Sanctuaries in the Biblical Period

Of the two sanctuaries that figure most prominently in the Bible—the portable Tabernacle that accompanied the Israelites in the wilderness and King Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem—no physical remains or illustrations have survived. All we have are the descriptions of them found in the biblical text (Exodus 25–31 and 35–40; 1 Kings 6–7 [see Building the Tabernacle and Building the Temple] and 2 Chronicles 3–4). Modern pictorial reconstructions are based on these descriptions and archaeological evidence from other sanctuaries in the region. Many scholars doubt whether the Tabernacle or Solomon’s Temple were as elaborate as they are portrayed in the Bible (some doubt their existence altogether), but there is enough evidence about the design of temples and portable sanctuaries in the ancient Near East to suggest that the biblical traditions have some basis in reality.

According to the biblical descriptions, both the Tabernacle and the Temple consisted of a long building with a main hall and an inner sanctum in back that contained a symbol or throne of God (the Ark of the Covenant with cherubs above it or next to it) and a large sacrificial altar standing in a courtyard in front of the building. In addition, the Temple had a porch in front. A small sanctuary in the Israelite fortress of Arad, in the Negev, likewise had a main hall with an inner sanctum, and also a courtyard with an altar, although the hall was wide rather than long.The Bible also mentions open-air places of worship on hills and/or outside of cities (e.g., Genesis 33:18–20; 1 Kings 14:23), similar to one found in northern Israel. Finally, there are small model shrines that seem to have been based on actual shrines or temples and perhaps symbolized them. They were possibly used in home rituals to receive small offerings or hold figurines of deities. Such models have also been found elsewhere in the region, but they were rare in Israel and disappeared there after the ninth century BCE.