or over cellars. (1) R. Joseph said: Is that not which was taught: And they set the altar upon its bases, (2) [which means] that they attained to its final measurements? (3) But surely it is written, And all this [do I give thee] in writing, as the Lord hath made me wise by His hand upon me, even all works of this pattern? (4) Rather said R. Joseph: They found a text and interpreted it: (5) Then David said: This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burntoffering for Israel: (6) [this intimated that the altar was] like the house: as the house was sixty cubits [in length], so were there sixty cubits for the altar. (7) As for the Temple, it is well, for its outline was distinguishable; (8) but how did they know [the site of] the altar? — Said R. Eleazar: They saw [in a vision] the altar built, and Michael the great prince standing and offering upon it. While R. Isaac Nappaha (9) said: They saw Isaac's ashes lying in that place. (10) R. Samuel b. Nahman said: From [the site of] the whole House they smelt the odor of incense, while from there [the site of the altar] they smelt the odor of limbs. Rabbah b. Hanah said in R. Johanan's name: Three prophets (11) went up with them from the Exile: one testified to them about [the dimensions of] the altar; another testified to them about the site of the altar; and the third testified to them that they could sacrifice even though there was no Temple. (12) In a Baraitha it was taught, R. Eleazar b. Jacob said: Three prophets went up with them from the Exile: one who testified to them about [the dimensions of] the altar and the site of the altar; another who testified to them that they could sacrifice even though there was no Temple; and a third who testified to them that the Torah should be written in Assyrian characters. (13) Our Rabbis taught: The horn, the ascent, the base and squareness are indispensable; the measurements of its length, breadth and height are not indispensable. How do we know it? — Said R. Huna, Scripture saith, ‘The altar’, and wherever ‘the altar’ is said it is indispensable. (14) If so, are the laver, according to Rabbi, and the terrace, according to R. Jose son of R. Judah, also indispensable, because it is written, And thou shalt put it under the karkob [ledge] round the altar beneath, (15) and it was taught: What was the karkob? Rabbi said: It was the laver; R. Jose son of R. Judah said: It was the terrace! (16) — Yes [it is indeed so], for it was taught: On that day (17) the horn of the altar was damaged, and they brought a lump of salt and stopped it up. Not because it was [now] fit for service, but that it should not appear damaged, for every altar which lacks (18) a horn, ascent, base and squareness is invalid. R. Jose son of R. Judah said: The same applies to the terrace. Our Rabbis taught: What was the karkob? [A strip] between one horn and another horn a cubit [in breadth], where the priests walked. Did then the priests walk between one horn and another? — Rather say: and there was [a strip of] a cubit where the priests walked. (19) But it is written, Under the karkob round it beneath, reaching halfway up! (20) — Said R. Nahman b. Isaac: There were two, one for ornamental purposes, and the other for the priests, that they should not slip. (21) ‘The measurements of its length, breadth, and height are not indispensable.’ Said R. Mani: provided that it is not smaller than the altar made by Moses. And how much is that? — Said R. Joseph: One cubit [square]. They ridiculed him: [quoting the text, And thou shalt make the altar... ] five cubits long, and five cubits broad! (22) Said Abaye to him: perhaps the master meant the place of the pile? (23) — The master [sc. yourself], who is a great man, knows what I meant, he replied. Then he dubbed them (24)

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(1). ↑ But that did not exclude the possibility of its being hollow.
(2). ↑ Ezra III, 3.
(3). ↑ R. Joseph had once fallen sick, and on his recovery it was found that he had forgotten many of his earlier teachings and traditions. Here he states that his assertion that because the heavenly fire helped them a larger altar was unnecessary was incorrect, the real reason being as he proceeds to explain. — ‘They attained its final measurements’ means that it was revealed to the builders of the second altar (the ‘Men of the Great Assembly’) exactly which site was sacred for the altar, this knowledge having been withheld from Solomon when he built the first altar.
(4). ↑ I Chron. XXVIII, 19. ‘All this’ refers to the plans of the first Temple with all its appurtenances. Thus it had all been divinely revealed to Solomon too, which contradicts the former statement.
(5). ↑ The Men of the Great Assembly were guided by a text in their decision to enlarge the altar.
(6). ↑ Ibid. XXII, 1.
(7). ↑ An area of sixty cubits square was sacred for the altar, and they might build it anywhere within that. Nevertheless, they did not need it so large, and therefore they enlarged it merely according to their requirements.
(8). ↑ They could easily ascertain, from a study of the ruins, what had been sanctified for each part of the Temple.
(9). ↑ Or, the smith.
(10). ↑ According to legend Isaac was bound, and the substitute ram sacrificed, on the very site of the altar, and the ashes were still there.
(11). ↑ Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
(12). ↑ Because the sanctity of the Temple had hallowed the spot for all time.
(13). ↑ I.e., the square form of Hebrew now in use. V. Sanh. (Sonc. ed.) p. 119. notes.
(14). ↑ The def. art. implies that only when it is exactly as specified (in the place where the def. art. is used) is it an altar. The horns: the horns of the altar (Lev. IV, 18); the base: the base of the altar (ibid. 30); squareness: the altar shall be four square (Ex. XXVII, 1); the ascent: in front of the altar (Lev. VI, 7)’ ‘in front’ being the ascent to the altar.
(15). ↑ Ex. XXVII, 5.
(16). ↑ Thus ‘the altar’ is written in connection with these.
(17). ↑ When ‘a certain man’ poured out the water of libation over his feet; v. Suk. 48b.
(18). ↑ This includes the case where they are damaged.
(19). ↑ There was a kind of trench between the ma'arakah, i.e., the place on the altar where the sacrifices, etc. were burnt, and the edge of the altar. This trench was two cubits wide, including one cubit between the horns and one cubit where the priests walked (Rashi, as emended by Sh. M.).
(20). ↑ Ibid. XXXVIII, 4. Scripture states that the network grating around the sides of the altar was under the karkob. This implies that the karkob was on the wall of the altar; for if it was on the top surface, a grating on the sides could not be described as under it.
(21). ↑ There was an ornamental ledge on the side of the altar, and a trench on the top, to provide a firm foothold for the priests.
(22). ↑ Ex. XXVII, 1.
(23). ↑ Where the sacrifice was burnt. For of the five cubits two cubits had to be deducted on all sides for the strip between the horns and the pathway for the priests, leaving an area of one cubit square for the place of the pile.
(24). ↑ Who had ridiculed him.