Text: Ezra 3:2
OT Text Referred to: Deuteronomy 12:14
Subject: Sacrificing only at the divinely chosen place
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): None
Significance: Moses commands that offerings must be presented "only in the place the LORD will choose in one of your tribal territories" (בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהוָה, bammaqom 'asher yivchar YHWH), and Ezra 3:2 records the returned exiles offering burnt offerings on the rebuilt altar in Jerusalem in strict accordance with "what is written in the Law of Moses." The returnees' rebuilding of the altar on its original site demonstrates their commitment to the Deuteronomic principle that legitimate sacrifice requires the divinely authorized location. Their first act of restoration was not building homes but reestablishing authorized worship, showing that the centralization mandate of Deuteronomy 12 governed post-exilic piety.