Tabernacle

The Tabernacle (Hebrew: משכן‎, mishkan, "residence" or "dwelling place"), according to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, was the portable dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan. Built to specifications revealed by God (Yahweh) to Moses at Mount Sinai, it accompanied the Israelites on their wanderings in the wilderness and their conquest of the Promised Land. The First Temple in Jerusalem superseded it as the dwelling-place of God. There is no mention of the Tabernacle in the Tanakh after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians in 587 BCE.

The fullest description of the Tabernacle describes an inner shrine (named Holy of Holies) housing the Ark of the Covenant and an outer chamber (Holy Place) with a golden lampstand, table for showbread, and altar of incense. This description is generally identified as part of the Priestly source (P), written in the 6th or 5th century BCE. Many scholars contend that it is of a far later date than Moses, and that the description reflects the structure of the Temple of Solomon, while some hold that the description derives from memories of a real pre-monarchic shrine, perhaps the sanctuary at Shiloh. Traditional scholars contend that it describes an actual tabernacle used in the time of Moses and thereafter. According to historical criticism an earlier, pre-exilic source (E) describes the Tabernacle as a simple tent-sanctuary.