Tabernacle
The term "tabernacle" encompasses two significant meanings within the Judeo-Christian tradition. Firstly, in the context of the Hebrew Bible, particularly the Book of Exodus, the tabernacle refers to a portable sanctuary designed by the prophet Moses, instructed by God. This structure served as a place of worship for the Israelites during their journey out of Egypt and toward Canaan, featuring an outer courtyard and an inner sacred space that housed the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. Detailed descriptions of the tabernacle's construction allow for its accurate reconstruction based on specified materials and dimensions.
Secondly, in Roman Catholicism, a tabernacle is a storage case for the Eucharist, typically housed in churches. Emerging as a standard feature from the sixteenth century, these tabernacles are often ornately decorated and designed to safeguard the sanctity of the Eucharist, which is fundamental to Catholic worship. While both meanings of the term highlight the importance of sacred space and objects in religious practice, they reflect different cultural and historical contexts within the broader scope of faith.
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Tabernacle
The term tabernacle has two main meanings in the Judeo-Christian tradition. In the first sense, the tabernacle was a sanctuary built by the prophet Moses according to instructions handed down by God, as described in the Old Testament's Book of Exodus. According to the Old Testament, the tabernacle was a portable place of worship used by the Israelites after they escaped enslavement in Egypt.
Alternately, Roman Catholics use the term to describe a storage case where the Eucharist is kept when it is not in use. Tabernacles slowly emerged as a standard feature of Catholic churches beginning in the sixteenth century. This custom of dedicating a storage case to the Eucharist first appeared in Rome and subsequently spread to other Catholic countries.
Background
The Christian Old Testament, known as the Torah in Judaism, describes a well-known episode commonly called the Exodus, in which the prophet Moses leads the Israelite Jewish people out of Egypt, where they had been enslaved. Although its exact date is disputed, biblical scholars generally use the chronology of the Old Testament to place the Exodus near the end of the Late Bronze Age, sometime around 1200 BCE. Historical evidence supporting the authenticity of the event is scant, but the Exodus nonetheless plays a major role in the Jewish faith tradition. It is considered one of the most significant chapters in Jewish religious history.
During the Exodus, the Israelites fled Egypt and made their way east toward the ancient land of Canaan. Along the way, Moses received revelations from God at Mount Sinai, including the Ten Commandments. The Exodus is said to have marked the fulfillment of the Mosaic Covenant, in which the Israelites became God's chosen people through their unique acknowledgement of the holy laws handed down to them through a succession of prophets.
In Roman Catholicism, the Eucharist is the sacrament of Holy Communion, which is effectively a re-enactment of the Last Supper. The Eucharist itself is usually presented as a wafer of unleavened bread known as a host, which is symbolically transmuted into the body of Christ through liturgical rituals carried out during mass. Eucharist hosts are then distributed to members of the congregation.
It is considered important to properly store the Eucharist to safeguard its sanctity and purity. Prior to the adoption and standardization of the tabernacle as a church furnishing, there were four major methods used to store the Eucharist when it was not in use. Early Christians tended to store hosts in the sacristy, a church storage room where clothing, furniture, and vessels used in the celebration of mass are kept. Later, it became more common to store the Eucharist in an architectural feature known as the Sacrament-House, which was usually built into a choir wall or church vaulting. Alternately, the Eucharist was suspended by a cord or chain over the altar in a vessel known as a dove or pyx. Finally, some churches laid the dove or pyx on the altar itself, rather than suspending the vessel with a cord or chain. Other churches simply used a small cabinet for this purpose instead of a vessel.
Overview
The tabernacle built by the Israelites during their flight from Egypt is primarily described in the Old Testament/Torah's Book of Exodus, which details the instructions given to Moses by God with regard to its construction. The tabernacle served as a makeshift temple and was designed for portability. This enabled the Israelites to take it with them during their travels.
The tabernacle consisted of two main components: an outer courtyard with an altar and a water basin, and an inner building for the performance of religious rituals. Religious materials, including the Ark of the Covenant, a fabled gold-covered chest said to contain the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were etched, were also stored in this inner building.
Instructions regarding the construction of the tabernacle are so detailed that it is actually possible to reconstruct it with a high degree of accuracy. The size of its individual structural components, and the materials from which these components were to be sourced and built, are specified in scriptural passages. For example, chapter 26 of the Book of Exodus states that the tabernacle is to include ten curtains of "finely twisted linen and blue and purple and crimson yarns, with cherubim." The chapter also describes elements such as an eleven-curtain tent made of goat hair, protective coverings fashioned from leather and red-dyed ram skins, and gilded acacia pillars with golden hooks resting atop four silver bases.
Daily rituals and offerings were performed in the tabernacle. After the Israelites conquered Canaan to mark the end of their wanderings, the tabernacle was moved to various locations throughout the new kingdom. There are no scriptural references to the tabernacle after the Siege of Jerusalem in 597 BCE, leading some to surmise that it may have been destroyed during this event.
In Catholicism, tabernacles are often decorated and adorned with intricate carvings, religious symbols, or other embellishments, and may be made from or contain precious metals. They take various shapes, but they are usually rectangular with either a flat or a domed lid. It became a standard practice to store the Eucharist in tabernacles when the Sacred Congregation of Rites was officially adopted by the Roman Catholic Church in 1863.
In many churches, tabernacle storage cases often rest atop secondary altars that are usually located on the side aisles of a church interior. These secondary altars are sometimes also called tabernacles themselves, although this is technically a misnomer as the term specifically refers only to the Eucharist storage case.
Bibliography
Deffinbaugh, Bob. "The Consecration of the Tabernacle and the Presence of God (Exodus 40)." Bible.org, bible.org/seriespage/33-consecration-tabernacle-and-presence-god-exodus-40. Accessed 25 Mar. 2017.
DeGraaf, Anne. Exodus: Moses Leads the People. Bible Society, 1989.
"Exodus 25–27; 30: The Tabernacle." The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, www.lds.org/manual/old-testament-seminary-student-study-guide/exodus-25-27-30?lang=eng. Accessed 25 Mar. 2017.
Hays, Daniel J. The Temple and the Tabernacle: A Study of God's Dwelling Places from Genesis to Revelation. Baker Books, 2016.
"Instructions for Making the Tabernacle." Bible Gateway, www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+26&version=LEB. Accessed 25 Mar. 2017.
Levy, Thomas E., et al., editors. Israel's Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective: Text, Archaeology, Culture, and Geoscience. Springer, 2015.
"Moses and the Exodus." NOVA, 18 Nov. 2008, www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/moses-exodus.html. Accessed 25 Mar. 2017.
"Tabernacle." New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia, www.newadvent.org/cathen/14424a.htm. Accessed 25 Mar. 2017.