The Tabernacle and Its Furniture by John Kitto
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west, the entrance being at the east end. The two sides and the west end consisted of a framework of boards of acacia-wood, overlaid with gold, of which there were twenty to each side, and eight at the west end. The manner in which these boards were joined to each other, so as to form a wall which might be easily set up or taken down, may be in some degree illustrated by reference to the window-shutters of an extensive shop; yet the boards of the Tabernacle did not slide in grooves, but each was furnished at the bottom with two tenons, which were inserted into corresponding sockets in the bases of solid silver; while, to give greater security to the whole, each of the boards was furnished with five staples or rings of gold, by means of which they were successively run up to their proper places upon horizontal poles or rods, which served as the ribs of the fabric, binding its parts together. Over this wooden framework were spread four coverings. The first of these was of a fine linen, or, as some think, of a cotton texture of blue, purple and scarlet, into which the figures of cherubim were woven. The second covering was somewhat larger than the first, and consisted of a texture, made, as is supposed, of the very fine wool which grows between the hair of some breed of goats. The third covering was a pall made of goat-skins dyed red, and probably having some resemblance to red morocco leather: and the fourth or outermost covering, was a pall of stronger leather, more capable of resisting inclement weather, and perhaps made of fish-skin; possibly, the skin of a kind of dolphin or porpoise, which might have been found in the Red Sea, and would have been very suitable for this purpose. Some interpreters have suggested seal-skins, ignorant that seals are not to be found in those waters.
Our present pictorial representation, in conformity with those which are usually given, represents all these coverings as intended to hang down outside the boards; but some considerations have been recently offered which render it at least probable that the splendid curtain of scarlet, purple, and blue, with interwoven figures of cherubim, was suspended by hooks and eyes within the boards, so that the inside of the Tabernacle was lined entirely, as with costly tapestry. The entrance to the Tabernacle was turned towards the east, and was closed by a splendid curtain, into which figures were woven. So precious were the materials and workmanship of this curtain, that it is understood from Josephus, to have been on ordinary occasions protected from the weather by a linen covering. It was supported on five pillars of acacia-wood overlaid with gold, and each standing in a socket of brass. Four similar pillars within the Tabernacle, towards its west or farther end, supported a still richer hanging, which divided the interior into two apartments, of which the outer was called the “Holy Place,” and the inner the “Most Holy Place,” or the “Holy of Holies.” The separating curtain was called by way of eminence “The Vail,” and hence the expression “within the vail,” or “without the vail,” is sometimes used to distinguish the Most Holy from the Holy Place.
The Holy Place
The Holy Place, or Sanctuary, being the outer chamber of the Tabernacle, was twenty cubits long, ten cubits wide, and ten cubits high. Into no part of the interior—not even into this—were the people admitted. The priests alone had access to it, and they entered it only in the morning and evening to offer incense upon the golden altar, and to extinguish and light again the lamps of the golden candlestick. On the Sabbath day they also entered it, to remove the old shewbread, and to set on the new. The altar for this incense, the candlesticks for these lamps, and the table for this shewbread, composed the furniture of this outer apartment.
The Holy Place:
The Golden Candlestick—Exodus 25:31-40;
The Altar of Incense—Exodus 30:1-9;
The Table of Show-bread—Exodus 25:23-30; Leviticus 24:5-9
(Click on the picture to enlarge it)
Incense Altar
The Incense Altar was of acacia-wood, covered with pure gold, and hence it is sometimes distinguished as “the Golden Altar.” It was very small—not more than a cubit in breadth and in length; but it was higher in proportion than the other altar, its height being twice its diameter.
