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According to theHebrew Bible, thetabernacle (Hebrew:מִשְׁכָּן,romanized: miškān,lit. 'residence, dwelling place'), also known as theTent of the Congregation (Hebrew:אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד,romanized: ʔohel mōʕēḏ, alsoTent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by theIsraelites fromthe Exodus until the conquest ofCanaan.Moses was instructed atMount Sinai to construct and transport the tabernacle[1] with the Israelites on their journey through the wilderness and their subsequent conquest of thePromised Land. After 440 years,Solomon's Temple inJerusalem superseded it as the dwelling-place of God.
The main source describing the tabernacle is the biblicalBook of Exodus, specifically Exodus 25–31 and 35–40. Those passages describe an inner sanctuary, theHoly of Holies, created by the veil suspended by four pillars. This sanctuary contained theArk of the Covenant, with itscherubim-coveredmercy seat. An outer sanctuary (the "Holy Place") contained a gold lamp-stand or candlestick. On the north side stood a table, on which lay theshowbread. On the south side was theMenorah, holding seven oil lamps to give light. On the west side, just before the veil, was the goldenaltar of incense.[2] It was constructed of 4 woven layers of curtains and 48 15-foot tall standing wood boards overlaid in gold and held in place by its bars and silver sockets and was richly furnished with valuable materials taken from Egypt at God's command.
The English wordtabernacle derives from theLatintabernāculum (meaning "tent" or "hut"), which inancient Roman religion was a ritual structure.[3][4][5] The Hebrew wordmishkan implies "dwell", "rest", or "to live in".[6][7] InGreek, including theSeptuagint, the Hebrew is translated σκηνή (skēnē), itself aSemitic loanword meaning "tent".[8]
Biblical scholar Michael B. Hundley argues that the Priestly source uses the terms "tabernacle" and "tent of meeting" in a complementary way to emphasize the sacred tent’s dual function as a divine dwelling place on earth and a place where the resident deity meets with his people.[9]
Dr. Hacham Isaac S. D. Sassoon argued that the Priestly source’s focus on the Tabernacle, rather than the Temple, serves as a post-exilic critique of the idea of rebuilding a stationary Temple, presenting the mobile Tabernacle as a divinely-ordained permanent structure for the Israelites.[10]
A detailed description of a tabernacle, located inExodus chapters 25–27 andExodus chapters 35–40, refers to an inner shrine, theHoly of Holies, housing the ark, and an outer chamber with the six-branch seven-lampTemple menorah, table forshowbread, and analtar of incense.[2] An enclosure containing the sacrificial altar andbronze laver for the priests to wash surrounded these chambers.[2]
Traditional scholars contend that it describes an actual tabernacle used in the time of Moses and thereafter.[6] This view is based on the existence of significant parallels between the biblical Tabernacle and similar structures from ancient Egypt during the Late Bronze Age.[11][12]
The detailed outlines for the tabernacle and its priests are enumerated in the Book of Exodus:
Liane Feldman holds that there are contrasting descriptions of the Meeting Tent in the Pentateuch, where the Priestly source presents a large, ornate tent at the center of the Israelite community, while a non-priestly strand describes a smaller, simpler tent for Moses, which in her view demonstrates the composite nature of the Pentateuch and differing perspectives within it.[13][page needed]
Benjamin D. Sommer suggests that while the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle was reserved for God’s presence, the main room featured a metal menorah with six branches on each side, potentially echoing theasherah, which he thinks was used in the cult ofYahweh.[14]
Some interpreters assert the Tent of the Presence was a special meeting place outside the camp, unlike the Tabernacle which was placed in the center of the camp.[15][16] According toExodus 33:7–11, this tent was for communion withYahweh, to receive oracles and to understand the divine will.[17] Thepeople's elders were the subject of a remarkable prophetic event at the site of this tent inNumbers 11:24–30.[18]
In Exodus 31, the main builder and maker of thepriestly vestments is specified asBezalel, son of Uri son ofHur of thetribe of Judah, who was assisted byOholiab and a number of skilled artisans.[19]
During theExodus, thewandering in the desert and theconquest of Canaan, the Tabernacle was in part a portable tent, and in part a wooden enclosure draped with ten curtains, of blue (tekhelet תְּכֵלֶת), purple (’argāmān אַרְגָּמָן), and scarlet (šānî שָׁנִי) fabric. It had a rectangular, perimeter fence of fabric, poles and staked cords. This rectangle was always erected when the Israelite tribes would camp, oriented to the east as the east side had no frames. In the center of this enclosure was a rectangular sanctuary draped with goat-hair curtains, with the roof coverings made from rams' skins.[19]
Beyond this curtain was the cube-shaped inner room, theKodesh Hakedashim (Holy of Holies). This area housed theArk of the Covenant, inside which were the two stone tablets brought down from Mount Sinai by Moses on which were written theTen Commandments, a golden urn holding themanna, andAaron's rod which had budded and borne ripe almonds (Exodus 16:33–34,Numbers 17:1–11,Deuteronomy 10:1–5;Hebrews 9:2–5).
Tachash is referred to fifteen times in theHebrew Bible;[20][21] 13 of these refer to the roof coverings.
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There is a strict set of rules to be followed for transporting the tabernacle laid out in theHebrew Bible. For example:
You must put the Levites in charge of the tabernacle of the Covenant, along with its furnishings and equipment. They must carry the tabernacle and its equipment as you travel, and they must care for it and camp around it. Whenever the Tabernacle is moved, the Levites will take it down and set it up again. Anyone else who goes too near the tabernacle will be executed.
Twice a day, a priest would stand in front of the golden prayer altar and burn fragrant incense.[22] Other procedures were also carried out in the tabernacle:
An Israelite healed oftzaraath would be presented by the priest who had confirmed his healing "at the door of the tabernacle of meeting",[23] and a woman healed of prolongedmenstruation would present her offering (two turtledoves or two young pigeons) to the priest "at the door of the tabernacle of meeting".[24]
It was at the door of the tabernacle that the community wept in sorrow when all the chiefs of the people wereimpaled and the men who had joined in worship to theBaal of Peor were killed on God's orders.[25]
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During the conquest ofCanaan, the main Israelite camp was atGilgal (Joshua 4:19;5:8–10) and the tabernacle was probably erected within the camp:Joshua 10:43ESV "…and returned into the camp" (seeNumbers 1:52–2:34 "…they shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side").
After the conquest anddivision of the land among the tribes, the tabernacle was moved toShiloh inEphraimite territory (Joshua's tribe) to avoid disputes among the other tribes (Joshua 18:1;19:51;22:9;Psalm 78:60). It remained there during most of therule of the Judges.[26][27] According to a possible translation ofJudges 20:26–28, the Ark, and thus the tabernacle, was atBethel while Phinehas, grandson of Aaron, was alive.
After the Ark of the Covenant was captured by thePhilistines, the subsequent history of the tabernacle is separate from that of the Ark, even after the latter was returned. Under KingSaul, the tabernacle was eventually moved toNob, near Saul's home town ofGibeah, but after he massacred the priests there (1 Samuel 21–22), it was moved toGibeon, a hill-shrine (1 Chronicles 16:39;21:29;2 Chronicles 1:2–6, 13).[28] Just prior toDavid's moving the ark to Jerusalem, the ark was located inKiriath-Jearim (1 Chronicles 13:5–6).
The Ark was eventually brought to Jerusalem, where it was placed "inside the tent David had pitched for it" (2 Samuel 6:17;1 Chronicles 15:1), not in the tabernacle, which remained at Gibeon. The altar of the tabernacle at Gibeon was used for sacrificial worship (1 Chronicles 16:39;21:29;1 Kings 3:2–4), until Solomon brought the structure and its furnishings to Jerusalem to furnish and dedicate the Temple (1 Kings 8:4).[29]
There is no mention of the tabernacle in the Tanakh after thedestruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians in c. 587 BCE.
Some rabbis have commented on the proximity of the narrative of the tabernacle with that of the episode known as the sin of thegolden calf recounted inExodus 32:1–6.Maimonides asserts that the tabernacle and its accoutrements, such as the golden Ark of the Covenant and the golden Menorah were meant as "alternates" to the human weakness and needs for physical idols as seen in the golden calf episode.[30] Other scholars, such asNachmanides, disagree and maintain that the tabernacle's meaning is not tied in with the golden calf, but instead symbolizes higher mystical lessons that symbolize God's constant closeness to the Children of Israel.[31]
Synagogue construction over the last two thousand years has followed the outlines of the original tabernacle.[32][33] Every synagogue has at its front an ark,aron kodesh, containing theTorah scrolls, comparable to the Ark of the Covenant which contained the tablets with Ten Commandments. This is the holiest spot in a synagogue, equivalent to the Holy of Holies.
There is also usually a constantly lighted lamp,Ner tamid, or a candelabrum, lighted during services, near a spot similar to the position of the original Menorah. At the center of the synagogue is a large elevated area, known as thebimah, where the Torah is read. This is equivalent to the tabernacle's altars upon which incense and animal sacrifices were offered. On the main holidays thepriests gather at the front of the synagogue to bless the congregation as did their priestly ancestors in the tabernacle from Aaron onwards (Numbers 6:22–27).[34]
Some Christian churches are built like a tent, to symbolize the tent of God with men, includingSt. Matthew Cathedral, São Mateus, Brazil,Zu den heiligen Engeln (To the Holy Angels),Hanover, Germany and theCardboard Cathedral, Christchurch, New Zealand.[35]
Amashkhannaࡌࡀࡔࡊࡍࡀmaškna (Hebrew cognateמִשְׁכַּןmishkān),[36]Beth Mandaࡁࡉࡕ ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀ,Beit Manda, orMandi ('house of knowledge'),[37] is a cultic hut and place of worship for followers ofMandaeism. AMashkhanna must be built beside a river in order to performmaṣbuta (baptism) and other ceremonies becauseLiving Water is an essential element in theMandaean faith.[37]
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Souvay, Charles Léon (1913)."Tabernacle". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906)."Tabernacle".The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 19 (2nd ed.). New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 419. This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Walter Drum (1913)."Synagogue". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. John J. Tierney (1913)."High Priest". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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