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tabernacle


Tab´uhr-nak´uhl; also called the “tent of meeting”

The portable sanctuary of the Israelites during the wilderness period, according to the Pentateuch and related texts. The directions for building it are given in (Exod 25-30), and the account of its actual construction follows in (Exod 35-40). It consisted of a rectangular enclosure, within which was another building that contained, behind a veil, the Holy of Holies with the Ark; before the veil stood the altar of incense, the seven-branched lampstand, and the table for the Bread of the Presence (Exod 25:30). When the Israelites moved about during their wilderness wanderings, the whole tabernacle was dismantled by the Levites and reerected wherever the tribes pitched camp (Num 1:51). For the NT writers, the significance of the tabernacle is found in the belief that it is but the earthly representative of a heavenly counterpart (Heb 8:2; Heb 8:5; Heb 9:22; Exod 25:40). In (Acts 7:44-50), the wilderness tabernacle, made according to the pattern of the one in heaven, is contrasted with Solomon’s Temple made with hands. See also (Rev 13:6; Rev 15:5; Rev 21:3).

  • Powell, Mark Allan, ed. HarperCollins Bible Dictionary. Abridged Edition. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2009.