An Atheist Explores the Bible Part Sixteen: How to Build a Tabernacle (Exodus 26-30)

Exodus 26-30

How to Build a Tabernacle.

Welcome to another instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Bible version).

In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the King James Bible, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology.
For more detail, see the introductory post http://bit.ly/2F8f9JT
For the online KJV I use, see here http://bit.ly/2m0zVUP

And now:

Exodus 26

“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.”

Although I wouldn’t account myself as particularly religious, there are some wonderfully euphonious words associated with religions. “Ecumenical”, “Chasuble”, “Apostate”. And I think “Tabernacle” is one of my favourite words for the pure sound of it. And this chapter is basically a set of instructions on how to make one, which is an extremely fancy tent to house the ark of the covenant (or, interestingly, ark of the testimony as it is called here). Its very detailed, and I can’t help but think that a diagram would have been more easy to interpret, but there you go. The “holy of holies” is where the ark sits, but I was under the impression that it was empty; perhaps after the ark gets stolen it is left empty – a great interpretation of an ineffable and mysterious god. I’m pretty sure I read in Josephus that when the Roman soldiers of Titus finally sacked the temple of Jerusalem, they were surprised an disappointed that the epicentre of the Jewish faith was ... an empty room. Which is a great image. I also like to think in my more irreverent moments that perhaps there was an old bucket and mop and some broken chairs propped up in the corner that the high priest had put there because he knew no-one else was allowed to look.

Exodus 27

“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.”

The building instructions continue. This chapter describes an altar, complete with tools for helping with burnt offerings so it sounds almost like a barbecue, and also the court of the tabernacle, essentially an outer wall of hangings. Not much else to say here except to note that all of these ceremonial items so far described are designed to be portable, with the ark and the altar fitted with loops for poles to carry them with.

Exodus 28

“And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.”

More instructions, this time for the vestments for the priesthood, which is designated to be Aaron and his sons.  The ephod is a kind of highly decorative robe/apron, with bells on the hem so that people know that the priest hasn’t died, or perhaps that he hasn't startled God and got killed (no, really, V35 “And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not.”. The mitre bears a plate with the words “Holiness to the Lord” engraved on it to remind people that see it, and the breastplate is decorated with jewels engraved with the names of the twelve tribes, so that the priest carries them near to his heart.  And finally there’s a warning to remember to wear underpants when in the tabernacle.

Exodus 29

“And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish,”

More instructions, this time on how to sanctify a priest, which mainly involves the sacrifice of animals, and unleavened bread and oil. I don’t really have much to say one this one, other than comparing this with the Iliad I wonder how many animals met their ends on the name of religion in ancient times.

Exodus 30

“When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD:”

Yet more instructions, and something of a mixed bag this time. First there are instructions for another altar, this one specifically for the burning of incense (and then rules for how and when and what to burn). There’s a little insert of a religious tax of half a shekel, to be paid by rich and poor alike, then an injunction to wash when entering the tabernacle, and finally a recipe for sacred anointing oil. A couple of things struck me here – the incense and the washing are features common to a lot of religions; you’d find something similar in a Buddhist temple, for example, so the concept of ritual purification (and what to use to accomplish it) must either be extremely ancient in origin or something that is arrived at separately as an obvious concept.

Second, the concept of the sacred oil reminds me of The Golden Bough where sacred people, places or things are considered imbued with a dangerous kind of magical energy and to touch them in the incorrect fashion risks anything from ruining the magic to causing death. It’s a continuation of that concept – the oil itself and anything anointed with it becomes sacred and not for the general public to mess around with.