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1. OT “Tabernacle” is a rendering of ʾōhel môʿēd, “the tent of meeting.” We find it in Exod. 33:7–11; Num. 11:14–17, 24b–30; 12:4–5a, 6–8, 10, traditions that were inserted into the Yahwist source (Pentateuch) and likely were pre-Deuteronomistic. This tent-sanctuary stood outside the camp and was a place of revelation at which Yahweh declared his will after the theophany at Sinai, so that those who received the Spirit became prophets. In Deut. 31:14–15 it was also the place at which Joshua became Moses’ successor. It later came to be located by the Deuteronomist at Shiloh (Josh. 18:1; 19:51…

1. Biblical Archaeology 1.1. Task The task of biblical archaeology is to investigate the history of settlement and culture of Palestine. This task demands the reconstruction of the history of settlement and the recovery of artifacts by surface exploration and excavation, followed by the collection and interpretation of the artifacts with a view to exhibiting the material culture in the different epochs. Surface exploration involves taking an inventory of whatever remains may still be present. Ruined buildings are seldom available. A site usually consists o…

1. Religious History 1.1. Temples are places to worship God (§1) or the gods. Their construction and artistic furnishings reflect the basic cosmological and mythical ideas of a religion. Especially the way of distinguishing the sacred and the profane, which is not always as clear and simple as in the case of the Greek temenos or the Roman templum, is demonstrated by the shape of the temple. In many cases, as in the East, we find concentric spheres of the sacred, culminating in the holiest place of all (Sanctuary). A ¶ path leads from the outer secular sphere through intervening rooms …