NAVE: Tabernacle Temple
EBD: Tabernacle Temple
SMITH: TABERNACLE TEMPLE
BAKER: Tabernacle Temple
BRIDGEWAY: TABERNACLE TEMPLE
Temple
COURT OF THE SANCTUARY; TABERNACLE; TEMPLE [isbe]
COURT OF THE SANCTUARY; TABERNACLE; TEMPLE - kort, sank'~-tu-a-ri: By "court" (chatser) is meant a clear space enclosed by curtains or walls, or surrounded by buildings. It was always an uncovered enclosure, but might have within its area one or more edifices.1. The Tabernacle:
The first occurrence of the word is in Ex 27:9, where it is commanded to "make the court of the tabernacle." The dimensions for this follow in the directions for the length of the linen curtains which were to enclose it. From these we learn that the perimeter of the court was 300 cubits, and that it consisted of two squares, each 75 ft., lying East and West of one another. In the westerly square stood the tabernacle, while in that to the East was the altar of burnt offering. This was the worshipper's square, and every Hebrew who passed through the entrance gate had immediate access to the altar (compare W. Robertson Smith, note on Ex 20:26, Smith, The Old Testament in the Jewish Church, 435). The admission to this scene of the national solemnities was by the great east gate described in Ex 27:13-16 (see EAST GATE).
2. Solomon's Temple:
The fundamental conception out of which grew the resolve to build a temple for the worship of Yahweh was that the new structure was to be an enlarged duplicate in stone of the tent of meeting (see TEMPLE). The doubling in size of the holy chambers was accompanied by a doubling of the enclosed area upon which the holy house was to stand. Hitherto a rectangular oblong figure of 150 ft. in length and 75 ft. in breadth had sufficed for the needs of the people in their worship. Now an area of 300 ft. in length and 150 ft. in breadth was enclosed within heavy stone walls, making, as before, two squares, each of 150 ft. This was that "court of the priests" spoken of in 2 Ch 4:9, known to its builders as "the inner court" (1 Ki 6:36; compare Jer 36:10). Its walls consisted of "three courses of hewn stone, and a course of cedar beams" (1 Ki 6:36), into which some read the meaning of colonnades. Its two divisions may have been marked by some fence. The innermost division, accessible only to the priests, was the site of the new temple. In the easterly division stood the altar of sacrifice; into this the Hebrew laity had access for worship at the altar. Later incidental allusions imply the existence of "chambers" in the court, and also the accessibility of the laity (compare Jer 35:4; 36:10; Ezek 8:16).
3. The Great Court:
In distinction from this "inner" court a second or "outer" court was built by Solomon, spoken of by the Chronicler as "the great court" (2 Ch 4:9). Its doors were overlaid with brass (bronze). Wide difference of opinion obtains as to the relation of this outer court to the inner court just described, and to the rest of the Solomonic buildings--particularly to "the great court" of "the house of the forest of Lebanon" of 1 Ki 7:9,10. Some identify the two, others separate them. Did this court, with its brass-covered gates, extend still farther to the East than the temple "inner" court, with, however, the same breadth as the latter? Or was it, as Keil thinks, a much larger enclosure, surrounding the whole temple area, extending perhaps 150 cubits eastward in front of the priests' court (compare Keil, Biblical Archaeology, I, 171, English translation)? Yet more radical is the view, adopted by many modern authorities, which regards "the great court" as a vast enclosure surrounding the temple and the whole complex of buildings described in 1 Ki 7:1-12 (see the plan, after Stade, in G. A. Smith's Jerusalem, II, 59). In the absence of conclusive data the question must be left undetermined.
4. Ezekiel's Temple:
In Ezekiel's plan of the temple yet to be built, the lines of the temple courts as he had known them in Jerusalem are followed. Two squares enclosed in stone walling, each of 150 ft., lie North and South of one another, and bear the distinctive names, "the inner court" and "the outer court" (Ezek 8:16; 10:5).
5. Temple of Herod:
In the Herodian temple the old nomenclature gives place to a new set of terms. The extensive enclosure known later as "the court of the Gentiles" does not appear under that name in the New Testament or in Josephus What we have in the tract Middoth of the Mishna and in Josephus is the mention of two courts, the "court of the priests" and "the court of Israel" (Middoth, ii.6; v. 1; Josephus, BJ, V, v, 6). The data in regard to both are difficult and conflicting. In Middoth they appear as long narrow strips of 11 cubits in breadth extending at right angles to the temple and the altar across the enclosure--the "court of Israel" being railed off from the "court of the priests" on the East; the latter extending backward as far as the altar, which has a distinct measurement. The design was to prevent the too near approach of the lay Israelite to the altar. Josephus makes the 11 cubits of the "court of Israel" extend round the whole "court of the priests, " inclusive of altar and temple (see TEMPLE; and compare G. A. Smith, Jerusalem, II, 506-9, with the reconstruction of Waterhouse in Sacred Sites of the Gospels, 111 ff). For the "women's court," see TREASURY.
Many expressions in the Psalms show how great was the attachment of the devout-minded Hebrew in all ages to those courts of the Lord's house where he was accustomed to worship (e.g. Ps 65:4; 84:2; 92:13; 96:8; 100:4; 116:19). The courts were the scene of many historical events in the Old Testament and New Testament, and of much of the earthly ministry of Jesus. There was enacted the scene described in the parable of the Pharisee and Publican (Lk 18:10-14).
W. Shaw Caldecott
Tabernacle [nave]
TABERNACLEOne existed before Moses received the pattern authorized on Mount Sinai, Ex. 33:7-11.
The one instituted by Moses was called Sanctuary, Ex. 25:8; Tabernacle, Ex. 27:21; 33:7; 2 Chr. 5:5; of Testimony, Ex. 38:21; Num. 1:50; 17:7, 8; 2 Chr. 24:6; Temple of the Lord, 1 Sam. 1:9; 3:3; House of the Lord, Josh. 6:24.
Pattern of, revealed to Moses, Ex. 25:9; 26:30; 39:32, 42, 43; Acts 7:44; Heb. 8:5.
Materials for, voluntarily offered, Ex. 25:1-8; 35:4-29; 36:3-7.
Value of the substance contributed for, Ex. 38:24-31.
Workmen who constructed it were inspired, Ex. 31:1-11; 35:30-35.
Description of: Frame, Ex. 26:15-37; 36:20-38.
Outer covering, Ex. 25:5; 26:7-14; 36:14-19.
Second covering, Ex. 25:5; 26:14; 35:7, 23; 36:19; 39:34.
Curtains of, Ex. 26:1-14, 31-37; 27:9-16; 35:15, 17; 36:8-19, 35, 37; Court of, Ex. 27:9-17; 38:9-16, 18; 40:8, 33.
Holy place of, Ex. 26:31-37; 40:22-26; Heb. 9:2-6, 8.
The most holy place, Ex. 26:33-35; 40:20, 21; Heb. 9:3-5, 7, 8.
Furniture of, Ex. 25:10-40; 27:1-8, 19; 37; 38:1-8.
See: Altar; Ark; Lampstand; Cherubim; Laver; Mercy Seat; Consecrated Bread.
Completed, Ex. 39:32.
Dedicated, Num. 7.
Sanctified, Ex. 29:43; 40:9-16; Num. 7:1.
Anointed with holy oil, Ex. 30:25, 26; Lev. 8:10; Num. 7:1.
Sprinkled with blood, Lev. 16:15-20; Heb. 9:21, 23.
Filled with the cloud of glory, Ex. 40:34-38.
How prepared for removal during the journeyings of the Israelites, Num. 1:51; 4:5-15.
How and by whom carried, Num. 4:5-33; 7:6-9.
Strangers forbidden to enter, Num. 1:51.
Duties of the Levites concerning, See: Levites.
Defilement of, punished, Lev. 15:31; Num. 19:13, 20; Ezek. 5:11; 23:38.
Duties of the priests in relation to, See: Priests.
Israelites worship at, Num. 10:3; 16:19, 42, 43; 20:6; 25:6; 1 Sam. 2:22; Psa. 27:4.
Offerings brought to, Lev. 17:4; Num. 31:54; Deut. 12:5, 6, 11-14.
Causes tried at, Deut. 12:5, 6, 11-14.
Tribes encamped around, while in the wilderness, Num. 2.
All males required to appear before, three times each year, Ex. 23:17.
Tabernacle tax, Ex. 30:11-16.
Carried in front of the children of Israel in the line of march, Num. 10:33-36; Josh. 3:3-6.
The Lord reveals himself at, Lev. 1:1; Num. 1:1; 7:89; 12:4-10; Deut. 31:14, 15.
Pitched at Gilgal, Josh. 4:18, 19; at Shiloh, Josh. 18:1; 19:51; Judg. 18:31; 20:18, 26, 27; 21:19; 1 Sam. 2:14; 4:3, 4; Jer. 7:12, 14; at Nob, 1 Sam. 21:1-6; at Gibeon, 1 Chr. 21:29.
Renewed by David, and pitched on Mount Zion, 1 Chr. 15:1; 16:1, 2; 2 Chr. 1:4.
Solomon offers sacrifice at, 2 Chr. 1:3-6.
Brought to the temple by Solomon, 2 Chr. 5:5, with 1 Kin. 8:1, 4, 5.
Symbol of spiritual things, Psa. 15:1; Heb. 8:2, 5; 9:1-12, 24.
See: Levites; Priests; Temple.
Temple [nave]
TEMPLE.Solomon's
Called also Temple of the Lord, 2 Kin. 11:10; Holy Temple, Psa. 79:1; Holy House, 1 Chr. 29:3; House of God, 1 Chr. 29:2; 2 Chr. 23:9; House of the Lord, 2 Chr. 23:5, 12; Jer. 28:5; Father's House, John 2:16; House of the God of Jacob, Isa. 2:3; House of My Glory, Isa. 60:7; House of Prayer, Isa. 56:7; Matt. 21:13; House of Sacrifice, 2 Chr. 7:12; House of their Sanctuary, 2 Chr. 36:17; Holy and Beautiful House, Isa. 64:11; Holy Mount, Isa. 27:13; Mountain of the Lord's House, Isa. 2:2; Palace, 1 Chr. 29:1, 19; Sanctuary, 2 Chr. 20:8; Tabernacle of Witness, 2 Chr. 24:6; Zion, Psa. 20:2; 48:12; 74:2; 87:2; Isa. 2:3.
Greatness of, 2 Chr. 2:5, 6.
Beauty of, Isa. 64:11.
Holiness of, 1 Kin. 8:10; 9:3; Lam. 1:10; Matt. 23:17; John 2:14-16.
David undertakes the building of, 2 Sam. 7:2, 3; 1 Chr. 22:7; 28:2; Psa. 132:2-5; Acts 7:46; forbidden of God because he was a man of war, 2 Sam. 7:4-12; 1 Kin. 5:3; 1 Chr. 22:8; 28:3.
Not asked for by God, 2 Sam. 7:7.
The building of, committed to Solomon, 2 Sam. 7:13.
David makes preparation for, 1 Chr. 22; 28:14-18; 29:1-5; 2 Chr. 3:1; 5:1.
Built by Solomon, Acts 7:47.
Solomon makes levies of men for the building of, 1 Kin. 5:13-16; 2 Chr. 2:2, 17, 18.
Materials for, furnished by Hiram, 1 Kin. 5:8-18.
Pattern and building of, 1 Kin. 6; 7:13-51; 1 Chr. 28:11-19; 2 Chr. 3; 4; Acts 7:47.
Time when begun, 1 Kin. 6:1, 37; 2 Chr. 3:2; finished, 1 Kin. 6:38.
Site of, 1 Chr. 21:28-30; 22:1; 2 Chr. 3:1; where Abraham offered Isaac, Gen. 22:2, 4.
Materials prepared for, 1 Kin. 5:17, 18.
No tools used in the erection of, 1 Kin. 6:7.
Foundations of, 1 Kin. 5:17, 18; Luke 21:5.
Apartments and furnishings of: Oracle, or holy of holies, in, 1 Kin. 6:19, 20; 8:6.
Called Most Holy House, 2 Chr. 3:8; Ier House, 1 Kin. 6:27; Holiest of All, Heb. 9:3.
Description of, 1 Kin. 6:16, 19-35; 2 Chr. 3:8-14; 4:22.
Gold used in, 2 Chr. 3:8-10.
Contents of the holy of holies: ark, 1 Kin. 6:19; 8:6; 2 Chr. 5:2-10; See: Ark; cherubim, 1 Kin. 6:23-28; 2 Chr. 3:10-13; 5:7, 8.
See: Ark; Cherubim; Vail; Mercy Seat.
Holy place, 1 Kin. 8:8, 10.
Called the Greater House, 2 Chr. 3:5; Temple, 1 Kin. 6:17.
Description of, 1 Kin. 6:15-18; 2 Chr. 3:3, 5-7, 14-17.
Contents of the holy place: The table of consecrated bread, 1 Kin. 7:48; 2 Chr. 29:18.
See: Consecrated Bread, Table of.
Other tables of gold and silver, 1 Chr. 28:16; 2 Chr. 4:18, 19.
Lampstands and their utensils, 1 Kin. 7:49, 50; 1 Chr. 28:15; 2 Chr. 4:7, 20-22.
See: Lampstand.
Altar of incense and its furniture, 1 Kin. 6:20; 7:48, 50; 1 Chr. 28:17, 18; 2 Chr. 4:19, 22.
See: Altar of Incense.
Porch of, called Porch of the Lord, 2 Chr. 15:8.
Dimensions of, 1 Kin. 6:3; 2 Chr. 3:4.
Doors of, 2 Chr. 29:7.
Overlaid with gold, 2 Chr. 3:4.
Pillars of, 1 Kin. 7:15-22; 2 Kin. 11:14; 23:3; 25:17; 2 Chr. 3:15-17; 4:12, 13.
Chambers of, 1 Kin. 6:5-10; 2 Kin. 11:2, 3.
Offerings brought to, Neh. 10:37-39.
Treasuries in, See: Treasure.
Courts of: Of the priests, 2 Chr. 4:9; ier, 1 Kin. 6:36; surrounded by rows of stones and cedar beams, 1 Kin. 6:36; 7:12.
Contents of the courts: Altar of burnt offering, 2 Chr. 15:8; See: Altar; the brazen sea, 1 Kin. 7:23-37, 44, 46; 2 Chr. 4:2-5, 10; ten bowls, 1 Kin. 7:38-46; 2 Chr. 4:6.
Great court of, 2 Chr. 4:9; Jer. 19:14; 26:2.
Covered place for the Sabbath and king's entry, 2 Kin. 16:18.
Gates of: Higher gate, 2 Kin. 15:35; new gate, Jer. 26:10; 36:10; beautiful gate, Acts 3:2; eastern gate, closed on working days, open on the Sabbath, Ezek. 46:1, 12.
Gifts received at, 2 Chr. 24:8-11.
Uses of the temple: A dwelling place of the Lord, 1 Kin. 8:10, 11, 13; 9:3; 2 Kin. 21:7; 1 Chr. 29:1; 2 Chr. 5:13, 14; 7:1-3, 16; Ezek. 10:3, 4; Mic. 1:2; to contain the ark of the covenant, 1 Kin. 8:21; for the offering of sweet incense, 2 Chr. 2:4; for the continual consecrated bread and the burnt offerings, 2 Chr. 2:4; for prayer and worship, 1 Kin. 8; 2 Kin. 19:14, 15; 2 Chr. 30:27; Isa. 27:13; 56:7; Jer. 7:2; 26:2; Ezek. 46:2, 3, 9; Zech. 7:2, 3; 8:21, 22; Mark 11:17; Luke 1:10; 2:37; 18:10; Acts 3:1; 22:17; prayer made toward, 1 Kin. 8:38; Dan. 6:10; Jonah 2:4; for an armory, 2 Kin. 11:10; 2 Chr. 23:9, 10; for refuge, 2 Kin. 11:15; Neh. 6:10, 11.
Facts about: Dedication of, 1 Kin. 8; 2 Chr. 5; 6; 7; services in, organized by David, 1 Chr. 15:16; 23:24.
Pillaged by Shishak, 1 Kin. 14:25, 26; by Jehoash, king of Israel, 2 Kin. 14:14.
Repaired by Jehoash, king of Judah, 2 Kin. 12:4-14; 2 Chr. 24:7-14; by Josiah, 2 Kin. 22:3-7; 2 Chr. 34:8-13.
Ahaz changes the pattern of the altar in, 2 Kin. 16:10-17.
Purified by Hezekiah, 2 Chr. 29:15-19.
Converted into an idolatrous shrine by Manasseh, 2 Kin. 21:4-7; 2 Chr. 33:4-7.
Treasures of, used in the purchase of peace: By Asa, from Ben-hadad, 1 Kin. 15:18; by Jehoash, king of Judah, from Hazael, 2 Kin. 12:18; by Hezekiah, from the king of Assyria, 2 Kin. 18:15, 16.
Ezekiel's vision concerning, Ezek. 8:16.
Jews swore by, Matt. 23:16-22.
Destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and the valuable contents carried to Babylon, 2 Kin. 24:13; 25:9-17; 2 Chr. 36:7, 19; Psa. 79:1; Isa. 64:11; Jer. 27:16, 19-22; 28:3; 52:13, 17-23; Lam. 2:7; 4:1; Ezra 1:7.
Vessels of, used by Belshazzar, Dan. 5:2, 3.
Destruction of, foretold, Isa. 66:6; Jer. 27:18-22; Ezek. 7:22, 25; Matt. 24:2; Mark 13:2.
Restoration of, ordered by Cyrus, Ezra 1:7-11.
The Second
Restored by Zerubbabel, Ezra 1; 2:68, 69; 3:2-13; 4; 5:2-17; 6:3-5; Neh. 7:70-72; Isa. 44:28; Hag. 2:3.
Building of, suspended, Ezra 4; resumed, Ezra 4:24; 5; 6; Hag. 1:2-9; 2:15; Zech. 8:9; finished, Ezra 6:14, 15; dedicated, Ezra 6:15-18.
Artaxerxes' favorable action toward, Ezra 7:11-28; 8:25-34.
Prophecies of its restoration, Isa. 44:28; Dan. 8:13, 14; Hag. 1; 2; Zech. 1:16; 4:8-10; 6:12-15; 8:9-15; Mal. 3:1.
Ezekiel's Vision of
Ezek. 37:26, 28; 40-48.
Herod's
Forty-six years in building, John 2:20.
Goodly stones of, Mark 13:1; Luke 21:5.
Magnificence of, Matt. 24:1.
Beautiful gate of, Acts 3:10.
Solomon's porch, John 10:23; Acts 3:11; 5:12.
Treasury of, Mark 12:41-44.
Zacharias, officiating priest in, has a vision of an angel; receives promise of a son, Luke 1:5-23, with vs. 57-64. Jesus brought to, according to the law and custom, Luke 2:21-39; Simeon blesses Jesus in, Luke 2:25-35; Aa, the prophetess, dwells in, Luke 2:36, 37.
Jesus in, when a youth, Luke 2:46; taken to the piacle of, in his temptation, Matt. 4:5-7; Luke 4:9-12; teaches in, Mark 11:27-33; 12:35-44; 14:49; John 5:14-47; 7:14-28; 8; 10:23-38; 18:20; performs miracles in, Matt. 21:14, 15; drives money changes from, Matt. 21:12, 13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45, 46; John 2:15, 16.
Captains of, Luke 22:52; Acts 4:1; 5:24, 26.
Judas casts down the pieces of silver in, Matt. 27:5.
Veil of, torn at the time of the crucifixion, Matt. 27:51.
The disciples worship in, after the resurrection, Luke 24:53; Acts 2:46; 3:1.
Peter heals the lame man at the gate of, Acts 3:1-16.
Disciples preach in, Acts 5:20, 21, 42.
Paul's vision in, Acts 22:17-21.
Paul observes the rights of, Acts 21:26-30; is apprehended in, Acts 21:33.
Prophecies concerning its destruction, by Daniel, Dan. 8:11-15; 11:30, 31.
Jesus foretells the destruction of, Matt. 24; Mark 13:2; Luke 21:6.
Figurative
Of the body of Jesus, Matt. 26:61; 27:40; John 2:19.
Of the indwelling of God, 1 Cor. 3:16, 17; 2 Cor. 6:16.
Of the Church, Eph. 2:21; 2 Thess. 2:4; Rev. 3:12.
Of the kingdom of Christ, Rev. 11; 14:15, 17.
Of Christ, the head of the Church, sending forth the forces of righteousness against the powers of evil, Rev. 15:5-8; 16:1-17.
Idolatrous
Of Dagon, at Ashdod, 1 Sam. 5:2; of the calves, at Beth-el, 1 Kin. 12:31, 33; of Rimmon, at Damascus, 2 Kin. 5:18; of Baal, at Samaria, 2 Kin. 10:21, 27; at Babylon, 2 Chr. 36:7; Dan. 1:2; of Diana, at Ephesus, Acts 19:27.
Trophies stored in, 1 Sam. 31:10; 1 Chr. 10:9, 10; Dan. 1:2.
See: Tabernacle.
Tabernacle [ebd]
(1.) A house or dwelling-place (Job 5:24; 18:6, etc.).
(2.) A portable shrine (comp. Acts 19:24) containing the image of Moloch (Amos 5:26; marg. and R.V., "Siccuth").
(3.) The human body (2 Cor. 5:1, 4); a tent, as opposed to a permanent dwelling.
(4.) The sacred tent (Heb. mishkan, "the dwelling-place"); the movable tent-temple which Moses erected for the service of God, according to the "pattern" which God himself showed to him on the mount (Ex. 25:9; Heb. 8:5). It is called "the tabernacle of the congregation," rather "of meeting", i.e., where God promised to meet with Israel (Ex. 29:42); the "tabernacle of the testimony" (Ex. 38:21; Num. 1:50), which does not, however, designate the whole structure, but only the enclosure which contained the "ark of the testimony" (Ex. 25:16, 22; Num. 9:15); the "tabernacle of witness" (Num. 17:8); the "house of the Lord" (Deut. 23:18); the "temple of the Lord" (Josh. 6:24); a "sanctuary" (Ex. 25:8).
A particular account of the materials which the people provided for the erection and of the building itself is recorded in Ex. 25-40. The execution of the plan mysteriously given to Moses was intrusted to Bezaleel and Aholiab, who were specially endowed with wisdom and artistic skill, probably gained in Egypt, for this purpose (Ex. 35:30-35). The people provided materials for the tabernacle so abundantly that Moses was under the necessity of restraining them (36:6). These stores, from which they so liberally contributed for this purpose, must have consisted in a great part of the gifts which the Egyptians so readily bestowed on them on the eve of the Exodus (12:35, 36).
The tabernacle was a rectangular enclosure, in length about 45 feet (i.e., reckoning a cubit at 18 inches) and in breadth and height about 15. Its two sides and its western end were made of boards of acacia wood, placed on end, resting in sockets of brass, the eastern end being left open (Ex. 26:22). This framework was covered with four coverings, the first of linen, in which figures of the symbolic cherubim were wrought with needlework in blue and purple and scarlet threads, and probably also with threads of gold (Ex. 26:1-6; 36:8-13). Above this was a second covering of twelve curtains of black goats'-hair cloth, reaching down on the outside almost to the ground (Ex. 26:7-11). The third covering was of rams' skins dyed red, and the fourth was of badgers' skins (Heb. tahash, i.e., the dugong, a species of seal), Ex. 25:5; 26:14; 35:7, 23; 36:19; 39:34.
Internally it was divided by a veil into two chambers, the exterior of which was called the holy place, also "the sanctuary" (Heb. 9:2) and the "first tabernacle" (6); and the interior, the holy of holies, "the holy place," "the Holiest," the "second tabernacle" (Ex. 28:29; Heb. 9:3, 7). The veil separating these two chambers was a double curtain of the finest workmanship, which was never passed except by the high priest once a year, on the great Day of Atonement. The holy place was separated from the outer court which enclosed the tabernacle by a curtain, which hung over the six pillars which stood at the east end of the tabernacle, and by which it was entered.
The order as well as the typical character of the services of the tabernacle are recorded in Heb. 9; 10:19-22.
The holy of holies, a cube of 10 cubits, contained the "ark of the testimony", i.e., the oblong chest containing the two tables of stone, the pot of manna, and Aaron's rod that budded.
The holy place was the western and larger chamber of the tabernacle. Here were placed the table for the shewbread, the golden candlestick, and the golden altar of incense.
Round about the tabernacle was a court, enclosed by curtains hung upon sixty pillars (Ex. 27:9-18). This court was 150 feet long and 75 feet broad. Within it were placed the altar of burnt offering, which measured 7 1/2 feet in length and breadth and 4 1/2 feet high, with horns at the four corners, and the laver of brass (Ex. 30:18), which stood between the altar and the tabernacle.
The whole tabernacle was completed in seven months. On the first day of the first month of the second year after the Exodus, it was formally set up, and the cloud of the divine presence descended on it (Ex. 39:22-43; 40:1-38). It cost 29 talents 730 shekels of gold, 100 talents 1,775 shekels of silver, 70 talents 2,400 shekels of brass (Ex. 38:24-31).
The tabernacle was so constructed that it could easily be taken down and conveyed from place to place during the wanderings in the wilderness. The first encampment of the Israelites after crossing the Jordan was at Gilgal, and there the tabernacle remained for seven years (Josh. 4:19). It was afterwards removed to Shiloh (Josh. 18:1), where it remained during the time of the Judges, till the days of Eli, when the ark, having been carried out into the camp when the Israelites were at war with the Philistines, was taken by the enemy (1 Sam. 4), and was never afterwards restored to its place in the tabernacle. The old tabernacle erected by Moses in the wilderness was transferred to Nob (1 Sam. 21:1), and after the destruction of that city by Saul (22:9; 1 Chr. 16:39, 40), to Gibeon. It is mentioned for the last time in 1 Chr. 21:29. A new tabernacle was erected by David at Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6:17; 1 Chr. 16:1), and the ark was brought from Perez-uzzah and deposited in it (2 Sam. 6:8-17; 2 Chr. 1:4).
The word thus rendered ('ohel) in Ex. 33:7 denotes simply a tent, probably Moses' own tent, for the tabernacle was not yet erected.
Temple [ebd]
first used of the tabernacle, which is called "the temple of the Lord" (1 Sam. 1:9). In the New Testament the word is used figuratively of Christ's human body (John 2:19, 21). Believers are called "the temple of God" (1 Cor. 3:16, 17). The Church is designated "an holy temple in the Lord" (Eph. 2:21). Heaven is also called a temple (Rev. 7:5). We read also of the heathen "temple of the great goddess Diana" (Acts 19:27).
This word is generally used in Scripture of the sacred house erected on the summit of Mount Moriah for the worship of God. It is called "the temple" (1 Kings 6:17); "the temple [R.V., 'house'] of the Lord" (2 Kings 11:10); "thy holy temple" (Ps. 79:1); "the house of the Lord" (2 Chr. 23:5, 12); "the house of the God of Jacob" (Isa. 2:3); "the house of my glory" (60:7); an "house of prayer" (56:7; Matt. 21:13); "an house of sacrifice" (2 Chr. 7:12); "the house of their sanctuary" (2 Chr. 36:17); "the mountain of the Lord's house" (Isa. 2:2); "our holy and our beautiful house" (64:11); "the holy mount" (27:13); "the palace for the Lord God" (1 Chr. 29:1); "the tabernacle of witness" (2 Chr. 24:6); "Zion" (Ps. 74:2; 84:7). Christ calls it "my Father's house" (John 2:16).
TABERNACLE [smith]
The tabernacle was the tent of Jehovah, called by the same name as the tents of the people in the midst of which it stood. It was also called the sanctuary and the tabernacle of the congregation. The first ordinance given to Moses, after the proclamation of the outline of the law from Sinai, related to the ordering of the tabernacle, its furniture and its service as the type which was to be followed when the people came to their own home and "found a place" for the abode of God. During the forty days of Moses? first retirement with God in Sinai, an exact pattern of the whole was shown him, and all was made according to it. (Exodus 25:9,40; 26:30; 39:32,42,43; Numbers 8:4; Acts 7:44; Hebrews 8:5) The description of this plan is preceded by an account of the freewill offerings which the children of Israel were to be asked to make for its execution. I. THE TABERNACLE ITSELF.--- Its name . --It was first called a tent or dwelling , (Exodus 25:8) because Jehovah as it were, abode there. It was often called tent or tabernacle from its external appearance.
- Its materials . --The materials were-- (a) Metals: gold, silver and brass. (b) Textile fabrics: blue, purple, scarlet and fine (white) linen, for the production of which Egypt was celebrated; also a fabric of goat?s hair, the produce of their own flocks. (c) Skins: of the ram, dyed red, and of the badger. (d) Wood the shittim wood, the timber of the wild acacia of the desert itself, the tree of the "burning bush." (e) Oil, spices and incense for anointing the priests and burning in the tabernacle. (f) Gems: onyx stones and the precious stones for the breastplate of the high priest. The people gave jewels, and plates of gold and silver and brass; wood, skins, hair and linen; the women wove; the rulers offered precious stones, oil, spices and incense; and the artists soon had more than they needed. (Exodus 25:1-8; 35:4-29; 36:5-7) The superintendence of the work was intrusted to Bezaleel, of the tribe of Judah, and to Aholiab, of the tribe of Dan, who were skilled in "all manner of workmanship." (Exodus 31:2,6; 35:30,34)
- Its structure. --The tabernacle was to comprise three main parts, --the tabernacle more strictly so called, its tent and its covering. (Exodus 35:11; 39:33,34; 40:19,34; Numbers 3:25) etc. These parts are very clearly distinguished in the Hebrew, but they are confounded in many places of the English version. The tabernacle itself was to consist of curtains of fine linen woven with colored figures of cherubim, and a structure of boards which was to contain the holy place and the most holy place; the tent was to be a true tent of goat?s hair cloth, to contain and shelter the tabernacle; the covering was to be of red ram-skins and seal-skins, (Exodus 25:5) and was spread over the goat?s hair tent as an additional protection against the weather. It was an oblong rectangular structure, 30 cubits in length by 10 in width (45 feet by 15), and 10 in height; the interior being divided into two chambers, the first or outer, of 20 cubits in length, the inner, of 10 cubits, and consequently and exact cube. The former was the holy place , or first tabernacle , (Hebrews 9:2) containing the golden candlestick on one side, the table of shew-bread opposite, and between them in the centre the altar of incense. The latter was the most holy place , or the holy of holies , containing the ark, surmounted by the cherubim, with the two tables inside. The two sides and the farther or west end were enclosed by boards of shittim wood overlaid with gold, twenty on the north and twenty on the south side, six on the west side, and the corner-boards doubled. They stood upright, edge to edge, their lower ends being made with tenons, which dropped into sockets of silver, and the corner-boards being coupled at the tope with rings. They were furnished with golden rings, through which passed bars of shittim wood, overlaid with gold, five to each side, and the middle bar passing from end to end, so as to brace the whole together. Four successive coverings of curtains looped together were placed over the open top and fell down over the sides. The first or inmost was a splendid fabric of linen, embroidered with figures of cherubim in blue, purple and scarlet, and looped together by golden fastenings. It seems probable that the ends of this set of curtains hung down within the tabernacle, forming a sumptuous tapestry. The second was a covering of goats? hair; the third, of ram-skins dyed red and the outermost, of badger-skins (so called in our version; but the Hebrew word probably signifies seal-skins). It has been commonly supposed that these coverings were thrown over the wall, as a pall is thrown over a coffin; but this would have allowed every drop of rain that fell on the tabernacle to fall through; for, however tightly the curtains might be stretched, the water could never run over the edge, and the sheep-skins would only make the matter worse as when wetted their weight would depress the centre and probably tear any curtain that could be made. There can be no reasonable doubt that the tent had a ridge, as all tents have had from the days of Moses down to the present time. The front of the sanctuary was closed by a hanging of fine linen, embroidered in blue, purple and scarlet, and supported by golden hooks on five pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold and standing in brass sockets; and the covering of goat?s hair was so made as to fall down over this when required. A more sumptuous curtain of the same kind, embroidered with cherubim hung on four such pillars, with silver sockets, divided the holy from the most holy place. It was called the veil, (Sometimes the second veil, either is reference to the first, at the entrance of the holy place, or as below the vail of the second sanctuary;) (Hebrews 9:3) as it hid from the eyes of all but the high priest the inmost sanctuary, where Jehovah dwells on his mercy-seat, between the cherubim above the ark. Hence "to enter within the veil" is to have the closest access to God. It was only passed by the high priest once a year, on the Day of Atonement in token of the mediation of Christ, who with his own blood hath entered for us within the veil which separates God?s own abode from earth. (Hebrews 6:19) In the temple, the solemn barrier was at length profaned by a Roman conqueror, to warn the Jews that the privileges they had forfeited were "ready to vanish away;" and the veil was at last rent by the hand of God himself, at the same moment that the body of Christ was rent upon the cross, to indicate that the entrance into the holiest of all is now laid open to all believers by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh." (Hebrews 10:19,20) The holy place was only entered by the priests daily, to offer incense at the time of morning and evening prayer, and to renew the lights on the golden candlesticks; and on the sabbath, to remove the old shew-bread, and to place the new upon the table. II. THE SACRED FURNITURE AND INSTRUMENTS OF THE TABERNACLE. --These are described in separate articles, and therefore it is only necessary to give a list of them here.
- In the outer court. The altar of burnt offering and the brazen laver . [
ALTAR ;LAVER ] - In the holy place. The furniture of the court was connected with sacrifice; that of the sanctuary itself with the deeper mysteries of mediation and access to God. The first sanctuary contained three objects: the altar of incense in the centre, so as to be directly in front of the ark of the covenant (1Â Kings 6:22) the table of shew-bread on its right or north side, and the golden candlestick on the left or south side. These objects were all considered as being placed before the presence of Jehovah, who dwelt in the holiest of all, though with the veil between. [
ALTAR ; SHEW-BREAD;CANDLESTICK ,CANDLESTICK ] - In the holy of holies, within the veil, and shrouded in darkness, there was but one object, the ark of the covenant, containing the two tables of stone, inscribed with the Ten Commandments. [
ARK OF THE COVENANT ] III. THECOURT OF THE TABERNACLE, in which the tabernacle itself stood, was an oblong space, 100 cubits by 50 (i.e. 150 feet by 75), having its longer axis east and west, with its front to the east. It was surrounded by canvas screens--in the East called kannauts -- 5 cubits in height, and supported by pillars of brass 5 cubits apart, to which the curtains were attached by hooks and filets of silver. (Exodus 27:9) etc. This enclosure was broken only on the east side by the entrance, which was 20 cubits wide, and closed by curtains of fine twined linen wrought with needlework and of the most gorgeous colors. In the outer or east half of the court was placed the altar of burnt offering, and between it and the tabernacle itself; the laver at which the priests washed their hands and feet on entering the temple. The tabernacle itself was placed toward the west end of this enclosure. IV. HISTORY. --"The tabernacle, as the place in which Jehovah dwelt, was pitched in the centre of the camp, (Numbers 2:2) as the tent of a leader always is in the East; for Jehovah was the Captain of Israel. (Joshua 5:14,15) During the marches of Israel, the tabernacle was still in the centre. (Numbers 2:1) ... The tribes camped and marched around it in the order of a hollow square. In certain great emergencies led the march. (Joshua 3:11-16) Upon the tabernacle, abode always the cloud, dark by day and fiery red by night, (Exodus 10:38) giving the signal for the march, (Exodus 40:36,37; Numbers 9:17) and the halt. (Numbers 9:15-23) It was always the special meeting-place of Jehovah and his people. (Numbers 11:24,25; 12:4; 14:10; 16:19,42; 20:6; 27:2; 31:14) "During the conquest of Canaan the tabernacle at first moved from place to place, (Joshua 4:19; 8:30-35; 9:6; 10:15) was finally located at Shiloh. (Joshua 9:27; 18:1) Here it remained during the time of the judges, till it was captured by the Philistines, who carried off the sacred ark of the covenant. (1Â Samuel 4:22) From this time forward the glory of the tabernacle was gone. When the ark was recovered, it was removed to Jerusalem, and placed in a new tabernacle (2Â Samuel 6:17; 1Â Chronicles 15:1) but the old structure still had its hold on the veneration of the community and the old altar still received their offerings. (1Â Chronicles 16:39; 21:29) It was not till the temple was built, and a fitting house thus prepared for the Lord, that the ancient tabernacle was allowed to perish and be forgotten. V. SIGNIFICANCE. --(The great underlying principles of true religion are the same in all ages and for all men; because man?s nature and needs are the same, and the same God ever rules over all. But different ages require different methods of teaching these truths, and can understand them in different degrees. As we are taught in the Epistle to the Hebrews, the tabernacle was part of a great system of teaching by object-lessons, and of training the world to understand and receive the great truths which were to be revealed in Jesus Christ and thus really to save the Jews from sin By Jesus dimly seen in the future, as we clearly see him in the past. (1) The tabernacle and its services enabled the Jews, who had no visible representation of God, to feel the reality of God and of religion. (2) The tabernacle as the most beautiful and costly object in the nation and ever in the centre of the camp, set forth the truth that religion was the central fact and the most important, in a persons life. (3) The pillar of cloud and of fire was the best possible symbol of the living God,--a cloud, bright, glowing like the sunset clouds, glorious, beautiful, mysterious, self-poised, heavenly; fire, immaterial, the source of life and light and comfort and cheer, but yet unapproachable, terrible, a consuming fire to the wicked. (4) The altar of burnt offering, standing before the tabernacle was a perpetual symbol of the atonement,--the greatness of sin, deserving death, hard to be removed and yet forgiveness possible, and offered freely, but only through blood. The offerings, as brought by the people were a type of consecration to God, of conversion and new life, through the atonement. (6) This altar stood outside of the tabernacle, and must be passed before we come to the tabernacle itself; a type of the true religious life. Before the tabernacle was also the laver, signifying the same thing that baptism does with us, the cleansing of the heart and life. (8) Having entered the holy place, we find the three great means and helps to true living, --the candlestick, the light of God?s truth; the shew-bread, teaching that the soul must have its spiritual food and live in communion with God; and the altar of incense, the symbol of prayer. The holy of holies, beyond, taught that there was progress in the religious life, and that progress was toward God, and toward the perfect keeping of the law till it was as natural to obey the law as it is to breathe; and thus the holy of holies was the type of heaven. --ED.)
TEMPLE [smith]
There is perhaps no building of the ancient world which has excited so much attention since the time of its destruction as the temple which Solomon built by Herod. Its spoils were considered worthy of forming the principal illustration of one of the most beautiful of Roman triumphal arches, and Justinian?s highest architectural ambition was that he might surpass it. Throughout the middle ages it influenced to a considerable degree the forms of Christian churches, and its peculiarities were the watchwords and rallying-points of all associations of builders. When the French expedition to Egypt, int he first years of this century, had made the world familiar with the wonderful architectural remains of that country, every one jumped to the conclusion that Solomon?s temple must have been designed after an Egyptian model. The discoveries in Assyria by Botta and Layard have within the last twenty years given an entirely new direction to the researches of the restorers. Unfortunately, however, no Assyrian temple has yet been exhumed of a nature to throw much light on this subject, and we are still forced to have recourse to the later buildings at Persepolis, or to general deductions from the style of the nearly contemporary secular buildings at Nineveh and elsewhere, for such illustrations as are available. THE TEMPLE OFTabernacle [baker]
[N] [T] [E] [S]The structure referred to in Scripture as the tabernacle was the center of the worship of Yahweh by the people of Israel from shortly after the exodus until it was replaced by Solomon's temple around 960 b.c. The term "tabernacle" is sometimes used to refer to one part of a larger complex: the tent-like structure that stood within a court enclosed by linen curtains. At other times the term describes the entire complex. The inner structure was comprised of gold-plated planks linked together and standing on edge. They formed three sides of a rectangle, with the fourth closed by a heavy curtain. The whole was draped with several layers of cloth and leather. Here God was understood to be especially present for his people. Even more important, the tabernacle and the sacrificial system connected with it are understood by the Bible to be richly symbolic of truths concerning God and the possibility of human fellowship with him.
The first references to the tabernacle appear in Exodus 25, where Moses begins to receive the instructions for making this structure. These instructions continue through chapter 31. Then, after a three-chapter interlude dealing with the golden calf episode and its aftermath, chapter 35 resumes the story of the tabernacle, reporting how the complex was built. This report repeats the previous instructions almost word for word. The report carries on through chapter 40, where the book reaches its climactic conclusion with God's glory filling the tabernacle.
Part of the significance of the tabernacle is seen through the placement of this block of material in the Book of Exodus. The book contains three segments: chapters 1-15, the account of the deliverance from Egypt, culminating in the Red Sea crossing; chapters 16-24, the account of the journey to Sinai, culminating in the sealing of the covenant; and chapters 25-40, the account of the building of the tabernacle, culminating in its being filled with the glory of God. This literary structure shows that the ultimate need of the people was not for deliverance from physical oppression or from theological darkness, but from alienation from God. Deliverance from bondage and from spiritual darkness are not ends, but means to the end of fellowship with God. This is the significance of the title "tabernacle (or "tent, " Heb. ohel [l,hoa]) of meeting." Apparently first applied to the interim tent where Moses met God before the tabernacle was complete (33:7), the phrase aptly sums up the function of the tabernacle. Not only does the structure symbolize the presence of God with his people; it also shows how it is that sinful people can come into, and live in, the presence of a holy God.
The incident of the golden calf, which is reported between the instructions for the tabernacle and its building, highlights both the significance and function of the tabernacle. The people recognized they needed divine protection and guidance, especially in the light of Moses' inexplicable failure to return from the mountain (32:1). And they were sure they could not have these unless God was tangibly present with them. The tragedy of the story is that at the very moment they were demanding that Aaron meet their needs, God was giving Moses the instructions that would meet those needs in a much more complete way than Aaron's feeble efforts ever could.
When human needs are met in God's way the results far surpass anything we could conceive on our own. The golden calf could hardly compare to the tabernacle. In the tabernacle there was beauty of design, color, texture, and shape. There was a satisfying diversity in objects and spaces. There was a sense of motion through separate stages from the profane to the sacred. There was a profound, yet evident, symbolism capable of conveying multiple truths to different persons.
Moreover, the impact upon people is profoundly different when our needs are met in God's way. Here, instead of limited gifts and no participation (32:3-4), everyone has something to contribute, whether in talent or material (35:4-10). Here persons give freely, without coercion (35:21, contra 32:2). Here work is done according to Spirit-imparted gifts, not according to rank or appearance (35:30-36:2). And here, instead of further alienation from God (32:9), the glory of God's presence is revealed in the midst of human life (40:35).
Thus, Exodus 32-34 is an integral part of the whole final segment of the book, illustrating by contrast the same truths that chapters 25-31 and 35-40 teach in a positive way.
Beyond a tangible representation of the presence of God, the tabernacle also is intended to teach by visual means the theological principles whereby that presence is possible. It is necessary to exercise care at this point because the Bible does not explain all the visual symbolism, and it is possible to expend too much energy in speculation. However, the main lines are clear enough. The color white, which was especially prominent in the linen curtains of the court, calls attention to the purity of God and the necessary purity of those who would live in his presence. Blue speaks of God's transcendence; purple, of his royalty; and red, of the blood that must be shed if a holy God is ever to live with a sinful human. The accents of gold and silver that occurred throughout the structure speak of the riches of the divine kingdom and its blessings. Possibly the multiple coverings over the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies speak of the security that attends those who live with God.
The most significant symbolism is surely that found in the arrangement of spaces and objects. The court itself speaks of the separation between God and the sinner. It is impossible for us to come into the presence of God in our normal state. This gulf is further reinforced by the veil at the door of the Holy Place, and by the one that closed off the Holy of Holies. It is impossible that good intentions and honest effort can ever bring us to God. We come in the ways he has dictated, or not at all.
Then, how is it possible for us to come into that Presence which is life itself? The tabernacle shows the way. The first object encountered is the altar. Here, in the starkest visual terms, is the representation of the truth that "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Heb 9:22). But the altar raises its own questions: How can a bull or a sheep or a goat die in the place of a person who has been made just a little lower than God himself (Mic 6:6-8)? For the Old Testament believer, the solution to this enigma was, in many ways, a mystery. Nevertheless, there is no other way to the Holy of Holies than past the altar.
Behind the altar is the laver. Here we are reminded that God is clean. "Clean" describes the essential character of God, who is faithful, upright, merciful, and true. To be unclean is to fail to share that character, and that which does not share God's character cannot exist in his white-hot presence (Isa 6:5). Thus, it is necessary for those who would come into his presence to be washed and made clean (Psalm 51:7), and the laver represents both that necessity and that possibility.
Inside the Holy Place three objects demand attention. On the right is a table with twelve loaves of bread on it. In pagan temples this is where the gods were believed to sit and eat. But in Israel's tabernacle this is where God was understood to feed his people (Psalm 23:5). He had no need of food (Psalm 50:12-13), but Israel was famished for him (Psalm 107:9; Isa 65:13). On the left was the lampstand where the light was never permitted to go out. This represented the light that God was to his people in the darkened world of sin (Psalm 27:1). Directly in front of the worshiper at the far end of the space was the altar of incense. Here incense burned day and night, symbolizing both the sacred presence and the prayer of worshipers that can rise to God like sweet perfume at any moment of the day (Psalm 141:2; Rev 8:3-4). Thus, the objects in the Holy Place were the evidence of the blessings that are for those who live in the presence of God: light, sustenance, and communion.
In all the pagan temples the innermost space was reserved for the idol, the visual expression of the pagan insistence that the divine is clothed with this world, and that this world is the body of the divine. Alone of all the ancient peoples, the Hebrews insisted this is not true. God is not part of this world, and may not be represented by any natural object. So what was in the innermost space of the tabernacle? A box! We usually refer to the object with the a.d. 1611 term "ark, " but that is just an archaic word for "box." A box to represent the presence of God? To be sure it was a beautifully ornamented box, with winged figures of some sort molded into its golden top. But for all that, it was still just a box.
Why would the Hebrews use something as mundane as a box to convey the presence of the almighty God? Negatively, a box simply cannot be worshiped as somehow being God. It is neither a human figure nor a natural object. To be sure, some translations have God sitting "upon" the cherubim, but the Hebrew does not use the preposition "upon." Rather, it uses no preposition, or "with respect to"—a clear attempt to avoid even that potential confusion of object and reality. If it is desired to have an object that will remind persons of God's real presence while underscoring the prohibition of images, a box is an excellent choice.
But the ark has positive significance as well. It represents the true basis of divine-human relations. Those relations do not rest upon ritualistic manipulation—magic—as idol-worship assumes. Rather, the basis is covenant, a relationship of mutual commitment whereby grace is responded to in obedience, especially on an ethical plane. Surrender, trust, and obedience are the operative principles, not magical identification. How appropriate that all these truths should be represented in the box in the Holy of Holies. Aaron's rod represents the delivering grace of God, both in the exodus events and in God's selection of the priests as mediators; the manna represents God's sustaining grace; and the tablets of the Ten Commandments summarize the terms of the relationship. The ark tells us that we cannot manipulate the essence of God; we can only remember what he has done for us and relate to him and one another accordingly.
The sad truth is that the human spirit is not able to fulfill the terms of the covenant, no matter how pure the initial intentions may have been. As the Hebrews first broke their covenant with God in less than six weeks, so every human who has ever lived has learned that living for God is not a matter of good intentions. Every one who has ever sought to live for God has discovered that when all has been done, we have fallen far short of God's moral perfection. What then is to be done? The covenant was sworn to with the most solemn oaths. Now it lies broken in the presence of God, calling out for justice. How can God be Justice and Love at the same time? The answer is the "cover" (mercy-seat). The Hebrew word for the nullification of the effects of sin is kapar [r;p'K], "to cover." It is surely not a coincidence that the lid of the box is called "the cover." For this lid not only covers what it is in the box; it is also the place where covering for sin, particularly unconscious sin, is made once a year through sprinkling the blood of a sacrificial animal upon that cover (Lev 16:11-17). The broken covenant, calling out for the death of those who swore in the name of God that they would be obedient or die, was satisfied by a representive sacrificial death.
But this brings to the fore the question raised by the great altar in the court outside. If the fundamental tenet of the Hebrew faith, God's transcendence, is true, if God cannot be magically manipulated through the creation, then of what ultimate good is the sacrifice of one bull, or, for that matter, tens of thousands of bulls? This seems a hopeless dilemma. God's justice cannot be satisfied magically, but it must be satisfied. God cannot simply ignore it. To do so would be to destroy the whole basis of a world of cause and effect.
This is the dilemma that came to such a dramatic resolution for the persons of the first century a.d., who suddenly realized what the coupling of Jesus Christ's divinity and his unjust death and his glorious resurrection meant. Here was the perfect sacrifice! Here was the one to whom the sacrificial system and the tabernacle pointed. That system and that structure had no magical efficacy in themselves. They were only efficacious in removing sin insofar as they pointed to the One who could indeed die for all. If God could die and then return to life, that death could indeed be in the place of all who would ever live and sin.
This is the vision that captured the writer of the Book of Hebrews and is recorded in chapter 9 of that book. He realized that the tabernacle and the sacrificial system were simply symbolic of an eternal reality. The language used there might suggest that the author thought the earthly tabernacle was a copy of an eternal heavenly one. But to take that position is to miss the point of the passage. The author is saying that the earthly tabernacle and the sacrifices offered there are representative of eternal, spiritual truth: the all-sufficiency of the sacrifice of Christ for all eternity. The tabernacle represents truth, not some other material entity. The author is possibly using the language of Platonic philosophy, but the biblical philosophy of transcendence is diametrically at odds with Plato's insistence that this world is unreal. That the writer of Hebrews knows this is evident in 9:25-26, where he shows that Christ is not being continually sacrificed in some heavenly reality, but that he died once for all here on earth, and so here fulfilled what the tabernacle was all about.
John N. Oswalt
See also Aaron; Altar; Ark; Exodus, Theology of; Hebrews, Theology of; Israel; Moses; Offerings and Sacrifices; Priest, Priesthood; Temple
Bibliography. P. F. Kiene, The Tabernacle of God in the Wilderness of Sinai; M. Levine, The Tabernacle: Its Structure and Utensils; S. F. Olford, The Tabernacle: Camping with God; S. Ridout, Lectures on the Tabernacle; A. B. Simpson, Christ in the Tabernacle.
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[N] indicates this entry was also found in Nave's Topical Bible
[T] indicates this entry was also found in Torrey's Topical Textbook
[E] indicates this entry was also found in Easton's Bible Dictionary
[S] indicates this entry was also found in Smith's Bible Dictionary
Temple [baker]
[N] [E] [J] [S]While the temple certainly has a history and integrity of its own, it was created by extension of the tabernacle and is associated with such diverse topics as a mountain and a city, the cosmos and a person's body, and God's glory and name. The biblical authors from Moses through Ezekiel and Haggai to John of Patmos never describe a complete temple, but offer a vision of what the temple was to be: the locus of the presence of God.
Offering a vision rather than a blueprint for the temple is in keeping with the inherent ambiguity of the concept "temple of the Lord, " for how can the transcendent deity be localized in a building? The vision is also in keeping with the function of temple as a symbol. The temple is indeterminate literally and figuratively.
The Preexistence of the Temple. The foundation for temple is laid in the Pentateuch. Already in the patriarchs we find the promise of God's presence: "Do not be afraid, for I am with you, I will bless you" (Gen 26:24). How and where will this presence be mediated?
Although various locales were deemed sacred by virtue of God's presence (Gen 32:30), patriarchal religion did not put much importance on sacred space or the cultic practices that typify Mosaic Yahwism. Nevertheless, in various forms of foreshadowing, we find the usual lines of continuity with later persons, events, institutions, and practices—Scripture's penchant for typology. Thus "Jerusalem, " where centralization of the cult eventually took place, figures prominently in two key texts that address "cultic" issues: in Genesis 22 with the "binding" (sacrifice) of Isaac ("Moriah" cf. 2 Chron 3:1) and in Genesis 14 with the tithe paid to Melchizedek.
With Mosaic Yahwism a change in perspective and practice occurs. God appears to the newly created covenantal community, a community formed by the exodus and, now at Sinai (which parallels Jerusalem as a place par excellence for "visions" of God), given an identity, including instructions where Yahweh's presence—with the full implication of both blessing and danger—would be manifest (Exod. 24-26; 33:12-17).
How would God's presence in the covenant community and ceremony be evident? Inevitably certain symbols were necessary (despite the aniconic nature of Mosaic Yahwism Exod 20:4). The symbols appeal to the senses, but not simply as "visual aids." The ark, cherubim, and the tent of the meeting become the institutional representations of the Lord's presence among his people. Here, in this place, Yahweh appears and makes his will known (Exod 33:7-11).
The tent of the meeting in the Pentateuch, and the priestly tabernacle, is not, however, a projection (or retrojection!) of the temple, but an independent dwelling reflecting the life of Israel prior to settlement and the centralization of worship. The tent is a "portable temple" of sorts, but not provisional nor simply a pattern; rather, the tent is a unique "dwelling."
With the ritual performances in the tabernacle/ temple complex, and the personnel and attendant appurtenances, we come to a theologically significant point about temple practice: coming into the presence of a holy God. In each change of location, vestment, instrument, or ritual act, with their various gradations of importance, the "needs" of the people and the holiness of God come together: I am holy, it is holy, you are (to be) holy.
The extensions and the symbolic associations began early in the canonical literature. As a commentary on the Torah, Deuteronomy expresses the presence of Yahweh in the cult devoid of some simplistic equation of Yahweh's presence constrained by the natural order of cause and effect by utilizing his alter ego, his "name, " as the manifestation of his transcendent reality. Even the ark itself is divested of its throne-like setting by its role as the "container" of the tablets of the law (Deut 10:1-5). Yahweh is not seated on a throne like some dowager duchess.
The paradoxical and symbolic nature of the temple is thus seen as the author(s) construct the parameters of temple theology: the transcendent deity graciously appears before his holy people in the place of his choosing, a dwelling symbolically rich by virtue of its ability to generate varied metaphoric associations (fire, cloud, tent, ark, and most especially "name" in the Pentateuch).
The Construction of the Temple. The construction of the temple began with David to serve as, at least on sociopolitical grounds, a "media event" of divine support and favor. David, however, was deterred from completing the task. No doubt sociopolitical forces played their usual role in this. The biblical authors were not oblivious to these explanations (1 Kings 5:13-18), but characteristically pass theological judgment (1 Chron 22:8-9), or, more important, God himself divulges his feelings on the matter: "Did I ever say … ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar'?" (2 Sam 7:7). God does not require an immutable dwelling, but the metaphoric associations are kept open, even those of monarchal justification (i.e., a "house" like the house in which the monarch resides).
The "cedar house" is ultimately built. And in Solomon's great prayer of dedication the paradox of this dwelling is acknowledged once again by his classic statement: "But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!" (1 Kings 8:27). The paradox is softened by "quoting" the Deuteronomic "name" formula: "My Name shall be [in this place]" (v. 29). (This terminology underscores the point that the correspondence between God's presence and his "dwelling"—tabernacle or temple—is more "textual" than physical.) But what does the Lord think of this structure?
Solomon, like Bezalel before him with the building of the tabernacle, is described as having "wisdom." Unlike Bezalel, however, Solomon sends straightaway for supplies and instructions from Phoenician artisans. Moreover, a labor force is needed to complete the project, a force not unlike what the Israelites experienced in Egypt. Finally, Solomon is portrayed as the central figure in the planning and implementation of the project: "As for this temple that you are building … " (1 Kings 6:12). No editorial judgment from the author is forthcoming from these contrasts, but the reader is left with the impression that Solomon's project is equivocal before God.
The equivocal nature of the project is supported by the Lord's response to it in 1 Kings 9:3-5. The Lord does hallow the place, but it is still Solomon's doing: "I have consecrated this temple which you have built" (v. 3). A clear stipulation is also attached: "if you walk before me" (v. 4; the sanctity of the place must be preserved, at the very least).
Responses to the Temple. What responses do we find in Scripture to the building of the temple beyond those found in the immediate context of it being built?
Rather than "going up" to the mountain of the house of the Lord to hear the word of the Lord, as in the eschatological visions of Isaiah and Micah (4:1-2), the Babylonians "descend" upon the temple to break down its wall and carry off the temple treasures. After centuries of covenant disloyalty, the Lord withdraws his presence from this place (Eze 10:18); in fact, he is driven from the temple because of the abominations of the people (Eze 8:6). This destruction could be seen as one of the contingencies of history except for the interpretations put upon it; the theologian of Lamentations states the destruction of the temple in unequivocal terms: "The Lord determined to tear down the wall of the Daughter of Zion" (2:8). The destruction is purposed by God because the people failed to live before him.
Reconstructing the Temple. High on the agenda of the postexilic community was the rebuilding of the temple. Indeed, it was not long before all their troubles—which were many—were attributed to the disrepair, the virtual absence, of the dwelling of God (Hag 1:3-9). The question must surely be asked: Why? Why, after a stern critique by the prophets, an outmaneuvering in the wisdom tradition, and its abandonment by God and destruction, would the people rebuild this structure?
The most obvious and strongest answer is that the Lord commands its construction (Ezra 1:2). But a further answer lies in the theological sophistication of the biblical authors themselves and in the power of this symbol to go beyond mere structure. The means for rebuilding temple theology are present in the preexilic theology itself, the selfsame theology that so thoroughly critiqued an overly literal-minded approach to the presence of God.
The temple was always symbolic, "textual" even before (and as much as) it was physical. To the extent that the metaphoric associations speak to the reality of our experience(s) before God, the symbol retains its power as a symbol. Although Jeremiah held little esteem for the ark/temple, he nevertheless prophesied that God's throne would be Jerusalem itself (3:17), and Torah would be written in their hearts (31:31-34). These extensions of the symbol are developed further in the New Testament (Rev 21:22-27: "I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple… Nothing impure will ever enter it." ). The relativizing of the temple and moral earnestness that we see in Jeremiah were precisely the points of the Deuteronomic theology that influenced the short-lived reforms of Josiah.
The most extensive view of the new temple comes from Ezekiel. The construction of the temple is once again more ideal than real. In Ezekiel's new temple a remarkable event takes place: water flows from the temple (in Jerusalem) with such abundance that it calls to mind the rivers of paradise (see also Psalm 46:4; Rev 21:6).
The Songs of Zion in the Psalter are particularly rich in their celebration of the temple. With all their "sensuality"—the reader is instructed to "behold" the beauty of the temple; walk about it; clap and shout; smell; bow down; and other sense-oriented activities—the Songs show that one is not to ponder the temple simply as a theological abstraction. The one who enters the temple not only receives spiritual blessings but material ones as well (Psalm 36:7-9).
While we do not find much by way of extensions of this symbol, its paradoxical and metaphoric nature are everywhere testified to in what takes place in the life of the communicant. The most powerful statement of this sort comes in Psalm 73, where the psalmist cries out because his inherited beliefs are at odds with his personal experiences. Everything is "oppressive" (v. 16). "Till I entered the sanctuary of God … " and what unfolds is a transformation of his character and his understanding of God. What happens in the sanctuary? It is, as it should be, unspecified. We are simply told at the end of the psalm that "as for me, it is good to be near God… I will tell of all your deeds."
In sum, by building the temple and by extending the metaphoric associations with temple, a continuity between the pre- and postexilic community was established (Ezra 1:7; Hag 2:9). For all the critique of the temple, in the final analysis, Yahweh takes pleasure in this place and it is a source of delight for those who assemble there (Psalm 43:3-4; 65:4; 84:1).
Jesus, Paul, and Judaism. In Judaism the temple was the religious, cultural, and national center; indeed, the temple was a microcosm of the universe. The power of the temple as a symbol is especially seen in its ability to continue long after the temple building itself was destroyed in a.d. 70.
According to the Gospels, Jesus participated fully in the practices and ethos of the temple. Jesus' birth was announced in the temple (Luke 1:17; 2:27-32), where he was also circumcised and studied with the rabbis as a lad (Luke 2:46). Later, of course, Jesus taught in the temple himself (John 7:14). It is not without significance that while Jesus is teaching in the temple precincts, he says, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me" (John 7:37), and the next day offers forgiveness to the woman taken in adultery (John 8:1-11). Blessing and forgiveness, priestly functions, are pronounced by Jesus in the shadow of the temple.
Jesus is not only a communicant and priest of sorts; he is also a prophet. Thus, when the temple practices are compromised, Jesus assails those who jeopardize the sanctity of the temple: "My house will be called a house of prayer… But you have made it a den of robbers" (Mark 11:17). They were not living before God. Jesus, while teaching in its precincts, preserves the sanctity of the temple by his ethical admonitions. Even the forgiven woman is told to sin no more (John 8:11; see also John 4:23).
In the cleansing of the temple we also find a development and extension of the metaphoric associations of temple. Jesus employs a wordplay equivocating on the term "body" to break the parochial thinking of his audience (John 2:19). John characteristically points out the error of their literal-mindedness: "But the temple he had spoken of was his body" (John 2:21). Thus, in Jesus' acts and words we see the temple once again as a place of holiness, of danger (words of judgment; Jesus's own death) as well as blessing, and further extensions of the symbol are generated.
Paul also makes the correspondence between the temple and body: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?" (1 Cor 6:19; see also Rom 12:1-2). Of course, the believer can be called the temple of God only because Christ himself is the temple and the believer participates in Christ (1 Cor 3:9-17). The believer, like Paul himself, must be (cultically) pure in order to live in God's presence (2 Cor 2:17). If God can dwell in a holy place, by extension, he could dwell in a holy person!
After the destruction of the temple in a.d. 70, temple theology loses none of its living and healing power since the temple was always "beyond" its physical presence. A theology of temple answers the problem of how God's presence is mediated. Specifically, temple theology recognizes the importance of "sacred space." Its analogue is sacred time—Sabbath, festivals, and appointed times of prayer. Humankind is oriented in time and space, thus Sabbath and temple testify to "eternity" beyond the confines of our usual orientation. Sabbath and temple redeem time and space.
Temple theology shows a high degree of theological sophistication—holding ambivalent attitudes/doctrines in tension, part of the mystery of faith, of paradox. Temple theology is most fruitful when it is functioning as a powerful symbol, with the ability to be fully grounded in (sacred) space and yet generate new metaphoric associations—a vision of life in the presence of the Lord. Even though the temple is both protological and eschatological, it is always grounded in the realities of our lives: it is a mere edifice, yet, Behold! Thy God.
Anthony J. Petrotta
See also Altar; Israel; Offerings and Sacrifices; Priest, Priesthood; Tabernacle
Bibliography. B. Childs, Old Testament Theology in a Canonical Context; R. E. Clements, God and Temple; idem, Wisdom for a Changing World; R. H. Gundry, Somain Biblical Theology; M. Haran, Temples and Temple Service in Ancient Israel; A. J. Heschel, Quest for God; A. F. Kirkpatrick, The Book of Psalms; M. E. Isaacs, An Approach to the Theology of the Epistle to the Hebrews; G. Josipovici, The Book of God; K. Koch, The Prophets: The Assyrian Period; C. Koester, The Dwelling of God; H. J. Kraus, The Theology of the Psalms; J. D. Levenson, Sinai and Zion; J. G. McConville, Law and Theology in Deuteronomy; W. McKane, ZAW94 (1982): 251-66; D. H. Madvig, NIDNTT, 3; R. Mason, Preaching the Tradition; C. Meyers, Ancient Israelite Religion; R. W. L. Moberly, The Old Testament of the Old Testament; J. Neusner, Wrong Ways and Right Ways in the Study of Formative Judaism; W. Nowottny, The Language Poets Use; D. A. Renwick, Paul, the Temple, and the Presence of God; J. Z. Smith, To Take Place; W. R. Smith, The Prophets of Israel and Their Place in History; idem, The Religion of the Semites; J. Soskice, Metaphor and Religious Language; N. T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God.
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[N] indicates this entry was also found in Nave's Topical Bible
[E] indicates this entry was also found in Easton's Bible Dictionary
[J] indicates this entry was also found in Jack Van Impe's Prophecy Dictionary
[S] indicates this entry was also found in Smith's Bible Dictionary
TABERNACLE [bridgeway]
When Israel left Egypt to begin a new life as an independent nation, God gave detailed arrangements for its organized religious life. According to these arrangements, Israel’s place of worship was to be a tabernacle, or tent, set up in the centre of the camp. This tabernacle was the symbol of God’s presence, a sign that God dwelt among his people. He was part of them, the centre of their national life. It was known as the tent of meeting (Exod 39:32), for it was the place where God met with his people. It was also called the tent of the testimony (Exod 38:21), to remind the people that within it, in the ark, was the testimony of God, the law, which was to guide and control their lives.The tabernacle was designed so that it could be easily put together, taken apart and transported. It was a prefabricated shrine that the people of Israel took with them on their journey to Canaan and set up at camps along the way. It consisted of a two-roomed timber structure inside a tent, which in turn was set in a large court surrounded by a fence. Within the rooms, and in the open court, were articles of sacred furniture.
Inside the tent
Probably the easiest way to picture the two-roomed structure under the tent is as a box-like frame with a cloth draped over it (as a tablecloth drapes over a table). The structure was 30 cubits long, 10 cubits wide and 10 cubits high (a cubit being about 44 centimetres or 18 inches). It was formed on the sides and rear by wooden frames that fitted vertically into metal bases and were joined horizontally with wooden bars. A row of timber columns formed the front, and another divided the structure into two rooms. All timber was overlaid with gold (Exod 26:15-37).
A multi-coloured embroidered linen covering was then draped over the entire structure, forming a ceiling overhead and walls on three sides. Curtains hung on columns formed the entrance and the internal partition (Exod 26:1-6,31-37). A covering of goats’ hair was placed over the linen covering to give added protection (Exod 26:7-13).
This covered structure was shielded from the weather by a two-layer tent of animal skins pitched over the whole (Exod 26:14). Though brilliantly coloured inside, outwardly the shrine appeared as simply a tent; hence the name, tabernacle.
The front room of the structure was called the Holy Place and contained three articles of furniture. Against one wall was a table made of wood overlaid with gold. On it were twelve cakes of ‘presence bread’, in symbolic acknowledgment that Israel lived constantly in the presence of God, its provider. The cakes were renewed each Sabbath (Exod 25:23-30; Lev 24:5-9). Against the opposite wall was a seven-headed ornamented lampstand made entirely of gold (Exod 25:31-40; 26:35; see LAMP). Against the dividing curtain (or veil) was an altar used solely for burning incense. It was made of wood overlaid with gold. The daily offering of incense symbolized the continual offering of the people’s homage to God (Exod 30:1-10; see INCENSE).
The room behind the veil was called the Most Holy Place, or Holy of Holies, and was only half the size of the Holy Place. The only piece of furniture in this room was a wooden box, overlaid with gold, known as the ark of the covenant, or covenant box (Exod 25:10-16; 26:34). Its richly ornamented lid, called the mercy seat, was the symbolic throne of the invisible God. The symbolic guardians of this throne were two golden cherubim (Exod 25:17-21; 1 Sam 4:4; see CHERUBIM).
In giving this throne the name ‘mercy’, or ‘grace’, God reminded his people that in spite of all their religious exercises, they could be accepted into his presence and receive his forgiveness only by his mercy (Exod 25:22; cf. Heb 4:16). Inside the ark were placed the stone tablets of the law (Deut 10:1-5), and later, Aaron’s rod and the golden pot of manna (Heb 9:4).
Only priests could go into the Holy Place (Num 18:1-7;Heb 9:6). Only the high priest could go into the Most Holy Place, and then only once a year, on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:11-15; Heb 9:7; see DAY OF ATONEMENT; PRIEST).
Courtyard and camp
This tabernacle-tent was set in a large court, 100 cubits long and 50 cubits wide, in which all the animal sacrifices were offered. Around the court was a fence of cloth attached to posts, with an entrance on the eastern side, opposite the entrance to the tent. The fence gave protection against desert winds and was high enough to prevent people outside from watching proceedings out of idle curiosity. It separated the tabernacle sufficiently from the camp to help create a feeling of reverence towards the tabernacle and its services (Exod 27:9-19).
All animal sacrifices were offered on a large altar that was made of wood overlaid with a metal variously described as bronze, copper or brass. The altar was a hollow box that was either filled with earth to form a mound on which the sacrifices were burnt, or had an internal grid for the same purpose. Halfway up the outside of the altar was a horizontal ledge supported by a grating. The priests may have stood on this ledge while offering the sacrifices (Exod 27:1-8).
Between the bronze altar and the entrance to the tent was a laver, or large basin, in which the priests washed before administering the sacrifices or entering the Holy Place. It also was made of bronze. The priests’ washings had both a practical purpose and a symbolic significance, to demonstrate that cleansing from all uncleanness was necessary in the worship and service of God (Exod 30:17-21; 38:8; cf. 2 Chron 4:6).
The people of Israel camped in an orderly arrangement on the four sides of the tabernacle. Nearest the tabernacle, on the eastern side, were the priests. The three family divisions of the Levites were on the other three sides (Num 3:23,29,35,38). Further out were the common people according to their tribes, with three tribes on each of the four sides (Num 2:3,10,18,25).
Construction and maintenance
Building materials for the tabernacle came from the voluntary offerings of the people. They gave so generously that Moses had to restrain them (Exod 25:2; 36:5-7). In making the different parts of the tabernacle, the craftsmen had to conform to the overall pattern and dimensions that God gave (Exod 25:9,40), but they still had plenty of opportunity to use their skills in the structural and ornamental details (Exod 31:1-9). Moses inspected the separate parts of the tabernacle after they were finished (Exod 39:32-43), then supervised the erection of the whole (Exod 40:1-33).
Israelites no doubt saw symbolic significance in the differing values of materials outside and inside the tabernacle. As one moved from the outer court through the Holy Place into the Most Holy Place, the brilliance of the metals and the richness of the cloth hangings increased. It all helped to emphasize the majesty and holiness of Yahweh, the King of Israel who lived among his people, yet at the same time dwelt separately from them in unapproachable glory (Exod 40:34-35).
Apart from its symbolic significance to God’s people, the tabernacle was very practically suited to Israel’s circumstances. A tent over a prefabricated frame was most convenient for a travelling people. Cloth hangings were suitable for entrances and partitions. Timber was of a kind that was plentiful in the region, light to carry, and did not warp or rot easily. Metals were of a kind that would not rust. Some of the pieces of furniture were fitted at the corners with rings, through which carrying poles were placed to make transport easier (Exod 25:12-15,26-28; 27:6-7; 30:4-5).
Money for the maintenance of the tabernacle came from a special tax taken from the people whenever there was a national census. The tax was equal for all, but small enough for even the poorest to pay. The rich could gain no advantage. All God’s people had an equal share in maintaining the tabernacle and its services (Exod 30:11-16).
Only Levites, however, could carry out the work of cleaning, repairing, erecting, dismantling and transporting the tabernacle. They were to do so according to the specific allocation of duties that God set out (Num 3:21-39; 4:1-33; see LEVITE). (Concerning the sacrifices offered at the tabernacle see SACRIFICE.)
Purpose fulfilled
Throughout their journey from Sinai to Canaan, the people of Israel set up the tabernacle at their camping places (Num 10:33-36; 33:1-49). When they entered Canaan, they set it up in their main camp at Gilgal (Josh 4:19; 10:6,15,43). After the conquest, they shifted the camp to a more central location at Shiloh, where again they set up the tabernacle (Josh 18:1; 19:51). It remained there for most of the next two hundred years (Judg 18:31; 1 Sam 1:3), though there was a period when it was in the neighbouring town of Bethel (Judg 20:26-27).
It seems that during Israel’s time of conflict with the Philistines, the tabernacle was destroyed in an enemy attack upon Shiloh (Ps 78:60-61; Jer 7:12-14; 26:6,9). But the Israelites apparently rebuilt it, for later it was set up at Nob (1 Sam 21:1,6; Mark 2:26), and then at Gibeon (1 Chron 16:39; 21:29; 2 Chron 1:3,6).
For much of this time the ark of the covenant had become separated from the tabernacle (1 Sam 4:4,11; 7:2; 2 Sam 6:1-2,10-17; 2 Chron 1:3-4; see ARK). When Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem, he dismantled the tabernacle and stored it in the temple (1 Kings 8:1-11).
With the replacement of the movable tent by a permanent building, misunderstandings soon arose. Instead of realizing that God was among his people wherever they were, people thought that the temple in Jerusalem was the only place where he dwelt. When the early Christian preacher Stephen attacked this mistaken attitude, the Jews responded by killing him (Acts 7:44-50).
The New Testament book of Hebrews points out that the tabernacle had a purpose in demonstrating important truths concerning sinners’ approach to a holy God. The tabernacle system was a help to people in the era before Christ, but it also pointed to something far better. The truths that the tabernacle demonstrated reached their full expression in the new era that came with Jesus Christ (Heb 6:19-20; 8:1-5).
Although the tabernacle system was imperfect, it was not wrong in principle. It was imperfect only because it suffered those limitations of the pre-Christian era that Christ, and Christ alone, could overcome (Heb 9:1-14,24; 10:19-20).
TEMPLE [bridgeway]
A temple was a house for a god, a place where the god dwelt and was worshipped. This was so in the case of the false gods that Israel’s neighbours worshipped (1 Sam 5:2; 31:10; 1 Kings 16:32; 2 Kings 5:18), and in the case of the one and only true God whom Israel worshipped (Ps 5:7; 134:1; Hag 1:8-9; Matt 12:4; John 2:16; cf. 1 Cor 6:19; Rev 11:19).However, the true God, who is the eternal one and the creator of all things, cannot be contained in a building. The Israelite temple, like the tabernacle before it, was only a symbol of God’s presence. It symbolized that he dwelt among his people (Exod 25:8; 1 Kings 8:10-13; Acts 7:48-50). God’s original plan for such a dwelling place was the tabernacle, which, being a tent, was a movable shrine that could be set up anywhere. This demonstrated to the people that God was not limited to one locality. The people were to remember this when they built their permanent temple in Jerusalem (2 Sam 7:5-7; Acts 7:44-46).
The site of the temple in Jerusalem was a piece of land that David had bought from a local farmer on the hill of Zion (Moriah) (2 Sam 24:18,22-25; 2 Chron 3:1; Ps 74:2; 78:68-69; cf. Gen 22:2). Each of the later temples was built on the same site, on top of the ruins of the previous temple. All three temples were based on the plan of the tabernacle, though they were larger and they included additional features.
Solomon’s temple
Simply described, the temple built by Solomon was a rectangular stone building with a porch added to the front, and three storeys of storerooms added to the sides and rear (1 Kings 6:1-10). Two huge bronze pillars stood in front of the porch. They did not support the roof, but were purely ornamental (1 Kings 7:15-22). Entrance from the porch into the temple was through decorated folding doors (1 Kings 6:33-35). All stonework inside the building was covered with lavishly carved wood panelling, which in turn was overlaid with beaten gold (1 Kings 6:1-10,15,21-22,29).
An internal partition divided the main temple into two rooms. The larger front room was called the nave or Holy Place, the smaller rear room the inner sanctuary or Most Holy Place. The front room had windows, but not the rear room. This rear room contained the gold-covered ark of the covenant (covenant box), which symbolized the presence of God, and two winged creatures of gold (cherubim), which were symbolic guardians of the ark (1 Kings 6:31-32; 2 Chron 3:14; see ARK; CHERUBIM). The front room contained two pieces of gold-covered furniture, the altar of incense and the table of ‘presence bread’. In addition there were ten golden lampstands, five on each of the two side walls (1 Kings 7:48-49; see LAMP).
In the open courtyard outside the building (1 Kings 6:36) stood a huge bronze altar of sacrifice (2 Chron 4:1). Also in the courtyard was a bronze laver, or tank, which held water for cleansing rites (1 Kings 7:23-26). There were also ten mobile lavers, each consisting of a bronze basin set in a trolley, the four sides of which were enclosed with decorative panels (1 Kings 7:27-39).
The wealth of the temple’s decorations and furnishings made it a target for enemy plunderers. At times the Judean kings themselves plundered it, usually to obtain funds to pay foreign overlords or invaders (1 Kings 14:25-26; 15:18; 2 Kings 16:8; 18:15). Some of Judah’s more ungodly kings brought idols and other articles of foreign religion into the temple, and even introduced heathen practices (2 Kings 16:10-18; 21:4; 2 Chron 25:14).
As a result of Judah’s unfaithfulness to God, the temple was frequently damaged or allowed to deteriorate. On a number of occasions godly kings repaired the temple and introduced reforms to restore it to its proper use (2 Kings 12:4-16; 2 Chron 29:3-11; 34:8-13). When the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 587 BC, they stripped everything of value from the temple, then smashed or burnt what remained and took the people into captivity (2 Kings 25:8-17; cf. Ps 74:3-7).
Visions of Ezekiel
The captivity in Babylon would last no longer than seventy years, and the prophet Ezekiel wanted to prepare the people to return to their homeland. He therefore presented to them a plan for life in the rebuilt nation.
This plan, based on visions that Ezekiel saw, included a temple where God dwelt among his people in an ideal religious and political order. In this order the temple was not in the city, but in a large portion of land marked out for the priests (Ezek 45:1-4). The main building (the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place) was only one part of a huge complex of buildings, courtyards and various facilities for priests and worshippers (Ezek 40:1-49; 41:1-42:14; 43:13-17; 46:19-24). Whatever symbolic value Ezekiel’s visions may have had, his ideal temple was never built.
Zerubbabel’s temple
When Persia conquered Babylon in 539 BC, the Persian king gave permission for the captive Jews to return to their land. Under the joint leadership of the governor Zerubbabel and the high priest Joshua, those who returned promptly began to rebuild the temple. They soon set up the altar, and in the second year they laid the foundation of the temple, but when local people opposed the builders, the work stopped (Ezra 3:1-3,8-10; 4:1-5,24). For sixteen years nobody worked on the temple. When the prophets Haggai and Zechariah roused the people to action, work restarted and within four years the temple was finished (Ezra 5:1-2; 6:15).
Little is known about this temple. It was not as large or as splendid as the former temple (Ezra 6:3-5; Hag 2:3; Zech 4:10), though like the former temple, it had storerooms for the people’s offerings (Neh 13:4-9; Mal 3:10).
The best known events connected with this temple occurred in the second century BC. The leader of the Syrian sector of the former Greek Empire, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, being violently opposed to the Jews, found an excuse to invade and defile the temple. He set up an idolatrous altar, then took animals that the Jews considered unclean and offered them as sacrifices to the Greek gods. This led to a Jewish uprising under the leadership of a group known as the Maccabees. After three years of fighting, the Jews regained religious freedom and rededicated the temple (165 BC).
A century later, when the Romans invaded Palestine, the Jews converted the temple into a fortress that was strong enough to withstand the enemy for three months. Finally, in 63 BC, the Romans destroyed it.
Herod’s temple
When Herod, who was not a genuine Jew, won Rome’s appointment as ‘king’ of Judea, he tried to win the Jews’ favour by building them a magnificent new temple. The main building took ten years to build and was finished about 9 BC, but builders were still working on the rest of the huge complex during the time of Jesus’ public ministry (John 2:20). They finished the project in AD 64.
The main building consisted of two rooms, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, divided by a curtain (Matt 27:51). This building and its associated altar of burnt offering were set in a walled courtyard, which normally only the priests could enter (Luke 1:8-10).
Outside the Court of the Priests was another walled courtyard, known as the Court of Israel. Men could enter this courtyard, but not women. Beyond this was yet another walled courtyard, this one known as the Court of the Women, for it marked the limit beyond which women could not go. Entrance to this court was through the Beautiful gate (Acts 3:10), and inside the court were collection boxes for the temple offerings (Mark 12:41-44). No Gentiles were allowed into any of these courts, and any who attempted to do so risked death (Acts 21:28-31).
This fully enclosed area was set within a large open court called the Court of the Gentiles, for it was the only area open to Gentiles. Around the perimeter of this court was a covered area where the teachers of the law taught (Luke 2:46; 19:47; John 10:23-24), where temple merchants carried out their business (John 2:14-16) and where the poor and the sick begged for help (Matt 21:14; Acts 3:11; 5:12,16).
In the north-eastern corner of the Court of the Gentiles was the Tower of Antonia. This was probably the praetorium, the palace where the Roman governor stayed when he came to Jerusalem to control the crowds at festival times (Matt 27:27; Mark 15:16; Acts 21:30-37). (Normally the governor lived at Caesarea; Acts 23:33.) The entire temple complex was surrounded by a wall made of huge stones (Mark 13:1).
The new temple
Jesus, being zealous for the true worship of God, condemned the Jews for their misuse of the temple. As a result the Jews became increasingly hostile towards him (John 2:13-22; Mark 11:15-19; cf. Mal 3:1). He condemned their religion as they practised it, and forecast that one of God’s judgments on it would be the destruction of the temple (Mark 13:1-2).
Through Jesus, God was now building a new temple. This was not a building made of stones, but a community of people, the Christian church. This is a living temple, a community where God dwells, where his people worship him and where they maintain true holiness (John 4:21-24; 1 Cor 3:16-17; 2 Cor 6:16-18; Eph 2:21-22; 1 Peter 2:4-5; cf. Rev 21:22; 22:1-4).
It seems that many of the early Christians did not immediately understand that with the death and resurrection of Jesus, the temple had no further use in God’s purposes for his people. They continued to go to the temple daily, worshipping, praying and witnessing to the resurrection life of Jesus (Luke 24:52-53; Acts 2:46-47; 3:1; 5:12,42).
Stephen, however, pointed out that if people thought Christianity was still part of the old temple-based religion, they were mistaken. The temple was in fact a hindrance to a proper understanding of Christianity (Acts 6:13; 7:44-50). The Jews reacted violently to Stephen’s preaching and killed him; but at least there was now a clear distinction between the old temple-based religion and Christianity. The Christians’ association with the temple was gone for ever (Acts 7:54-60; 8:1-3).
Within forty years the Jews also had lost their association with the temple; for in AD 70 the armies of Rome destroyed it (Mark 13:2; Luke 19:41-44). Since then, the Jews have had no temple.
