Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

TABERNACLE

The portable sanctuary said to have been built at Mt. Sinai in the time of Moses and used until Solomon built the First Temple. The term (Heb. miškān) means “dwelling.” Other names are the “tent of meeting” (ʾōhel môʿēḏ) and the “sanctuary” (miqdāš).

The story of the tabernacle’s construction dominates Exod. 25–40. God showed Moses the heavenly pattern for the tabernacle on Mt. Sinai (Exod. 25:9, 40), but before construction could begin the people committed apostasy by making a golden calf. God threatened to withdraw his presence from Israel, but Moses interceded and afterward the people furnished material for the tabernacle. Construction was supervised by the craftsman Bezalel, and when the work was completed, the glory of God filled the tabernacle (Exod. 40:34-38).

The design given in the final form of the Pentateuch locates the tabernacle in a courtyard in the center of the Israelite camp. The courtyard was 46 m. (150 ft.) long, 23 m. (75 ft.) wide, and enclosed by curtains that were 2.3 m. (7.5 ft.) high. Within the courtyard was a bronze wash basin in which the priests purified themselves as well as a bronze altar for burnt offerings. The tabernacle itself was a kind of tent made of wooden frames covered with goat hair and leather; it was 4.6 m. (15 ft.) high, 4.6 m. (15 ft.) wide, and 14 m. (45 ft.) long. The interior was divided into two parts. The forecourt, which had a multicolored screen at its entrance, was furnished with a seven-branched lampstand; a table; 12 loaves of bread, known as the bread of the presence; and a golden incense altar. A multicolored curtain covered the entry into the second part of the sanctuary or “holy of holies.” In this inner sanctuary was the ark of the covenant, a box made of acacia wood overlaid with gold, in which the tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments were kept. The ark had a golden cover known as the mercy seat, which was adorned with two cherubim. Items that were later placed in the holy of holies included a jar of manna (Exod. 16:33-34) and Aaron’s staff, which had miraculously borne almonds (Num. 17:1-11[MT 16-26]).

The tabernacle was the place where offerings were made to God and revelations received from God. Offerings were made daily on the bronze altar in the courtyard and the incense altar in the forecourt, but the most solemn rite took place once a year on the Day of Atonement, when the high priest sprinkled the blood of a bull and a goat before the mercy seat to make atonement for Israel’s sins. Revelations of God’s will were sometimes said to have been given at the mercy seat in the holy of holies (Exod. 25:22) and sometimes at the door of the tent (Num. 12:5; Deut. 31:14-15).

The Israelites took the tabernacle with them as they traveled through the desert toward Canaan. Responsibilities for transporting and assembling it at each new encampment were entrusted to the Levites. When the people reached the Promised Land, the tabernacle was placed at Shiloh (Josh. 18:1; 19:51; Ps. 78:60); later sources say that it was also at Gibeon for a time (1 Chr. 16:39; 21:29; 2 Chr. 1:3-6, 13). When David brought the ark to Jerusalem, he placed it in a tent following the pattern of earlier sanctuaries (2 Sam. 6:17; 7:5-7). Solomon built a permanent temple, and at the time of the dedication he had the tent of meeting, the ark, and the holy vessels placed in the temple so that the temple became the successor to Israel’s earlier tent sanctuaries (1 Kgs. 8:4).

The depiction of the tabernacle in the final form of the Pentateuch is based on multiple traditions which can be discerned on the basis of incongruities in the text. An early tradition tells of the simple tent that was set up outside the Israelite camp before the tabernacle was built. This tent was attended by one man, Joshua the son of Nun, rather than by Aaron and the levitical priests (Exod. 33:7-11). It was apparently not used for sacrifice and did not house the ark of the covenant. God spoke with Moses at the door of this tent rather than in the holy of holies. The name “tent of meeting” was suitable for such a tent since God occasionally met people there, while the name “tabernacle” or “dwelling” was more suitable for a shrine in which God dwelt continually.

The elaborate plans for the tabernacle are generally regarded as the literary creation of the Priestly writer (P), whose design incorporates features from various Israelite sanctuaries. The covering of goat hair and leather recalls the simple tent sanctuary mentioned in the earliest sources; the extensive wooden framework and the name “tabernacle” or “dwelling” is reminiscent of semi-permanent sanctuaries located in Canaan; and the sanctuary’s furnishings correspond closely to those of Solomon’s temple. Some have argued that the Priestly writer sought to legitimate the cult of his own time by projecting it back into the wilderness period, but others dispute this since the tabernacle’s design draws on premonarchical traditions and differs from Solomon’s temple in numerous respects. The description of the tabernacle may correct certain ideas associated with the temple since the tabernacle was a sanctuary designed by God and made with freewill offerings, while the temple was a royal project that depended on forced labor. Moreover, God sometimes “met” with Israel in the tent sanctuary but was not confined there.

NT references to the tabernacle (Gk. skēnḗ) appear in the speech ascribed to Stephen, which considers the tabernacle to represent worship that was acceptable to God but criticizes the temple as an attempt to usurp God’s prerogatives (Acts 7:44-50). Hebrews interprets the forecourt of the tabernacle as a symbol for the realm of the flesh and the present time, and identifies the holy of holies where Jesus carries out his high priestly ministry with the purified conscience and the new age of salvation (Heb. 8:1-6; 9:1-14). John’s Gospel announces the Incarnation by saying that “the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us,” as the locus of God’s glory (John 1:14), and Revelation speaks of heaven and the New Jerusalem as God’s “tabernacle” (Rev. 13:6; 15:5; 21:3).

Bibliography. J. I. Durham, Exodus. WBC 3 (Waco, 1987), esp. 349-501; M. Haran, Temples and Temple-Service in Ancient Israel (Oxford, 1978); C. R. Koester, The Dwelling of God. CBQMS 22 (Washington, 1989).

Craig R. Koester

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

TABERNACLE

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)