Tabernacle (Judaism)

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The Tabernacle (reconstruction)

The Tabernacle was a portable central place of worship for the Israelites from the time they left ancient Egypt following the Exodus, until the time its core elements were made part of the final Temple in Jerusalem about the 10th century B.C.E.. It is known in Hebrew as the Mishkan ( משכן "Place of [Divine] dwelling").

The English word "tabernacle" is derived from the Latin word tabernaculum meaning "tent, hut, booth." The word Sanctuary is also used as its name, as well as the phrase "the tent of meeting."

Etymology

The Hebrew word mishkan is related to the word to "dwell," "rest," or "to live in." The Bible often describe God as physically descending in a cloud over the Tabernacle to speak with Moses or otherwise be present among the Israelites. The word mishkan is also relates to the word presence of Shekhina, which rested within this divinely ordained mysterious structure and is also present to pious individual Jews wherever they may be.

The commandments for the Tabernacle's construction are taken from the words in the Book of Exodus when God says to Moses: "They shall make me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among them. You must make the Tabernacle (mishkan) and all its furnishings following the plan that I am showing you." (Exodus 25:8-9) Thus the idea is that God wants this structure built so that it may be a "dwelling," for His presence within the Children of Israel following the Exodus.

Description and function

Commentators differ on the exact appearance of the Tabernacle but its general description is as follows: Its courtyard was enclosed by an external perimeter. This was comprised of a rectangular fabric fence, poles, and staked cords. Its dimensions were 100 cubits long by 50 cubits wide, a cubit being approximately 20 inches. In the center of its enclosure was a rectangular sanctuary, also called the Tent of Meeting, which was draped with goats'-hair curtains and had a roof made from rams' skins. Outside the Tent of Meeting stood an altar for burnt offerings and grain offerings, at which the Aaronic priest ministered.

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Aaron in the Holy of Holies

The inner sanctuary was divided into two areas, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, or "Holy of Holies." These two compartments were separated by a curtain or veil. Entering the first space, one would see three pieces of sacred furniture: a seven-branched oil lampstand on the left (south), a table for 12 loaves of show bread on the right (north), and straight ahead before the dividing curtain (west) was an altar for incense-burning. Beyond this curtain was the cube-shaped inner room, the Holy of Holies (kodesh hakodashim). This sacred space originally contained a single article, the Ark of the covenant. However, other items were added later, including a vessel containing manna and Aaron's rod, which had miraculously budded as a sign of his divine priesthood.

The entire Tabernacle complex was carried by the Levites and erected whenever the Israelites camped, oriented to the east.

History

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Bezalel and Oholiab consult with Moses on the construction of the Tabernacle.

According to the Book of Exodus, God gives detailed instructions to Moses concerning the construction and contents of the Tabernacle while Moses is on Mount Sinai for 40 days, during which time he also receives the Ten Commandments. Specifications are give for:

• Chapter 25: materials needed, the Ark, the table for 12 showbread, the Menorah.
• Chapter 26: the Tabernacle, its beams, and partitions.
• Chapter 27: the copper (bronze) altar for burnt offerings, the Tabernacle enclosure, and holy oil.
• Chapter 28: vestments for the priests, the ephod garment, ring settings, Aaron's breastplate, robe, head-plate, tunic, turban, sashes, pants.
• Chapter 29: the procedure for the consecration of priests and the altar.
• Chapter 30: the incense altar, washstand, anointing oil, incense.

After the incident of the Golden Calf, however, the Tabernacle remains unbuilt. Instead, Moses erects a simple "tent of meeting" in which he speaks "face to face" with God (Ex. 33:7-11). Moses then intercedes for the people, and God renews the Ten Commandments after Moses spends and additional 40 days fasting on the mountain. Moses collects the congregation, impresses upon them the crucial importance of keeping the sabbath, and requests gifts for the Tabernacle sanctuary. The people respond willingly. Aaron (now in priestly garments) consults with Moses, while construction of the tabernacle nears completion.

The master craftsmen Bezaleel and Aholiab complete the instructions for making the Tabernacle and its contents, including the sacred Ark of the Covenant. Far from being a mere tent which housed the Ark, the Tabernacle is described as a richly ornate structure with secure but portable foundations of pure silver, collected from the required half-shekel offerings of 603,000 Israelite men.

Levites carry the Tabernacle through the wilderness

Aaron and his sons are solemnly consecrated as priests and clothed in their sacred garments. Then, "the glory of the Lord" fills the Tabernacle. During the Israelites's travels, whenever the cloud of God's presence lifted from above the Tabernacle, they pack up camp and leave. However:

"If the cloud did not lift, they did not set out until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the Lord was over the Tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels."

After the Israelites entered Canaan, the Tabernacle was established semi-permanently at Shiloh (Joshua 18:1). There, the Israelites cast lots to determine the distribution of land among the tribes (Joshua 19:51). Soon a dispute about centrality of the Tabernacle arose between the Israelites who had settled in Canaan proper and those—the people of Gilead, Reuben, Gad, part of the tribe of Manasseh—who had settled east of the Jordan River. Aaron's grandson Phinehas and elders of the western tribes confronted these eastern settlers, demanding: "How could you turn away from the Lord and build yourselves an altar in rebellion against him now?" (Josh 22:17) A compromise was reportedly reached in which the eastern tribes agreed not to use the altar for sacrifices, and the western delegrates allowed the altar to stand as a "a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the Lord."

The Ark and other contents of the Tabernacle are brought to their new home in the Temple of Jerusalem.

Shiloh became a place of pilgrimage for Israelites who wished to offer their tithes and sacrifices there. However, despite the above recognition of Shiloh's centrality in Joshua's time, local altars were also allowed at such sacred sites such as the high places of Gilgal, Bethel, Ramtha, Mizpah, and—according to Samaritan tradition—Gerizim. It was to Shiloh's Tabernacle and its priest Eli that Hanna, the prophet Samuel's mother came to pray for the birth of a son. However, the Tabernacle soon became a place of infamy when Eli's sons abused their positions to commit fornication with women who served at the Tabernacle's entrance (1 Samuel 2:22). The Ark itself would soon be captured by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4). In the days of the prophet Samuel and King Saul, Shiloh's Tabernacle remained an important site of authorized Israelite sacrifice.

Later, when King David conquered Jerusalem, he transfered the Ark of the Covenant to a shrine in his new capital, while Shiloh continued as a center of both priestly and prophetic activity. When Solomon built the Temple of Jerusalem, however, the main elements of the Tabernacle were incorporated into the newly built permanent temple. In the biblical narrative, the Temple of Jerusalem replaces the Tabernacle as the central dwelling place of God.

Later, the prophet prophet Ahijah of Shiloh would appoint Jeroboam I to oppose Solomon's son Rehoboam as king of the northern Kingdom of Israel. Ahijah would soon turn against Jeroboamm however, when he bypassed Shiloh to establish nearby Bethel as a national shrine.

Artist's impression of the Ark of the Covenant

Blueprint for synagogues

Synagogue construction over the last two thousand years has followed the outlines of the original Tabernacle, which was of course also the outline for the temples in Jerusalem until they were destroyed. Every synagogue has at its front an ark, aaron kodesh, containing the Torah 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.

A modern Menorah replica (right)

There is also usually a constantly lighted lamp, ner tamid, or a candelabrum lighted during services, near this spot similar to the original Menorah. At the center of the synagogue is a large elevated area, known as the bimah 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 the priests, kohanim, gather at the front of the synagogue to bless the congregation as did their priestly ancestors in the Tabernacle from Aaron onwards.

Prayer in the Tabernacle

Twice a day a priest would stand in front of the golden prayer altar and burn fragrant incense. Other procedures were also carried out in the Tabernacle.

Other uses

Within Catholicism, a tabernacle is a cupboard or boxlike receptical for the exclusive reservation of the blessed Sacrament - the bread and wine used during the rite of Holy Communion. In the Early Christian times such tabernacles containing the sacred species were kept within private houses where Christians met for church, for fear of possible persecution.

The Tabernacle is also seen in some Christian circles as representing Jesus Christ.

Some rabbis have commented on the proximity of the narrative of the Tabernacle with that of the episode known as the sin of the Golden Calf which begins in the Book of Exodus 32:1-6 [1]. 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. Others scholars, such as Nachmanides 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.

External links

• [An exact, full-scale replica of the Tabernacle is under construction!
• An excellent study of the Tabernacle in everyday English
• The offerings of the Tabernacle
• The Tabernacle and its contents, in Hebrew, with many diagrams
• Jewish Encyclopedia article
• Tabernacle model Christian Perspective
• Tabernacle Model and Free Tabernacle Lessons
• Tabernacle from a Christian Perspective - Thomas Newberry editor of the Newberry Reference Bible
• The Tabernacle model at Glencaírn museum
• "Tabernacle Shadows"

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