In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “typically made of earth”. Today it says “outdoor altar of the tabernacle and temples in jerusalem”. 2 sections present on 6 October 2023 are absent today.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the October 6, 2023 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in October 6, 2023
Altars ( , mizbeaḥ , "a place of slaughter or sacrifice") in the Hebrew Bible were typically made of earth ( Exodus 20:24 ) or unwrought stone ( 20:25 ). Altars were generally erected in conspicuous places ( Genesis 22:9 ; Ezekiel 6:3 ; 2 Kings 23:12 ; 16:4 ; 23:8 ). The first time the word altar is mentioned and recorded in the Hebrew Bible is that it was erected by Noah , although it does not specify that there was an altar in ( Genesis 4:3–4 ).1 Other altars were erected by Abraham ( Genesis 12:7 ; 13:4 ; 13:18 ; 22:9 ), by Isaac ( Genesis 26:25 ), by Jacob ( 33:20 ; 35:1–3 ), by Moses ( Exodus 17:15 ), and by Saul (1 Samuel 14:35). After the theophany on biblical Mount Sinai , in the Tabernacle , and afterwards in the Temple in Jerusalem , only two altars are mentioned: the Altar of Burnt Offering and the Altar of Incense.
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 1171301111.
The opening as it stood in 2010
Altars ( Hebrew : מזבח , mizbe'ah , "a place of slaughter or sacrifice") in the Hebrew Bible were typically made of earth ( Exodus 20:24 ) or unwrought stone ( 20:25 ). Altars were generally erected in conspicuous places ( Genesis 22:9 ; Ezekiel 6:3 ; 2 Kings 23:12 ; 16:4 ; 23:8 .) The first altar recorded in the Hebrew Bible is that erected by Noah ( Genesis 8:20 ). Altars were erected by Abraham ( Genesis 12:7 ; 13:4 ; 22:9 ), by Isaac ( Genesis 26:25 ), by Jacob ( 33:20 ; 35:1–3 ), and by Moses ( Exodus 17:15 , Adonai-nissi ). After the theophany on Mount Sinai , in the Tabernacle —and afterwards in the Temple —only two altars were used: the Altar of Burnt Offering, and the Altar of Incense.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 366416602.
The opening as it stood in 2015
Altars ( , mizbe'ah , "a place of slaughter or sacrifice") in the Hebrew Bible were typically made of earth ( Exodus 20:24 ) or unwrought stone ( 20:25 ). Altars were generally erected in conspicuous places ( Genesis 22:9 ; Ezekiel 6:3 ; 2 Kings 23:12 ; 16:4 ; 23:8 .) The first altar recorded in the Hebrew Bible is that erected by Noah ( Genesis 8:20 ). Altars were erected by Abraham ( Genesis 12:7 ; 13:4 ; 22:9 ), by Isaac ( Genesis 26:25 ), by Jacob ( 33:20 ; 35:1–3 ), and by Moses ( Exodus 17:15 , Adonai-nissi ). After the theophany on Mount Sinai , in the Tabernacle —and afterwards in the Temple —only two altars were used: the Altar of Burnt Offering, and the Altar of Incense.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 664376416.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Altars ( , mizbeaḥ , "a place of slaughter or sacrifice") in the Hebrew Bible were typically made of earth ( Exodus 20:24 ) or unwrought stone ( 20:25 ). Altars were generally erected in conspicuous places ( Genesis 22:9 ; Ezekiel 6:3 ; 2 Kings 23:12 ; 16:4 ; 23:8 ). The first altar recorded in the Hebrew Bible is that erected by Noah ( Genesis 8:20 ). Altars were erected by Abraham ( Genesis 12:7 ; 13:4 ; 22:9 ), by Isaac ( Genesis 26:25 ), by Jacob ( 33:20 ; 35:1–3 ), and by Moses ( Exodus 17:15 ). After the theophany on biblical Mount Sinai , in the Tabernacle –and afterwards in the Temple –only two altars are mentioned: the Altar of Burnt Offering, and the Altar of Incense.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 955163763.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Place of slaughter or sacrifice Altars ( Hebrew : מִזְבֵּחַ , mīzbēaḥ , "a place of slaughter or sacrifice") in the Hebrew Bible were typically made of earth ( Exodus 20:24 ) or unwrought stone ( 20:25 ). Altars were generally erected in conspicuous places ( Genesis 22:9 ; Ezekiel 6:3 ; 2 Kings 23:12 ; 16:4 ; 23:8 ). The first time the word altar is mentioned and recorded in the Hebrew Bible is that it was erected by Noah , it does specify that there was an altar in ( Genesis 8:20 ). Other altars were erected by Abraham ( Genesis 12:7 ; 13:4 ; 13:18 ; 22:9 ), by Isaac ( Genesis 26:25 ), by Jacob ( 33:20 ; 35:1–3 ), by Moses ( Exodus 17:15 ), and by Saul (1 Samuel 14:35). After the theophany on Biblical Mount Sinai , in the Tabernacle , and afterwards in the Temple in Jerusalem , only two altars are mentioned: the Altar of Burnt Offering and the Altar of Incense.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1291929882. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “typically made of earth”. Today it says “outdoor altar of the tabernacle and temples in jerusalem”. 2 sections present on 6 October 2023 are absent today. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
typically made of earth
Now
outdoor altar of the tabernacle and temples in jerusalem
Sections that no longer exist
Present on October 6, 2023, absent today, with no near-matching heading in the current article and the article shorter overall, so this is not a renamed heading or a topic absorbed into a fuller treatment. 2 sections of 400 characters or more gone since October 6 2023, with the article 2,759 characters shorter.
Altar of burnt offering
Altar of incense
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
