Exodus 36:8-37:9
Dear RTB’ers,
Are pictures really worth a thousand words? When it comes to tabernacle structures, I’d say “yes”. In an e-mail that I sent a few years back, I noted that we have a drawing on page 99 of The Chronological Study Bible that is a fairly good artistic rendering of the tabernacle. You might want to look at that if you have the CSB. The larger “fenced” area is the “court of the tabernacle” (Exodus 27:9, ff.). The smaller structure inside the court is the tabernacle, which is composed of two parts, the “holy place” and the “Most Holy” place (Exodus 26:33).
I have imbedded another artistic rendering of the tabernacle below. Both the holy place and the Most Holy place were 15 feet wide and 15 feet high. The lengths were different, 30 feet for the holy place and 15 feet for the Most Holy place. So the Most Holy place was a perfect cube, 15’ x 15’ x 15’.
If a cubit is 18 inches, then these curtains are 42 feet long and 6 feet wide. How does a 42’ x 6’ curtain fit into the tabernacle structure? My understanding is that the curtains form the sides and roof. Each curtain goes up one side (vertically), then across the roof, then down the other side. That total distance would be 45 feet (15+15+15), but the curtains are only 42 feet, three feet short of the 45 feet needed. Presumably those last three feet would be tie-downs, to hold the curtains in place.
I love numbers.
Enjoy!