The Tabernacle (Lat. tabernaculum, "tent"; taberna, "hut"; the word renders the Heb. mishkan), the portable sanctuary constructed by the Children of Israel in the wilderness at the command of God. The Bible designates the Tabernacle by a variety of Hebrew terms, each of which is significant in that it either describes the structure of the shrine or depicts its function. Primarily the names may be divided into two groups, one connected with the term mishkan and the other with the designation Ohel, as follows: (a) Mishkan ("Dwelling," i.e., God's Dwelling Place among Israel; e.g., Ex. 25:9). (b) Mishkan YHWH ("The Dwelling of the Lord"; e.g., Lev. 17:4). (c) Mishkan ha-Edut ("The Dwelling Place of the Testimony," i.e., of the Tablets of the Covenant, inscribed with the Decalogue; e.g., Ex. 38:21). (d) Ohel Mo’ed ("Tent of Meeting," i.e., where the Lord meets with – reveals Himself to – man; e.g., Ex. 28:43). This designation is very common, occurring about 150 times. (e) The terms are combined in Mishkan Ohel Mo’ed ("Dwelling Place of the Tent"; e.g., Ex. 39:32). It should be noted that ohel and mishkan are synonyms in Hebrew (e.g., Num. 16:26, 27). In the Bible these words sometimes occur as poetic expressions for residences that are permanent structures (e.g., Isa. 54:2; Jer. 30:18). With reference to the sanctuary, mishkan and ohel are used both in a general sense – to denote the entire structure of the Tabernacle – and in a restricted connotation, the former signifying the beautiful inner ceiling of the shrine, and the latter the covering of goats' hair immediately above this.

(f) Finally, the Tabernacle is also called Miqdash ("Sanctuary"; e.g., Ex. 25:8) and ha-Qodesh ("The Holy Place"; e.g., Ex. 28:29). The innermost sanctuary is known as the Qodesh ha-Qodashim, "The Most Holy Place" or "The Holy of Holies." Unaffected by the exegetical and historical problems arising from the description of the Tabernacle ascribed to P and to E, and irrespective of the solutions proposed, is the question of the shrine's symbolism. The sanctuary is the embodiment of Israel's concept of holiness; all the minutiae of the specifications conjoin to illustrate how "the holy nation" and "the kingdom of priests" can serve the One Holy God "in the beauty of holiness." The Creator of the universe also dwells among men. The problem of reconciling divine transcendentalism with immanence is a challenge to the conceptual reasoning of the philosopher; to the Israelite it was an intuitively accepted truth inherent in the mystery of faith. To God all things were possible (cf. Gen. 18:14; Num. 11:23; Jer. 32:17, 27). The way of holiness, leading to the Divine Presence, was graduated. Man must not approach holy things suddenly or irreverently (cf. Num. 4:19–20; II Sam. 6:6–7); nor could this be done by everyone or at all times (Lev. 10:1–2; 16:17). This truth is symbolically inculcated in various ways: first, by the position of the sanctuary. Within the great family of nations Israel was "a treasured people," the Lord's priests; within the framework of the 12 tribes – the camp – the priests and levites occupied the central position; the Tabernacle stood in the midst of the tribe of Levi. But the gradation did not end there. The court was the outer enclosure of the sacred structure. Within it stood the shrine, which was in turn divided into two compartments – the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies (or Most Holy Place). The Divine Presence rested on the throne of the cherubim in the Holy of Holies (similar concepts were symbolically expressed in Solomon's Temple and in the sanctuary visualized by Ezekiel).