X-DreamersText version
The Tabernacle: the guided tour as text
The 3D lab's guided tour as a story you can read, stop by stop, with the scripture behind each one. It works on any device, without 3D.
Open the 3D labCan't see the 3D? How to turn on hardware acceleration
The camp
Stop 1 of 25
Camp of Israel
Here is the whole camp of Israel, the tribes arranged around the Tabernacle.
8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. 9 According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
Read Numbers 2:1–3; Exodus 25:8–9
Stop 2 of 25
The east side of the camp
Down among the tents on the east: Judah camps toward the sunrise, with Moses, Aaron and the priests nearest the gate, and worn paths lead to it. Next: the cloud above.
But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
Read Numbers 2:3; Numbers 2:9; Numbers 3:38
Stop 3 of 25
Pillar of Cloud and Fire
Above the tent stands the pillar of cloud, God's presence over the camp. Next, we walk down to the courtyard.
Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Read Exodus 40:34–38; Numbers 9:15–18
The courtyard
Stop 4 of 25
Courtyard
This is the courtyard, a hundred cubits long, fenced with linen hangings.
The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.
Read Exodus 27:9–19
Stop 5 of 25
Court Gate
You're standing at the gate on the east side, the only way in. A worshipper brings a lamb, and a priest meets him.
And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four.
Read Exodus 27:13–16; John 10:9
Stop 6 of 25
Court Pillars, Pegs and Cords
Pillars with silver hooks hold up the linen fence. Next: the bronze altar, the first thing inside the gate.
17 All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass. 18 The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass. 19 All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.
Read Exodus 27:10–12; Exodus 27:17–19
Stop 7 of 25
Bronze Altar
Inside the gate stands the bronze altar for the burnt offerings, with two priests serving at it.
1 And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits. 2 And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass.
Read Exodus 27:1–8; Leviticus 1:3–4
Stop 8 of 25
Bronze Basin
Between the altar and the tent is the bronze basin, and a priest is washing there before he goes in. Next we look at the tent from outside.
18 Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. 19 For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:
Read Exodus 30:17–21; Exodus 38:8
The tent from outside
Stop 9 of 25
The Tent (Tabernacle proper)
This is the tent of meeting, thirty cubits long. Its roof has four layers.
15 And thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up. 16 Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one board.
Read Exodus 26:15–25; Exodus 26:33–34
Stop 10 of 25
Outer Covering (Tachash Skins)
We're outside, looking at the roof. The top layer is tachash skin, a tough outer covering.
And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers’ skins.
Read Exodus 26:14; Numbers 4:5–6
Stop 11 of 25
Rams' Skins Dyed Red
With the tachash lifted off you see rams' skins dyed red.
And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers’ skins.
Read Exodus 26:14; Exodus 29:19–22
Stop 12 of 25
Goats'-Hair Curtains
Under the rams' skins lie curtains of goats' hair, like an ordinary tent cloth. Next: the linen beneath them.
7 And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make. 8 The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and the eleven curtains shall be all of one measure. 9 And thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and shalt double the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tabernacle.
Read Exodus 26:7–13
Stop 13 of 25
Linen Curtains with Cherubim
The innermost layer is fine linen woven with cherubim; from inside it is the ceiling.
1 Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them. 2 The length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall have one measure.
Read Exodus 26:1–6; Genesis 3:24
Stop 14 of 25
Boards (Frames)
With every covering removed you see the frame of upright boards overlaid with gold. Next: what they stand on.
15 And thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up. 16 Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one board. 17 Two tenons shall there be in one board, set in order one against another: thus shalt thou make for all the boards of the tabernacle.
Read Exodus 26:15–25
Stop 15 of 25
Silver Sockets
Each board stands in two silver sockets; the parts are pulled apart so you can see them.
25 And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was an hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: 26 A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men. 27 And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail; an hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. 28 And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters, and filleted them.
Read Exodus 30:11–16; Exodus 38:25–28
Stop 16 of 25
Bars and Rings
Gold-covered bars run through rings on the boards and hold the walls together. Next we come to the door.
26 And thou shalt make bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, 27 And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the two sides westward. 28 And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end. 29 And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars: and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold.
Read Exodus 26:26–29
The door
Stop 17 of 25
Tent Door Screen
This woven screen of blue, purple and scarlet is the door of the tent.
36 And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework. 37 And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.
Read Exodus 26:36–37; Hebrews 9:6
The Holy Place
Stop 18 of 25
Holy Place
You're inside the Holy Place, where the priests served every day.
And thou shalt set the table without the vail, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side.
Read Exodus 26:33–35; Exodus 40:22–27
Stop 19 of 25
Table of Showbread
On the north side stands the table with the twelve loaves of showbread.
5 And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. 6 And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD. 7 And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
Read Exodus 25:23–30; Leviticus 24:5–9
Stop 20 of 25
Menorah (Lampstand)
Opposite the table, the golden lampstand lit the room. Next: the altar of incense before the veil.
31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. 32 And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side: 33 Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick.
Read Exodus 25:31–40; Exodus 27:20–21
Stop 21 of 25
Altar of Incense
The small golden altar of incense stands right before the veil.
Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Read Exodus 30:1–10; Psalm 141:2
Stop 22 of 25
Veil
This veil, woven with cherubim, divides the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.
19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having an high priest over the house of God; 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Read Exodus 26:31–33; Matthew 27:51; Hebrews 10:19–22
The Holy of Holies
Stop 23 of 25
Holy of Holies
This is the Holy of Holies, a cube of ten cubits each way.
But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
Read Leviticus 16:2; Hebrews 9:7; 1 Kings 6:20
Stop 24 of 25
Ark of the Covenant
The ark of the covenant held the tablets of the law. Next: its lid, the mercy seat.
10 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.
Read Exodus 25:10–16; Deuteronomy 10:1–5
Stop 25 of 25
Mercy Seat and Cherubim
The mercy seat with its two cherubim, where the blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement. That's the end of the tour.
21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. 22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
Read Exodus 25:17–22; Leviticus 16:14–16; Romans 3:25
Open the 3D labCan't see the 3D? How to turn on hardware acceleration