Zevachim 59b (נט:) — the Talmud in English

Rabbi Yosei said to him:

But it has already been stated: “Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings upon that altar,”

which was made by Moses—not all at once, but in a single day, for the heavenly fire hastened to consume them.

And with regard to the Temple, it says: “And Solomon sacrificed the sacrifice of peace offerings that he sacrificed to the Lord: twenty-two thousand cattle,”

and one hundred twenty thousand sheep, upon the stone altar that Solomon made,

and when you come to calculate the number of burnt offerings and the measure of cubits,

it is found that

this

that Solomon made

was greater than that

made by Moses. It was possible to sacrifice all the offerings of the day of the altar’s dedication upon Solomon’s altar with much more room than to sacrifice a thousand burnt offerings upon Moses’ altar. For on Moses’ altar, the place of the pyre was one cubit by one cubit, whereas on Solomon’s altar, the place of the pyre was twenty cubits by twenty cubits. Thus, according to the calculation of a thousand burnt offerings per cubit, Solomon’s altar had room for four hundred thousand offerings, while only one hundred forty-two thousand were sacrificed; consequently, there was no shortage of space on Solomon’s altar for the sacrifice of all the offerings of the altar’s dedication.

Rather,

you are compelled to say that the matter is not to be understood according to its plain wording: Solomon did not sanctify the floor of the courtyard so that offerings could be burned upon it. And

what is the meaning of “too small to contain”?

that the verse states? It is not referring to the stone altar that Solomon made; rather, it is referring to the copper altar that Moses made, which was too small to contain them.

This is like a person who says to his fellow: So-and-so is a dwarf and unfit for service,

although he is not in fact a dwarf. When he wishes to disqualify him from service, he calls him that, as this is a euphemistic expression. Here too, the verse comes to say that Solomon disqualified Moses’ copper altar and stored it away, and made a new altar in its place. And when the verse says: “He sanctified the interior of the courtyard,” its intent is that he sanctified the courtyard so that it would be sacred for placing a stone altar there, and not that the floor of the courtyard itself became sanctified for burning offerings.

And we raise an objection:

And Rabbi Yehuda,

who says that the altar Solomon made was too small to offer upon it all the offerings of the altar’s dedication—why does he say this?

Rabbi Yosei has stated correctly

that it was not too small at all.

And we answer:

Rabbi Yehuda,

who interpreted the matter according to its plain wording,

follows his own reasoning,

as he

says that the altar Moses made was large.

And for that reason they offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it. If so, Solomon’s altar was insufficient for all the offerings of the day of the altar’s dedication. That is, Rabbi Yehuda maintains that the place of the pyre on Moses’ altar was six cubits by six cubits. Consequently, according to the calculation of the thousand burnt offerings sacrificed upon it, the place of the pyre on the altar Solomon made, which was twenty cubits by twenty cubits, was too small to contain the one hundred forty-two thousand offerings of the altar’s dedication.

As it is taught in a beraita:

It is written in the verse concerning the altar that Moses was commanded to make: “And you shall make the altar, etc.

Five cubits long and five cubits wide” —

the matter is to be understood according to its plain wording; this is the statement of Rabbi Yosei.

From these five cubits, one cubit on each side must be deducted for the place of the corners, and another cubit on each side inward from the corners for the area where the priests’ feet walked. Thus, the place of the pyre was one cubit by one cubit.

Rabbi Yehuda says: It is stated here,

with regard to the construction of Moses’ altar,

“square,” and it is stated there,

in Ezekiel’s prophecy concerning the altar of the Second Temple,

“square.” Just as there,

on the altar of the Second Temple,

from its midpoint

of the altar

he would measure,

so that the measurement mentioned in the verse was from the midpoint of the altar—that is, there were twelve cubits in every direction from the central point of the altar, totaling twenty-four cubits—

so too here,

with regard to the altar Moses made,

he would measure from its midpoint.

Therefore, when the verse says five cubits by five cubits, its intent is that the entire altar was ten cubits by ten cubits. Of these, one cubit on each side was for the corners, and one cubit on each side was for the area where the priests’ feet walked. Thus, the place of the pyre was six cubits by six cubits, and upon it Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings. According to this calculation, Solomon’s altar was eleven times larger than Moses’ altar. And since Moses’ altar had room for the sacrifice of a thousand offerings per day, Solomon’s altar had room for the sacrifice of eleven thousand offerings per day, and no more. Yet we find that Solomon sacrificed twenty-two thousand cattle and one hundred twenty thousand sheep, totaling one hundred forty-two thousand offerings, and the altar was too small to contain the offerings of that day. Therefore, Solomon had to sanctify the floor as well for the burning of offerings.

And there,

with regard to the altar of the Second Temple,

from where do we know

that the intent of the verse concerning the altar’s measurements is that he measured from its midpoint?

As it is written: “And the altar hearth was twelve in length by twelve in width, square on its four sides.” And it is taught in a beraita: “And the altar hearth”

—the place of the pyre—

twelve

cubits

in every direction,

that is, twenty-four cubits by twenty-four cubits.

Or

perhaps the intent of the verse is that the place of the pyre upon the altar

was only twelve by twelve

cubits, and no more.

When it says “on its four sides,” the verse teaches

that

from the midpoint

of the altar

he measured twelve cubits in every direction,

and the place of the pyre was twenty-four cubits by twenty-four cubits [for in the Second Temple they added another four cubits by four cubits to the altar, as explained in the Gemara below, on folio 61b]. The entire altar was thirty-two cubits by thirty-two cubits. Of these, one cubit on each side was for the foundation, one cubit on each side was for the walkway, one cubit on each side was for the corners, and one cubit on each side was for the area where the priests’ feet walked. Thus, the place of the pyre was twenty-four cubits by twenty-four cubits.

And Rabbi Yosei,

who says that the matter is to be understood according to its plain wording, and maintains that Moses’ altar was entirely five cubits by five cubits, did not interpret the verse stated concerning the altar Moses made as meaning that its measurements were taken from its midpoint.

When he derives the verbal analogy

of “square” from “square,”

it is with regard to the height

of the altar

that he derives it,

and he does not derive the verbal analogy from the verse in Ezekiel; rather, he derives it from the word “square” stated concerning the inner altar.

As it is taught in a beraita:

It is written in the verse concerning the outer altar made by Moses of copper:

“And its height shall be three cubits”—

the matter is to be understood according to its plain wording; this is the statement of Rabbi Yehuda. Rabbi Yosei says: It is stated here,

with regard to the outer altar,

“square,” and it is stated there,

with regard to the inner altar,

“square.” Just as there, its height was twice its length,

as its length was one cubit and its height was two cubits,

so too here,

with regard to the outer altar, its height was ten cubits, which was

twice its length. Rabbi Yehuda said to him: But it has already been stated: “The length of the courtyard shall be one hundred cubits, etc., and the height

of the curtains of the courtyard was only

five cubits,”

and according to Rabbi Yosei, who says that the height of the outer altar standing in the courtyard was ten cubits,

could a priest stand upon the altar

of the outer altar

with the service in his hand, while the entire people saw him from outside?

For the altar was five cubits higher than the curtains.

Rabbi Yosei said to him: But it has already been stated: “And the curtains of the courtyard, and the screen of the gate of the courtyard, which is around the Tabernacle and the altar,”

and we derive as follows:

Just as the Tabernacle

must have the curtains surrounding it at a height of

ten cubits, so too the altar

must be surrounded by curtains

ten cubits

high ,