Original Word: מַדְבַּח
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: madbach
Pronunciation: mad-bay'-akh
Phonetic Spelling: (mad-bakh')
KJV: altar
NASB: altar
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) from H168 (אוֹהֶל - tent)4]

1. a sacrificial altar

altar

(Aramaic) from dbach; a sacrificial altar -- altar.

see HEBREW dbach

Word Origin
(Aramaic) from debach
Definition
an altar
NASB Translation
altar (1).

[מַדְבַּח] noun [masculine] altar; — emphatic מַדְבְּחָא Ezra 7:17.

Meaning and Setting in Ezra 7:17

The single Old Testament occurrence of מַדְבַּח appears in the Aramaic section of Ezra, where King Artaxerxes authorises Ezra to purchase animals and supplies “to offer them upon the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem” (Ezra 7:17). The word points specifically to the great altar in the temple courts, the divinely ordained place where blood was shed and offerings ascended in smoke before the Lord.

Historical Background and Second-Temple Importance

1. Post-exilic priority. After the return from Babylon, re-establishing sacrificial worship was the community’s first corporate act (Ezra 3:2–3). By the time of Ezra 7, the altar already stood, yet continued royal provisioning underscored its centrality.
2. Imperial acknowledgment. Artaxerxes’ decree shows a pagan ruler recognising Israel’s worship as essential for civic peace (Ezra 7:23). God thus used a Gentile monarch to sustain the very altar that symbolised His exclusive covenant with Israel.
3. Continuity with the Tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple. Though the first temple had been destroyed, the restored altar followed the same pattern given at Sinai (Exodus 27:1-8) and later enlarged by Solomon (2 Chronicles 4:1). Ezra’s generation therefore stood in an unbroken liturgical line reaching back to Moses.

Theology of the Altar

• Place of substitutionary atonement. The daily burnt offering (Numbers 28:3-4) proclaimed that sin demands death, yet God accepts a substitute.
• Covenant fellowship. Peace offerings were eaten before the Lord, expressing restored communion (Leviticus 7:15).
• Public witness. Positioned in the open court, the altar preached visibly that access to God requires blood (Hebrews 9:22).

Typological and Christological Fulfillment

The altar anticipates Jesus Christ, who is simultaneously the sacrifice, the priest, and the place where God meets sinners. “We have an altar from which those who serve at the tabernacle have no right to eat” (Hebrews 13:10), a reference to the cross where the true Lamb was offered once for all (Hebrews 10:12). Thus the solitary mention of מַדְבַּח in Ezra looks forward to the singular, sufficient sacrifice of Calvary.

Implications for Worship and Ministry Today

1. Centrality of the cross. Christian worship must keep Christ’s atoning work before the congregation as prominently as the bronze altar dominated the temple court (1 Corinthians 2:2).
2. Cheerful giving for gospel advance. Just as royal funds sustained temple offerings, believers are urged to supply the needs of the church’s mission (2 Corinthians 9:7-11).
3. Holiness of public worship. The meticulous care for altar service in Ezra reminds modern assemblies that God is not approached casually (Hebrews 12:28-29).
4. Prayer for civil authorities. Artaxerxes’ decree illustrates how God can move rulers to support His people (Proverbs 21:1; 1 Timothy 2:2).

Key Related Passages

Genesis 22:9; Exodus 27:1-8; Leviticus 9:7-24; 2 Chronicles 4:1; Ezra 3:2-6; Ezra 7:17-23; Psalm 118:27; Isaiah 6:6-7; Hebrews 9:11-14; Hebrews 13:10-12.

Summary

מַדְבַּח in Ezra 7:17 encapsulates the restored community’s heartbeat of sacrificial worship, ties that moment to the entire biblical altar tradition, and foreshadows the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ, encouraging the church to keep the cross at the centre of doctrine, devotion, and practice.

מַדְבְּחָ֔ה מדבחה maḏ·bə·ḥāh madbeChah maḏbəḥāhInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts