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Bible Dictionaries
Tabernacle
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary
or When Israel left Egypt to begin a new life as an independent nation, God gave detailed arrangements for its organized religious life. According to these arrangements, Israel’s place of worship was to be a tabernacle, or tent, set up in the centre of the camp. This tabernacle was the symbol of God’s presence, a sign that God dwelt among his people. He was part of them, the centre of their national life. It was known as the tent of meeting (Exodus 39:32), for it was the place where God met with his people. It was also called the tent of the testimony (Exodus 38:21), to remind the people that within it, in the ark, was the testimony of God, the law, which was to guide and control their lives.
The tabernacle was designed so that it could be easily put together, taken apart and transported. It was a prefabricated shrine that the people of Israel took with them on their journey to Canaan and set up at camps along the way. It consisted of a two-roomed timber structure inside a tent, which in turn was set in a large court surrounded by a fence. Within the rooms, and in the open court, were articles of sacred furniture.
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