The Establishment of Religious Worship

(Exodus 39:42 - 40:38)

Thus all the work upon the Tabernacle was completed and the people of Israel had accomplished everything that Moses had been commanded by Jehovah.  They presented to Moses the Tabernacle: the tent, its furniture, rings, panels, crossbars, posts, plinths, the coverings of tanned sheepskins and fine leather, the veil of the inner Sanctum, the Chest of Sacred Records, its staves and its lid, the Judgment Seat, the table, its vessels, and loaves of showbread, the menorah of pure gold, its lamps, and utensils, with its oil for light, the Sacrificial Altar of gold, the Anointing Oil, the Sacred Incense, the curtain for the entrance to the Tabernacle, the Incense Altar of bronze, its grate, its staves, and its utensils, the wash basin and its stand, the curtains for the courtyard perimeter, the posts and plinths, the curtain for the courtyard entrance, its cords and tent pegs, all the furnishings for service in the Tabernacle, and the elegant garments for ministering in the Sanctum, that is, the clothes for Aaron and his sons when they would serve as priests.

All the work that Jehovah had commanded, the people of Israel accomplished.  Moses examined the work and when he saw that his people had done what Jehovah had ordered, he blessed them.

Jehovah informed Moses, "Set up the Tabernacle on the first day of the first month.  Place within it the Chest of Sacred Records behind the veil that will shroud the Inner Sanctum.  Set up the table and arrange the showbread on it.  Bring in the menorah and light its lamps.  Set the golden Incense Altar in front of the Chest of Sacred Records.  Hang the curtain across the entrance to the Sanctum and outside it, in the courtyard, set up the Sacrificial Altar.  Between the altar and the Sanctum, place the wash basin, and fill it with water.  You should put up the curtain around the Tabernacle courtyard and the entrance to it.  Use the Anointment Oil and sprinkle it upon the Tabernacle and its utensils and vessels so that they will be sanctified.  The Sacrificial Altar should be anointed with its utensils so that they will be sanctified.  Anoint the wash basin and its stand as well so they will also be sanctified.

“You should conduct Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tabernacle and wash them with water.  You should garb Aaron in the priestly raiment, anoint him so that he will be sanctified and be able to minister to me as a priest.  Then you will present his sons, garb and anoint them as you did their father that they may also minister to me as priests.  Their anointing will forever reserve the priesthood for their descendants."

Moses accomplished all that Jehovah commanded him.  And so on the first day of the first month in the second year of the Exodus the Tabernacle was established.  Moses put it up, set up the panels and their crossbars, placed the posts in their plinths, spread the covering over the top of the tent, as Jehovah had commanded.  He put the tablets in the Chest of Records, put on the lid, the judgment seat, and inserted the staves.  When the chest was brought in to the Tabernacle, he hung the veil and drew it around it, in fulfillment of Jehovah's commandment.  He set up the table in the Sanctum, at the north side of the Tabernacle, outside the veil of the Inner Sanctum.  He laid out the loaves of showbread as instructed by Jehovah.  He set up the menorah in the Sanctum opposite the table on the south side and lighted the lamps in accordance with Jehovah's instructions.  He placed the golden Incense Altar in front of the veil and burnt fragrant incense upon it, as Jehovah had instructed.  He hung the curtain before the entrance of the Tabernacle.  He placed the Sacrificial Altar before the entrance to the Sanctum and made offerings of grain and burnt sacrifices of animals upon it, as Jehovah instructed.  He positioned the wash basin between the altar and the Sanctum and filled it with water for washing.  And Aaron and his sons washed their hands and feet before they entered the Sanctum and approached the altar, as instructed by Jehovah.  Lastly, he set up the curtain around the courtyard of the Tabernacle and the entrance to it.  So Moses finished his work.

When a cloud-like airship hovered over the Tabernacle, it meant that Jehovah in his glory was present in the Sanctum.  Moses would not be able to enter the Tabernacle when the ship was there and Jehovah occupied the Sanctum.  When this cloud-like ship departed from the Tabernacle, the Israelites would resume their journey, but if it continued to hover above the Tabernacle they would pause in their travels until it was gone.  By day, Jehovah was present above the Tabernacle in his cloud-like airship, which, by night, glowed like fire, always visible to all the people of Israel during their journeys. 

Notes
1.  One wonders whether Moses, supposedly an 80-year-old man, actually assembled the Tabernacle himself or merely supervised the job.  The Tabernacle was created to be a mobile home/temple for Jehovah with the pieces easily disassembled and transported, presumably on the backs of donkeys or in ox-drawn carts and wagons or, in the case of the furniture, carried by bearers by means of the staves.  Nevertheless, it seems highly problematic that a nomadic people at that time could have constructed and transported so elaborate an edifice.  Most authorities believe that the Tabernacle herein described refers to a later pre-Temple structure more familiar to the biblical authors.

2.  The description of Jehovah’ appearance in the Tabernacle seems at first confusing until one realizes that he is visiting it in an airship, from which he descends as it hovers above.  When the ship, described as a cloud, is above the Tabernacle, Jehovah is present there.  By night, the ship is compared to fire, that is, it was lighted, as one would expect.  An alternative interpretation, that the spirit of Jehovah manifests itself as a cloud and as fire, makes far less sense.

3.  Jehovah seems determined to spend most of his time with the Israelites, although it is not clear exactly how he is occupying himself when he inhabits the Tabernacle, sometimes for days at a time.  If he is really a universal god, wouldn't he have business elsewhere?  Why, one might ask, does he allow an obscure tribe of nomads to monopolize his time?