Augustine of Hippo : When speaking of the rings of the altar of incense, altar that should be gilded, not covered with bronze, it is said: You will make two rings of pure gold under its molded mold, at its sides. You will do them on both sides (Exodus 30,4) As the Greek says: eis tà dúo klíte poiésis in tois dusi pleurois, and klíte means sides and pleura also means sides, some Latin translators have translated: In two parts you will do them on both sides. But the Greek does not say mére, which means parts, but klíte, which means sides. This word appears in that psalm that says: Your wife as a fruitful vine on the sides of your house (Sal 127,3). And for that reason, it is only necessary to pay attention to the case, because first he put accusative and then ablative: you will do them on both sides (accusative); on its two sides (ablative). In any case, it is difficult to know what the meaning is. As the Scripture usually uses the ellipsis, omitting something that needs to be replaced, perhaps here too the word will have to be replaced, in which case the meaning would be: You will do them on both sides, they will be on both sides, that is, you will make the rings sideways, they will be on both sides. 132 (Exodus 30.4). And there will be arches for the poles, so that it is transported through them. To the objects that he used to call rings he now calls them arches. Naturally speaking of rings instead of round handles. And a ring or a circle, what is it but a closed arch everywhere? For that reason, some translators did not want to put bows, and translated that word for boxes, in which the poles would be inserted. And they gave this translation: And there will be boxes for the poles, as if the Greek could not have put that word (theca: box), when theca is also a Greek word. The text, on the other hand, has psalídes, which means arcs. 133 (Exodus 30.8). He will burn it on him as a continual incense in the presence of the Lord in his generations. He calls it continuous incense, because it had to be offered continuously, without any interruption. By prescribing what pertained to the altar of incense, to the altar in which only incense was put, not the burnt offering, the sacrifice, or the drink offering, the Lord had commanded that the same incense be offered daily. But now it says: And Aaron shall make the propitiation or make the prayer on the horns of the altar once a year with the blood of the purification of sins, of the propitiation. Depropitiationis (of the propitiation) comes from depropitiatio (propitiation), which corresponds to the Greek word exilasmós. Therefore, it is necessary to understand that what he commands to do once a year to have propitiation to God on the horns of the altar of incense, that is, so that with the blood of the purification of sins, with the blood of the victims they offer themselves for sins, once a year they touch the horns of the altar of incense, it does not belong to that action of putting the incense that they had commanded to do every day. For that act was done with aromas, not blood, and every day, not once a year. Therefore, it is not necessary to think that the priest used to enter once a year in the saint of the saints, but that he entered once a year with the blood, and, naturally, he used to enter every day without the blood to put the incense . But with the blood came only once a year. And this must be understood in this way, mainly, by what is said next: Once a year he will purify it; He is the saint of the saints for the Lord (Exodus 30,16). He will not put the incense there once a year, because God commanded to put it every day. But once a year he will purify it. And this ordered that he take control of the blood. And then he adds: He is the saint of the saints for the Lord. And so, if the saint of the saints was not outside, but inside the veil, surely the altar that is now mentioned, which he commanded to be placed before the veil, ordered that it also be placed inside. — QUESTIONS ON EXODUS, Q. 131 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)