 Kings
6:22 - And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he
had finished all the house: also the whole altar that
[was] by the oracle he overlaid with gold.
Exodus
29:36 - And thou shalt offer every day a bullock [for] a sin
offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar,
when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it,
to sanctify it.
Exodus
29:21 - And thou shalt take of the blood that [is] upon the
altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle [it]
upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the
garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his
garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.
Exodus
30:18 - Thou shalt also make a laver [of] brass, and his
foot [also of] brass, to wash [withal]: and thou shalt put it
between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar,
and thou shalt put water therein.
Joshua
22:23 - That we have built us an altar to turn
from following the LORD, or if to offer thereon burnt offering or
meat offering, or if to offer peace offerings thereon, let the LORD
himself require [it];
Numbers
18:17 - But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a
sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they [are]
holy: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar,
and shalt burn their fat [for] an offering made by fire, for a sweet
savour unto the LORD.
2
Chronicles 7:7 - Moreover Solomon hallowed the middle of the
court that [was] before the house of the LORD: for there he offered
burnt offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the
brasen altar which Solomon had made was not able to
receive the burnt offerings, and the meat offerings, and the fat.
Ezekiel
47:1 - Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the
house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of
the house eastward: for the forefront of the house [stood toward]
the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of
the house, at the south [side] of the altar.
1 Kings
12:32 - And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month,
on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that [is] in
Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in
Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed
in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
Exodus 30:1
- And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon:
[of] shittim wood shalt thou make it.
Isaiah 56:7
- Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful
in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
[shall be] accepted upon mine altar; for mine house
shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
Deuteronomy 16:21 - Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any
trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which
thou shalt make thee.
1 Kings
1:53 - So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from
the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king
Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house.
Joshua 8:31
- As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel,
as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar
of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up [any] iron: and they
offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace
offerings.
Numbers 7:1
- And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the
tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the
instruments thereof, both the altar and all the
vessels thereof, and had anointed them, and sanctified them;
Deuteronomy 27:6 - Thou shalt build the altar
of the LORD thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt
offerings thereon unto the LORD thy God:
Exodus 38:1
- And he made the altar of burnt offering [of] shittim
wood: five cubits [was] the length thereof, and five cubits the
breadth thereof; [it was] foursquare; and three cubits the height
thereof.
1 Kings
6:20 - And the oracle in the forepart [was] twenty cubits in
length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the
height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and [so] covered
the altar [which was of] cedar.
Exodus
20:24 - An altar of earth thou shalt make unto
me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace
offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record
my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
Genesis
12:8 - And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the
east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, [having] Bethel on the west,
and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar
unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.
Exodus
20:25 - And if thou wilt make me an altar of
stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up
thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
Leviticus
8:21 - And he washed the inwards and the legs in water; and
Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar: it [was] a
burnt sacrifice for a sweet savour, [and] an offering made by fire
unto the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Joshua
22:11 - And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the
children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of
Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of
Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of
Israel.
The Bible mentions the
"Assyrians"
Jeremiah 2:18 - And now what hast thou to do in the way of
Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the
way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?
2 Kings
16:10 - And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet
Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that
[was] at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the
fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the
workmanship thereof.
2 Kings
19:4 - It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of
Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath
sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which
the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up [thy] prayer for the
remnant that are left.
Isaiah 37:4
- It may be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom
the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach
the living God, and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God
hath heard: wherefore lift up [thy] prayer for the remnant that is
left.
Jeremiah
2:36 - Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way?
thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of
Assyria.
2
Chronicles 32:9 - After this did Sennacherib king of
Assyria send his servants to Jerusalem, (but he [himself
laid siege] against Lachish, and all his power with him,) unto
Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah that [were] at Jerusalem,
saying,
2
Chronicles 30:6 - So the posts went with the letters from
the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and
according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of
Israel, turn again unto the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,
and he will return to the remnant of you, that are escaped out of
the hand of the kings of Assyria.
2 Kings
16:7 - So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of
Assyria, saying, I [am] thy servant and thy son: come up,
and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the
hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me.
2 Kings
18:9 - And it came to pass in the fourth year of king
Hezekiah, which [was] the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of
Israel, [that] Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up
against Samaria, and besieged it.
2 Kings
18:17 - And the king of Assyria sent Tartan
and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a
great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to
Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the
conduit of the upper pool, which [is] in the highway of the fuller's
field.
2 Kings
17:26 - Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria,
saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the
cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land:
therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay
them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.
2 Kings
17:24 - And the king of Assyria brought [men]
from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and
from Sepharvaim, and placed [them] in the cities of Samaria instead
of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in
the cities thereof.
2 Kings
20:6 - And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I
will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of
Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake,
and for my servant David's sake.
2
Chronicles 28:21 - For Ahaz took away a portion [out] of the
house of the LORD, and [out] of the house of the king, and of the
princes, and gave [it] unto the king of Assyria: but
he helped him not.
Zechariah 10:10 - I will bring them again also out of the
land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I
will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and [place]
shall not be found for them.
Jeremiah
50:17 - Israel [is] a scattered sheep; the lions have driven
[him] away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured
him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his
bones.
2 Kings
18:16 - At that time did Hezekiah cut off [the gold from]
the doors of the temple of the LORD, and [from] the pillars which
Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of
Assyria.
Isaiah 36:8
- Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of
Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if
thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
Nehemiah
9:32 - Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and
the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the
trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our
kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and
on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings
of Assyria unto this day.
Micah 5:6
- And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the
sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall
he deliver [us] from the Assyrian, when he cometh into
our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.
2 Kings
23:29 - In his days Pharaohnechoh king of Egypt went up
against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates:
and king Josiah went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo, when
he had seen him.
Isaiah
27:13 - And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the
great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready
to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in
the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at
Jerusalem.
Isaiah 36:2
- And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish
to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by
the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field.
2 Kings
18:23 - Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord
the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two
thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon
them.
2 Kings
18:28 - Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in
the Jews' language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great
king, the king of Assyria:
2 Kings
19:10 - Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah,
saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying,
Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of
Assyria.
Isaiah
36:13 - Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in
the Jews' language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king,
the king of Assyria.
2 Kings
15:19 - [And] Pul the king of Assyria came
against the land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver,
that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.
2 Kings
16:8 - And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in
the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, and
sent [it for] a present to the king of Assyria.
2 Kings
18:30 - Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD,
saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be
delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.