Exodus 30:6

Before the vail] This means outside the veil and, therefore, in the Holy Place, not in the Holy of Holies, where it would be inaccessible save once a year, when the High Priest entered on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16): see on Exodus 40:5. In Hebrews 9:4, however, it is said to have stood within the Holy of Holies. There seems to have been some doubt, therefore, as to its position in the tabernacle, a fact which is reflected in the construction of this v., which is overloaded and apparently self-contradictory. The altar is before the veil, and it is also before the mercy seat. The LXX omits the words 'before the mercy seat.. testimony.' This confusion corroborates the view that this altar did not belong to the original furniture of the tabernacle: see on Exodus 30:1.