Exodus 27:3 - Exposition

His pans to receive his ashes. Literally, "to cleanse it from fat'— i.e; to receive what remained after burning the victims, which would be ashes mixed with a good deal of fat. His shovels . Those would be used in removing the ashes from the altar, and depositing them in the pans. His basins . Vessels for receiving the blood of the victims and from which it was poured on the altar. Compare Exodus 24:6 . His flesh hooks . So the Septuagint, and our translators again in 1 Samuel 2:13 . They would seem by the latter passage to have been three-pronged forks, the proper use of which was, no doubt, to arrange the various pieces, into which the victim was cut, upon the altar. His fire-pans . The word used is generally translated "censers" ( Leviticus 10:1 .; Leviticus 16:12 ; Numbers 4:14 : Numbers 16:6 , Numbers 16:17 , etc.), but sometimes "snuff-dishes" ( Exodus 25:38 ; Exodus 37:23 ). It here perhaps designates the vessels used for carrying burning embers from the altar of burnt-offering, to the altar of incense on certain occasions (Le 1 Samuel 16:12 ). Etymologically, it means simply "a receptacle.'' All the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass . Rather, "of bronze." Bronze was the usual material of utensils and implements in Egypt. Copper was scarcely used without the alloy of tin which converts it into bronze; and brass was wholly unknown. A trace of iron is sometimes found in Egyptian bronze