The KJV Holy Bible

 

Exodus Chapter Twenty Seven

 

1 And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.

2 And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass.

3 And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass.

4 And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof.

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.

6 And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass.

7 And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it.

8 Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.

9 And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side:

10 And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver.

11 And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.

12 And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.

13 And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.

14 The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.

15 And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.

16 And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four.

17 All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass.

18 The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.

19 All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.

20 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.

21 In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the Lord: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

 

 

Esoteric Interpretation & Commentary

 

The Hermetic Blueprint of Exodus: The Brazen Altar and the Perpetual Light of the Mind

"Exodus Chapter Twenty-Seven moves the Alchemical focus outward from the delicate Inner sanctuaries to the rugged Outer Court of the Tabernacle. This is the domain of physical manifestation and the arena of Active Psychological Transmutation. Here, the Adept is instructed to construct the Brazen Altar—the great crucible where the heavy, base animal passions and lower egoic attachments must be Consciously surrendered and burned away. The chapter also establishes the strict boundaries of the Conscious, Waking Life (the Court) and concludes with the profound formula for sustaining the Inner Illumination of the Soul: the extraction of the Pure, beaten oil of Spiritual Discipline."

 

 

Verses 1-8: The Brazen Altar and the Transmutation of the Lower Nature - "And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood... and thou shalt overlay it with brass. And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof... And thou shalt make all the vessels thereof of brass. And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass... Hollow with boards shalt thou make it..." 

In Hermetic anatomy, the Brazen Altar (the Altar of Burnt Offering) Represents the Disciplined physical body and the Active, Fiery Crucible of Daily Life. Unlike the Inner Ark which is overlaid with pure gold (Spirit), this altar is overlaid with brass—the Alchemical alloy symbolizing the fortified, tested, and enduring physical nature. This altar is placed in the Outer Court because the Conscious sacrifice of the lower self must occur before the Mind can enter the Inner sanctum. The "offerings" are strictly Psychological: the Adept places their base, animalistic desires, earthly ambitions, and lower passions upon the grate, allowing the Active Fire of the Spiritual Will to completely consume them. The Four horns represent the projection of the Will's Authority into the Four directions of the material plane.

 

 

Verses 9-19: The Outer Court and the Demarcation of the Waking Life - "And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen... All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass. All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass." 

The Outer Court represents the Adept's Conscious, everyday interactions with the physical world. While the Inner Tabernacle is hidden, the Court is exposed to the elements, yet clearly separated from the chaotic, Unawakened "wilderness" by a perimeter of fine twined linen (Purity of Action). The pillars of this boundary rest in sockets of brass (firm physical grounding) but are capped with silver (Receptive Intuition and Spiritual Reflection). This teaches that even in mundane, earthly activities, the Adept must maintain a strict, Purified Psychological boundary. The waking Life must be firmly grounded in physical Reality, yet perpetually guided by Higher Intuition, ensuring the chaotic vibrations of the profane world cannot pollute the space where Transmutation occurs.

 

 

Verses 20-21: The Pure Beaten Oil and the Sustained Flame of Consciousness - "And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the Lord: it shall be a statute for ever..." 

This is one of the most vital secrets of sustained Spiritual Illumination. The Golden Candlestick (from Chapter 25) cannot burn on its own; it requires fuel. The "pure oil olive beaten for the light" is the Highest Alchemical Essence of the Soul's Experiences. The olive Represents Divine Wisdom and Peace, but the oil must be beaten—meaning True Spiritual fuel is not gained passively. It is extracted through the heavy friction, Discipline, and grinding trials of earthly Life. The Rational Intellect (Aaron) must tend this Flame Continuously "from evening to morning," meaning through the dark nights of Psychological trial and into the dawn of Illumination. The Light of Gnosis must be meticulously and Consciously maintained; if the Adept stops applying Discipline (beating the oil), the Inner Consciousness will quickly extinguish.