1.2.9

The First Temple

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The First Temple

The first Jewish temple was called the Tabernacle and contained some important holy items.

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Building a Tabernacle

  • Jews believe in a God that has no physical form.
    • This creates challenges as it is easier to accept something you can see.
  • After the Israelites worshipped the Golden Calf Idol, God commanded Moses to build a Tabernacle.
    • The Tabernacle was a mobile temple dedicated to the worship of God.
  • The Tabernacle would give the people a physical form to focus on.
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Sacrifice in the Temple

  • The furniture in the Temple had symbolic meaning.
  • The altar on which animals were sacrificed was not because God gets hungry.
    • The idea of sacrifice is to take something precious and dedicate it to God.
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Holy items in the Temple

  • The menorah - which is a 7 branched candelabra used in Jewish rituals.
    • Even though God does not need our candles to see, the symbolic message is that God is the light of the world.
  • The holiest item of all was the Ark containing the original Ten Commandments.
  • The first complete Torah scroll written by Moses was also in the Temple.
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The Tabernacle's journey

  • This Tabernacle travelled for 40 years in the desert.
  • When Moses died the people crossed over into the Holy Land of Israel and the Tabernacle was still used to worship God.

Jump to other topics

1Year 7

1.1Origins of Abrahamic Faith

1.2Judaism

1.3Christianity

1.4Buddhism

2Year 8

3Year 9

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