| A · Structure: what you see |
|---|
| Court fence | Linen hangings 5 cubits high on 60 pillars, bronze bases, silver hooks and bands; 100 × 50 cubits | Ex 27:9–19; 38:9–20 |
|---|
| Gate screen | 20 cubits, blue, purple, scarlet and linen, embroidered, on 4 pillars, east side | Ex 27:13–16; 38:18–19 |
|---|
| Cords and pegs | Bronze pegs for court and tent; cords carried by the Merarites | Ex 27:19; 35:18; 38:20, 31; Num 3:37; 4:32 |
|---|
| Frames (walls) | Upright acacia boards overlaid with gold, 10 cubits high, in silver bases, locked by bars; walls only, no wooden roof | Ex 26:15–30; 36:20–34 |
|---|
| Roof, layer 1: inner curtains | Ten linen curtains with cherubim in blue, purple, scarlet; two sets joined by 50 gold clasps; the ceiling seen from inside | Ex 26:1–6; 36:8–13 |
|---|
| Roof, layer 2: goats' hair | Eleven curtains of goats' hair joined by bronze clasps, the "tent" over the "tabernacle" | Ex 26:7–13; 36:14–18 |
|---|
| Roof, layers 3–4: skins | Covering of tanned rams' skins and, on top, "goatskins" (Heb. taḥash, meaning uncertain) | Ex 26:14; 36:19 |
|---|
| Veil | Cherubim curtain on 4 gold pillars, hung under the clasps; separates Holy Place from Most Holy | Ex 26:31–33; 36:35–36 |
|---|
| Door screen | Embroidered screen on 5 pillars at the tent's east entrance | Ex 26:36–37; 36:37–38 |
|---|
| Pattern shown on the mountain | Moses is to make the tent and every piece of furniture after the pattern (tavnit) he is shown | Ex 25:9, 40; 26:30; 27:8; Num 8:4 |
|---|
| Layout and orientation | Table north, lampstand south, ark behind the veil; tent set up and furnished in order; entrance east | Ex 26:33–35; 40:17–33; Num 3:38 |
| B · Furniture |
|---|
| Ark and mercy seat | Gold-covered chest 2½ × 1½ × 1½ cubits; solid gold cover with two cherubim; tablets inside; God speaks from above it | Ex 25:10–22; 37:1–9; 40:20–21; Deut 10:1–5 |
|---|
| Table of the bread of the Presence | Gold-covered table with dishes, pans, pitchers, bowls; twelve loaves in two rows with frankincense | Ex 25:23–30; 37:10–16; 40:22–23; Lev 24:5–9 |
|---|
| Lampstand | One talent of hammered gold; six branches, almond blossoms, seven lamps; pure olive oil | Ex 25:31–40; 27:20–21; 37:17–24; 40:24–25; Lev 24:1–4; Num 8:1–4 |
|---|
| Altar of incense | Gold-covered, 1 × 1 × 2 cubits, horned, before the veil; incense recipe; blood on its horns once a year | Ex 30:1–10, 34–38; 37:25–29; 40:26–27 |
|---|
| Bronze altar and utensils | 5 × 5 × 3 cubits, horns, ledge, grating, poles; pots, shovels, basins, forks, fire pans; no steps | Ex 27:1–8; 38:1–7; 40:29; 20:26 |
|---|
| Bronze basin | Between tent and altar; made from the women's mirrors; priests wash hands and feet | Ex 30:17–21; 38:8; 40:30–32 |
|---|
| Anointing oil | Recipe; every piece and the priests anointed | Ex 30:22–33; 40:9–15; Lev 8:10–12 |
| C · Zones and who may go where |
|---|
| Court | Any clean Israelite bringing an offering; the unclean kept out until purified | Lev 1:3; 12:4; 15:31; Num 5:2–4; 19:13, 20 |
|---|
| Holy Place | Aaron and his sons only, for the daily service; outsiders who approach die | Ex 27:21; 30:7–8; Num 18:1–7 |
|---|
| Most Holy Place | High priest, once a year, with blood and incense; at any other time, death | Lev 16:2, 29–34; Ex 30:10 |
|---|
| Sinai's three levels | The people at the base behind a boundary; Aaron, his sons and seventy elders partway up; Moses alone into the cloud | Ex 19:12, 17; 24:1–2, 9–18 |
|---|
| Levite ring | Levites camp around the tent and guard it; Aaron's family on the east | Num 1:50–53; 3:5–10, 23–38; 18:2–6, 22–23 |
|---|
| Camp | Twelve tribes in four camps by standard, Judah on the east | Num 2:1–34; 10:11–28 |
|---|
| Outside the camp | The leprous, the corpse-defiled, executions, burned carcasses, the scapegoat | Lev 4:12; 13:46; 16:22, 27; 24:14; Num 5:2–4; 12:14–15; 15:35–36; Deut 23:12–14 |
| D · The individual's sin offering |
|---|
| Case and animal | Unintentional sin made known; female goat or lamb without blemish | Lev 4:27–28, 32 |
|---|
| Who kills the animal | In every grade the one who sinned kills his own offering: the anointed priest, the leader, the ordinary Israelite; only the congregation's bull is left in the passive. The priest's work begins with the blood | Lev 4:4, 15, 24, 29, 33; 1:5; 3:2, 8, 13 |
|---|
| The common person's responsibility | One of “the common people” (4:27) lays his own hand on the head and kills his own animal at the place of the burnt offering, north side of the altar; the priest takes over only at the blood | Lev 4:27–30, 33; 1:11 |
|---|
| Blood | Finger to the horns of the bronze altar; remainder at its base | Lev 4:30, 34 |
|---|
| Fat and forgiveness | Fat portions burned as with the peace offering; atonement made, forgiven | Lev 4:31, 35; 3:14–16 |
|---|
| If poor | Two birds, or a tenth of an ephah of flour | Lev 5:7–13 |
|---|
| Afterwards: meat, vessels, garments | Eaten by male priests in the court; earthen pot broken, bronze scoured; spattered garment washed; none eaten if blood went inside | Lev 6:24–30; 10:17–18 |
|---|
| Ashes and hide | Ashes to a clean place outside the camp; hide of a burnt offering to the priest | Lev 6:10–11; 7:8 |
|---|
| Other grades | Anointed priest (bull, blood inside, burned outside); congregation (same); leader (male goat, altar horns) | Lev 4:3–12; 4:13–21; 4:22–26 |
|---|
| Why blood | "The life of the flesh is in the blood… it is the blood that makes atonement" | Lev 17:11; Gen 9:4; Deut 12:23 |
| E · Day of Atonement |
|---|
| Setting and warning | After Nadab and Abihu; Aaron may not enter at will | Lev 16:1–2; 10:1–3 |
|---|
| Bathing and linen garments | Linen coat, undergarment, sash, turban; changed back afterwards | Lev 16:4, 23–24, 32 |
|---|
| Animals and lots | Bull and ram for Aaron; two goats and a ram for the people; one lot for the LORD, one for Azazel | Lev 16:3, 5–11 |
|---|
| Incense cloud | Censer of coals from the altar, two handfuls of incense, cloud covers the mercy seat | Lev 16:12–13 |
|---|
| Blood on the mercy seat | Bull's blood, then goat's: on the front and seven times before it | Lev 16:14–15 |
|---|
| Tent and altar purged | Atonement for the Holy Place and tent; blood on the altar's horns, sprinkled seven times | Lev 16:16–19; Ex 30:10 |
|---|
| Live goat | Both hands laid on, all iniquities confessed, sent into the wilderness by a ready man, who then washes | Lev 16:20–22, 26 |
|---|
| Carcasses | Bull and goat burned outside the camp; the burner washes | Lev 16:27–28 |
|---|
| Aaron alone | The high priest lays hands and kills, for himself and for the people; no layperson touches an animal that day | Lev 16:11, 15, 21 |
|---|
| The people's part | 10th of the 7th month; afflict yourselves, no work, a Sabbath of solemn rest; festival offerings | Lev 16:29–31; 23:26–32; Num 29:7–11 |
|---|
| Yearly statute | Once in the year, for all their sins; also the Jubilee trumpet on this day | Lev 16:34; Ex 30:10; Lev 25:9 |
| F · The priests' regular work |
|---|
| Ordination | Seven-day consecration of Aaron and his sons; first service and the fire from the LORD | Ex 29; Lev 8–9 |
|---|
| Garments | Ephod, breastpiece, robe, coat, turban, sash; linen undergarments | Ex 28; 39:1–31 |
|---|
| Daily offering (tamid) | A lamb morning and twilight with flour, oil and wine | Ex 29:38–42; Num 28:1–8 |
|---|
| Lamps and incense | Lamps tended evening to morning; incense at the same hours | Ex 27:20–21; 30:7–8; Lev 24:1–4 |
|---|
| Bread | Twelve loaves renewed each Sabbath; old loaves eaten by priests | Lev 24:5–9 |
|---|
| Fire and ashes | Fire kept burning continually; ashes removed in changed garments | Lev 6:8–13 |
|---|
| Washing | Hands and feet at the basin before entering or approaching the altar | Ex 30:19–21; 40:30–32 |
|---|
| Sabbaths, new moons, feasts | The public offering calendar | Lev 23; Num 28–29 |
|---|
| Priests' portions | What the priests may eat, and where | Lev 6:14–7:36; 10:12–15; Num 18:8–19 |
|---|
| Packing and carrying | Aaron's sons cover the holy things; Kohath, Gershon, Merari carry; set up again; moving with the cloud | Num 4; 1:50–51; 7:1–9; 9:15–23; 10:17, 21, 33–36 |
| G · Eden echoes |
|---|
| Cherubim and the east | Cherubim posted east of the garden; cherubim on the mercy seat, ceiling and veil; entrance from the east | Gen 3:24; Ex 25:18–20; 26:1, 31; 27:13; Num 3:38 |
|---|
| Work and keep | Adam's task in the garden; the Levites' and priests' task at the tent, same two verbs | Gen 2:15; Num 3:7–8; 8:26; 18:5–7 |
|---|
| God walking among | The sound of God walking in the garden; God walking in the camp and dwelling among Israel | Gen 3:8; Ex 25:8; 29:45–46; Lev 26:11–12; Deut 23:14 |
|---|
| Tree of light | Lampstand shaped as a flowering almond tree | Ex 25:31–36; Gen 2:9 |
|---|
| Seven and rest | Seven divine speeches ending in Sabbath; work finished, blessed, glory fills | Ex 25:1; 30:11, 17, 22, 34; 31:1, 12–17; 39:32, 43; 40:33–35; Gen 1:31–2:3 |
|---|
| Gold and stones | Eden's land of gold and onyx; gold and onyx on the priest's shoulders and in the tent | Gen 2:11–12; Ex 25:3, 7; 28:9–12, 17–20 |
|---|
| Two boxes | Noah's ark and the ark of the covenant are specified in the same order: material, dimensions, fittings; the first is pitched (kafar) with the root of the second's atonement | Gen 6:14–16; Ex 25:10–16; 37:1–5 |
|---|
| Exile eastward, return westward | Humanity driven out east; the worshiper walks west toward the presence | Gen 3:23–24; 4:16; 11:2; Ex 27:13–16 |