The Aaronic temple (Mosaic tabernacle) :

Description
Latter-day Saints view the Tabernacle of Moses as an authorized temple of God, but they have
an expanded understanding of what happened on Mt. Sinai and therefore a little bit different
perspective on the theological significance of the tabernacle.1 According to Mormon scripture,
when Moses brought Israel to Mt. Sinai, God intended to give Israel the Melchizedek priesthood
ordinances, available today in any Mormon temple, in order to prepare all worthy Israelites to
see the face of God, just as had happened to Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy other elders of
Israel.2 However, most of the children of Israel, by their faithless behavior during the golden calf
incident, proved themselves unready for the greater obligations that accompany the higher
ordinances. God therefore removed the Melchizedek Priesthood along with its temple rituals and
gave them a preparatory gospel with accompanying ordinances administered through the Aaronic
Priesthood in the Tabernacle of Moses (D&C 84:24-26; JST Exodus 34:1-2).

Aaronic Priesthood temples which anciently included not only the Tabernacle of Moses, but
later the Temple of Solomon and the Second Temple did not generally confer upon their
initiates the keys which open the doors to eternal life as found today in the ordinances of modern
Melchizedek priesthood LDS temples. Instead, they functioned primarily as symbolic teaching
stations meant to prepare the Israelites to receive greater blessings at a later time; they taught
many gospel truths, but predominantly offered only symbolic ordinances exclusively performed
by the priests (the male members of the family of Aaron) and the male members of the tribe of
Levi. The rest of the people of Israel participated in the ceremonies only vicariously through the
actions of the priests and Levites.3
The description of the Tabernacle of Moses
To provide focus and meaning to his law, God asked the Israelites to build a portable temple,
called the tabernacle, as an offering unto him, according to the pattern that he himself would
show them. The detailed pattern that God gave to Moses for building the tabernacle and its ritual
furniture, as well as the robes and consecration ceremonies for Israels priesthood (see Exodus
25-31) all had a singular purpose, which God himself explained: at this sacred building he would
meet with Moses and his fellow Israelites, so that they would know that he was their God; he

1
It goes without saying that those who belong to the Jewish religion would not see the Tabernacle of Moses in the
same way as Latter-day Saints do, nor for that matter, in the way that most other Christians see it, i.e., as a
foreshadowing of Jesus Christ.
2
See D&C 84:19-26 and John Taylor, Items on Priesthood, Priesthood Meeting, Oct. 9, 1880, pamphlet, 1881,5;
quoted in Lee A. Palmer, Aaronic Priesthood through the Centuries [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1964, 19)
3
One exception is that regular Israelites could present, lay hands on, and slay the animals offered at the altar of
sacrifice.
intended, he said, to dwell among the children of Israel, and [would] be their God (Exodus
29:43-46).

Not surprisingly, given this purpose, the biblical record relating Gods directions for the
construction of the tabernacle begins with its spiritual center, the Ark of the Covenant. Here, God
said, he would appear to Moses between two statues of cherubim, or angels, positioned on both
ends of its cover4 (Exodus 25:22). God instructed Moses to create the ark as a rectangular box
made of a hard, durable wood called acacia,5 covered with gold. It had a ring on each of the four
corners through which staves would be attached so it could be carried. On the cover, besides the
two cherubim just referred to, a crown of gold surrounded its edge. Inside the ark, God told
Moses to store the tablets of the law he received on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 25:16).

One very plausible explanation for the intended symbolical meaning of the arks details comes
from the Jewish Study Bible:

Cherubs are not the chubby, naked, winged boys known from medieval art, but winged
composite creatures. Various types of such creatures are known from ancient Near
Eastern Art, such as winged sphinxes, with lions bodies, eagles wings, and human faces
(sometimes with a second, animal face), and winged anthropoids with eagles wings and
birds heads. Such creatures, frequently in pairs serve as protective spirits for kings, their
palaces and thrones. Images of royal thrones with cherubs sculpted on their sides, several
of which were found in Canaan and ancient Israel, are consistent with [verse] 22, which
indicates that God would be present between the cherubs. They suggest that the Ark
cover represented Gods throne and the Ark itself His footstool. The symbolism is
consistent with the fact that architecturally the Tabernacle resembles a royal residence,
particularly the royal tent in Egyptian military camps.Treaties were often stored in
sanctuaries in the presence of deities who would enforce their observance.6

Latter-day Saints who see their own temples as the house of the Lord should not be shocked by
this possible understanding of the Tabernacle of Moses as Gods palace.

4
In English the cover is often called the mercy seat. The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of
the Hebrew kapporeth (in the Masoretic text) and Greek (hilasterion; in the Septuagint) by William
Tyndale influenced by the German word Gnadenstuhl as in the Luther Bible; Gnadenstuhl, literally meaning seat of
grace. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercy_seat. Accessed (August 23, 2016)
5
In the Bible, Acacia is referred to as Shittim wood.
6
The Jewish Study Bible, Ed. Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. 166.
After the guidelines for building the Ark of the Covenant, God gave more instructions
delineating the form and materials to be used for the rest of the tabernacle and its furnishings.
The next to follow were those for the table of shewbread, a piece of furniture to be placed on the
north side of the Holy Place. Similar to the ark, it was to be created as a gold-covered,
rectangular, acacia wood table with a golden crown around the top and rings on the corners and
two staves attached. Its accompanying utensils included dishes and bowls. God commanded that
this table should always have twelve loaves of bread, called the Bread of the (Divine)
Presence,7 lying on its top, which the priests were to consume once a week (Leviticus 24:5-9).
The bread of the presence emphasized that God would be with Israel always, as a friend with
whom they might share communal meals, just as Moses and the 73 elders of Israel did on Mt.
Sinai (Exodus 24:11). It could also signify gifts brought to God by his people.

The candleabrum, standing on the south side of the Holy Place, was made of pure gold, built to
look like an almond tree with a center stem and three branches on each side. It burned pure olive
oil.

The altar of incense, placed in the Holy Place before the veil of the Holy of Holies, was made of
acacia wood covered with gold, and had horns on its corners and four rings attached to staves.
The incense that the high priest burnt on the altar each day in the morning and the evening had to
be a specific type of sweet incense. No substitute was allowed. Here also, once a year on the Day
of Atonement, after the high priest had burnt incense at the foot of the ark of the covenant in the
Holy of Holies and then spread the blood of both a sacrificed bull and a goat on the seat of
atonement, he next removed himself to the Holy Place where he put blood, acting as a cleansing
agent,8 on the horns of the altar of incense with his finger and then sprinkled blood seven times
on the altar itself.

As for the overall structure, God directed that the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place be created
by making boards of acacia wood, covering them with gold, and placing them side by side, each
with two tenons on the bottom stuck into silver sockets on the ground. Each board was fitted
with golden rings through which bars of acacia wood covered with gold were passed through,
firmly connecting and bracing the walls of the structure. A veil made of fine-twined linen, and
wool dyed blue, scarlet, and purple separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. It
contained images of cherubim embroidered into the cloth. The cloth ceiling was also made of the
same materials and colors. A similar veil, minus the embroidered cherubim, served as the
entrance to the Holy Place. On top of the ceiling was a tent made from goat hair, and then a
covering of ram skins dyed red, and finally, according to the KJV, a covering of badger skins,

7
The Hebrew for the KJV term shewbread would be typically translated as bread of display or bread of the
presence. The Jewish Study Bible, Ed. Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. New York: Oxford University Press,
2004. 167.
8
The Jewish Study Bible, Ed. Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. 175.
though potentially this outer covering was made of dolphin skins or even of dyed sheep skins or
goat leather.9

In the outer court, between the entrance veil of the Holy Place and the altar of sacrifice, was a
brass laver filled with water so that the priests could wash their hands and feet in order that they
be clean before approaching any closer to the Holy Place to perform the prescribed rituals.

The piece of furniture nearest the entrance to the whole tabernacle complex was a square altar
known as the altar of sacrifice, made of acacia wood and covered with brass, with one horn on
each corner. Here, all of the sacrifices specified in Leviticus 1-7 took place. Here also, the
regular daily sacrifice of two yearling lambs, accompanied with grain offerings, was offered
one in the morning and one in the evening. The most obvious symbolic significance of these Old
Testament sacrifices lends itself to the requirement that faithful Israelites should offer their heart,
might, mind, and soul to God. But, additionally, the Hebrew word for sacrifice, korban, adds
another important layer of meaning. The three-consonant root10 from which korban is derived
is also the root for the verb to come near or to approach. Thus, even today, a typical Jewish
understanding of the sacrifices is that they were meant to bring the Israelites nearer to God and
were the beginning of Israels approach into his presence.11

The boundaries which separated the sacred space of the tabernacle complex from the profane
space on its outside were formed by white linen hangings attached to brass pillars resting on
brass sockets, with some type of silver bands or hooks helping to stabilize the linen walls of this
outer boundary. The entrance, facing east, was made of fine twined linen, and wool dyed blue,
scarlet, and purple, hanging on four brass pillars.

Officiating in the tabernacle required special robes for the Israelite priesthood and certain
preparatory initiations. The robing of the priests included white breeches, a white robe, a sash,
and a bonnet. The high priests normal clothing consisted of breeches (underpants), a robe, a
broidered coat, an ephod, a sash, a mitre, and a breastplate.

On his shoulders, the high priest wore two onyx stones placed in ouches or settings, each with
the names of six of the tribes of Israel engraved thereon, so that they would be remembered by
God. These ouches were connected by chains to the breastplate which featured twelve precious

9
The Jewish Study Bible, Ed. Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. 168.
10
Almost all Hebrew words derive from a three-consonant root.
11
Benjamin Davidson, The Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan
Publishing House, originally published by Samuel Bagster & Sons, Ltd., London, 1848) 666. See also Chaim
Richman, The Holy Temple of Jerusalem, (Jerusalem, The Temple Institute, 1997), 13.
and semi-precious stones, each also engraved with a name of one of the tribes of Israel. The
ephod, probably some sort of apron, was made of fine twined linen and gold, blue, scarlet, and
gold cloth. The robe was blue. On its hem hung blue, purple, and scarlet pomegranates and
alternating gold bells. The purpose of the bells is not known, but since God warned the priests
not to enter the Holy Place without the bells lest they die, just as he did for the washings and the
breeches (Exodus 28:35, 43; 30-21-22), The Jewish Study Bible surmises that the combination of
these three sets of instructions could symbolize that One does not approach [God] unannounced,
unwashed, or immodestly dressed.12 The mitre had a strip of blue lace on its front as a backdrop
for a plate of pure gold upon which was written, Holiness to the Lord.

The consecration of the high priest, Aaron, and his sons, the priests, took place at the door of the
tabernacle. First they received a washing. Then Aarons temple vestments were placed upon him.
After the mitre and the holy crown of blue and gold were placed on his head, he was anointed
with oil. Like Aaron, the priests were also washed, clothed, and anointed. The consecration
finished with a sacrifice of a bull as a sin offering, a ram as a burnt offering, and a second ram as
a peace offering. The blood of the second ram was put on the tip of Aaron and his sons right ear,
the thumb of their right hand, and the big toe of their right foot.

12
The Jewish Study Bible, Ed. Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. 174.