Tabernacle

The Tabernacle (Hebrew mishkan, "dwelling"; ohel mo'ed, "tent of meeting") was the portable sanctuary God commanded Moses to construct as his dwelling place among Israel in the wilderness (Ex. 25–31; 35–40). Built from acacia wood, gold, silver, bronze, and fine linen with blue, purple, and scarlet yarns, it comprised an outer court (containing the bronze altar of burnt offering and the bronze laver), the Holy Place (containing the seven-branched menorah, the table of showbread, and the altar of incense), and the Holy of Holies (containing the ark of the covenant beneath the mercy seat and the two golden cherubim). The divine glory filled it upon completion (Ex. 40:34–38). The tabernacle traveled with Israel throughout the wilderness, set up at each campsite with the tribe of Levi encamped around it. It was eventually superseded by Solomon's Temple. The New Testament interprets the tabernacle typologically: the Word "tabernacled" among us (John 1:14), Christ's body is the true tabernacle (Heb. 9:11), and the entire system prefigures his high-priestly ministry (Heb. 8–10).