Holy Place

The Holy Place (Hebrew haqqōdeš) was the outer of the two interior divisions of the tabernacle and temple, separated from the courtyard by the entrance screen and from the Holy of Holies by the inner veil. In the tabernacle it measured twenty cubits long by ten cubits wide and ten cubits high; in Solomon's temple the proportions were doubled. It was accessible to the priests in their daily and weekly ministry, but not to ordinary Israelites.

Three pieces of furniture occupied the Holy Place: the golden lampstand (menorah) on the south side, giving light to the otherwise windowless room; the table of showbread on the north side, bearing twelve loaves renewed every Sabbath; and the golden altar of incense directly in front of the inner veil. The priests maintained the lamps, offered incense morning and evening, and replaced the showbread weekly. These three furnishings are interpreted in Hebrews 9 as types pointing to Christ: the light of the world, the bread of life, and the one mediator whose intercession is the true incense before God.