The Tabernacle and Its Furniture by John Kitto
This material is under full copyright protection.
 |
|
Page 5 |
|
|
for removal. Some have fancied that the Hebrew word translated “shovels,” really signifies “brooms;” but the fact that these, like the other utensils, were of brass, shows the received interpretation to be more correct. The basins might more exactly have been translated “sprinkling vessels.” These were the bowls, in which the blood of the sacrifices was received, and from which it was sprinkled upon the people, towards the horns of the altar, etc. The flesh-hooks seem to have been a kind of curved fork, for picking up and replacing any portion of the sacrifice which may have fallen out of the fire or from off the altar. Lastly, there were the fire-pans, which appear to have been, as Bishop Patrick supposes, “a larger sort of vessel, wherein the sacred fire which came down from heaven (Leviticus 9:24) was kept burning while the altar and the grate were cleaned from the coals and ashes, and while the altar was carried from one place to another, as it often was in the wilderness.”
The fire used upon this altar was held to be sacred, having first descended thereon from heaven (Leviticus 9:24). It was therefore to be kept continually burning, and never to go out (Leviticus 6:13). Some think that it was from this that the Chaldeans and the Persians derived the notion of their sacred fire, which they preserved and nourished with religious care and attention; and the custom or idea is said to have passed from them to the Greeks and Romans. This, although far from certain, is yet possible, seeing that a large proportion of the ancient falsehoods in religion are found to be corrupted truths. It may be asked, how the sacred fire of the Israelites was preserved in their marchings through the wilderness, when the altar was wrapped up in coverings of cloth and skin? The Rabbis say that it was by miracle; but it is surely sufficient to suppose that the grate containing the fire was then taken out of the altar, and carried by itself.
Laver
The Brazen Laver,
Exodus 30:17-21
(Click on the picture to enlarge it)
The Laver, containing water for the ablutions of the priests before entering upon the actual discharge of their sacred duties, was also in the Court of the Tabernacle. The precise spot on which it stood is uncertain. It is generally conceived that it was placed midway between the altar and the tabernacle. The text, Exodus 30:18, is thought to sanction that impression. But some Jewish writers undertake to explain that although the laver did indeed stand nearer than the altar to the tabernacle, it was not on the same line with the altar, but a little on one side to the south. It appears to have been felt that the analogy of the sacred services exacted, that nothing—not even the laver—should be interposed directly between the altar and the tabernacle. But all this is uncertain.
It is a remarkable fact that the laver was made entirely out of the mirrors of the women, who contributed them for the purpose. All ancient mirrors were of metal, looking glass being a comparatively modern invention. And as the laver was of brass, we gather that the mirrors which the Hebrew females brought with them out of Egypt were of that metal. White metals appear more suitable, particularly silver, which was in later ages more generally used. Mirrors of metal are alluded to by Job, where he compares the heavens to “a molten mirror” (Job 37:18). Nothing more is said of the laver than that it was of brass. It is usually supposed to have been round, and this is probable; but that it was also very large, as some suppose, is less likely, seeing that it was intended to be portable, and that the priests were not to wash in it, but in water drawn or taken from it. The base or foot could probably be detached from the basin for convenience of carriage; for that it was separable seems to be implied in the specification that “its foot was also of brass” (Exodus 30:18), which it would have been needless to mention, had all been of one piece.
The Tabernacle
We now come to the Tabernacle itself. The minute description of it which is given in the Book of Exodus, indicates that the framework of the sacred structure was of an oblong square figure, thirty cubits in length, by ten cubits in breadth and height. Its length extended from east to
