Tabernacle, (“dwelling”), in Jewish history, the portable sanctuary constructed by Moses as a place of worship for the Hebrew tribes during the period of wandering that preceded their arrival in the Promised Land. The Tabernacle no longer served a purpose after the erection of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem in 950 bc.
Israel’s earliest sanctuary was a simple tent within which, it was believed, God manifested his presence and communicated his will. The elaborate description of the Tabernacle in Exodus is believed by some to be anachronistic, for many scholars consider the narrative as having been written during or after the Babylonian Exile (586–538 bc—i.e., after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple).
The entire Tabernacle complex—whose specifications were dictated by God, according to the biblical account—consisted of a large court surrounding a comparatively small building that was the Tabernacle proper. The court, enclosed by linen hangings, had the shape of two adjacent squares. In the centre of the eastern square stood the altar of sacrifice for burnt offerings; nearby stood a basin holding water used by the priests for ritual ablutions. The corresponding position in the western square was occupied by the ark of the Law situated in the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle.
The Tabernacle was constructed of tapestry curtains decorated with cherubim. The interior was divided into two rooms, “the holy place” and “the most holy place” (Holy of Holies). The outer room, or “holy place,” contained the table on which the bread of the Presence (shewbread) was placed, the altar of incense, and the seven-branched candelabrum (menorah). The inner room, or Holy of Holies, was thought to be the actual dwelling place of the God of Israel, who sat invisibly enthroned above a solid slab of gold that rested on the Ark of the Covenant and had a cherub at each end. This Ark was a gold-covered wooden box containing the tablets of the Ten Commandments.