Inner Veil
Blue, purple, and scarlet linen woven with cherubim hangs from four gold-covered pillars on silver sockets. This inner veil divides the two holy rooms (Exodus 26:31–33).
Key points
- The woven cherubim belong to the boundary of the Most Holy Place.
- Look for: Winged figures woven into the veil, distinct from the five-pillar entrance screen.
- Illustrated location: Most Holy Place
- A reconstruction from Exodus 25–30 and 40, with the bread arrangement from Leviticus 24. The Tabernacle has one lampstand with seven lamps and one bread table. The tent follows conventional chamber proportions inferred from boards and curtains; textual court dimensions are listed separately, while the drawn court outline and object spacing are schematic. The court and tent use different drawing scales, and some furnishings are enlarged for visibility; this is not a single-scale plan. The text does not specify the basin’s size, the lampstand’s height, a complete visual blueprint, or the exact appearance of the cherubim. Their drawn forms and decorative patterns are interpretations. Roof and walls are opened to reveal spaces whose access was restricted. The raised illustrative ground base is a display device, not a prescribed Tabernacle floor; Exodus does not specify a floor material. The rear boards, individual silver sockets, carrying fittings, and small service utensils are simplified or omitted.
- The veil and the iconostasis (Christian typology): Exodus describes a veil between the Holy Place and the inner sanctuary. The church iconostasis likewise marks a sanctuary boundary; its icons express communion with Christ and the saints. Hebrews interprets access to God through Christ.
- This is a Christian reading of a biblical pattern. The iconostasis developed historically, and its doors and curtains follow local liturgical customs; it is not an unchanged Temple curtain.
Scripture
- Exodus 26 — Blue, purple, and scarlet linen woven with cherubim hangs from four gold-covered pillars on silver sockets. This inner veil divides the two holy rooms (Exodus 26:31–33).
- Exodus 26:1, 31–35 — The veil and the iconostasis: Exodus describes a veil between the Holy Place and the inner sanctuary. The church iconostasis likewise marks a sanctuary boundary; its icons express communion with Christ and the saints. Hebrews interprets access to God through Christ.
- Hebrews 10:10–22 — The veil and the iconostasis: Exodus describes a veil between the Holy Place and the inner sanctuary. The church iconostasis likewise marks a sanctuary boundary; its icons express communion with Christ and the saints. Hebrews interprets access to God through Christ.