The Tabernacle was a place of worship built by Moses and the Israelites as they wandered in the desert. It was a portable structure that contained the Ark of the Covenant, which held God’s presence, or Shekinah. It also contained an altar where sacrifices were made to God and a table where bread was placed for offerings.
Today, many Jews have synagogues where they meet together to worship God. These synagogues are often much larger than the Tabernacle and contain many more objects than just those mentioned above. Some synagogues have Torah scrolls, which are very large scrolls containing part of the Jewish Bible (known as the Old Testament). The Torah scroll contains everything from Genesis to Deuteronomy, as well as some other parts of scripture such as Psalms and Proverbs.
The tabernacle, which was built by Moses and the Israelites during their time in the wilderness, has been an important sanctuary for many people over thousands of years. The tabernacle provided a place where God could be approached and worshipped. In today’s world, there are many places where people can worship God, but they may not be as accessible as they should be. In order to make sure that everyone has access to worshiping God in their own way and on their own terms, we need to build new tabernacles for today’s society.
The Tabernacle was a mobile temple that played an important role in the lives of ancient Israelites. It was built by God’s command for His people to use as a place of worship and sacrifice. The Tabernacle was transported from one place to another, first with Moses and then later with Joshua and the Israelites. When they finally settled in Canaan (in modern-day Israel), they built a permanent Temple instead of traveling with their portable tabernacle anymore. We don’t know exactly how much it would cost today but we can guess based on similar projects like building churches today or replicating ancient treasures lost to history
The Tabernacle was real
The Tabernacle was real. The Tabernacle was a tent-like structure that served as the place of worship for the Israelites during their wanderings in the wilderness. It was built by the Israelites at God’s command and stood for about 400 years before it was replaced by Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem, which subsequently lasted until its destruction in 70 CE by the Romans under Titus.
So, how much would it cost today? As you can see from this chart, we’ve estimated that building a tabernacle today would run around $25 million dollars (or about $1.2 billion Canadian dollars).
The Tabernacle was built by the Israelites at God’s command.
The Tabernacle was built by the Israelites at God’s command. It was a portable tent that housed the Ark of the Covenant and other sacred items, including the rod of Aaron and manna from heaven. According to Joshua 8:33–35, it is believed that this tent was moved several times during its existence.
The Tabernacle was first constructed in the wilderness of Sinai around 1445 BCE (about 3200 years ago). The Israelites were camped there while they were being led out of Egypt by Moses during their 40 years in the desert (Exodus 16). This is where they would have built it, not in any particular location but instead with each tribe pitching their tents wherever they wanted within sight of Mount Sinai.
The tabernacle in Exodus served as a tent for worship for about 400 years before it was replaced by the Temple in Jerusalem.
The tabernacle in Exodus served as a tent for worship for about 400 years before it was replaced by the Temple in Jerusalem. The tabernacle was built by the Israelites at God’s command. It was made of materials such as gold, silver, and animal hides.
The Tabernacle was extremely valuable.
The Tabernacle was a tent made of gold, silver, and bronze. It was worth about $1 million today.
God provided detailed instructions for building the Tabernacle.
God gave detailed instructions for building the Tabernacle. He also gave detailed instructions for building its furniture and utensils, including the Ark of the Covenant and its coverings.
God instructed Moses to make two curtains of fine twined linen, blue and purple, and crimson material with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman (Exodus 26:1-4). The curtains were to be joined together into one large curtain, which would then be hung between two posts in front of the Holy Place where the Ark of the Covenant was placed (Exodus 26:3).
Bezalel and Oholiab were the two men God chose to build the Tabernacle.
The Tabernacle was built under the direction of God and Moses. He chose Bezalel and Oholiab to be in charge of the construction, but there were also many other skilled craftsmen involved. Bezalel was a master craftsman who had been taught by God Himself.
Oholiab was also an expert at his trade; in fact, he became the head of all the other artisans involved with building the Tabernacle: “Then Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything that [God] commanded him… And they gave gold by weight for all this work… Also, Oholiab and every skillful person whom he had appointed to help him with all kinds of tasks made things for King Solomon’s temple…” (1 Chronicles 28:12-13).
The Tabernacle included only three colors of fabric, gold, silver, and bronze.
The Tabernacle was made of fabric, gold, and silver. The construction materials were acacia wood, pure gold, and pure silver. There are only three colors in the tabernacle: gold, silver, and bronze. The other colors used for the tabernacle were white and blue (turquoise).
The Tabernacle included several items made of acacia wood.
As you may know, acacia wood was used to make the Ark of the Covenant and a table inside the Tabernacle. In fact, it’s believed that acacia trees were planted just outside of Israel’s borders specifically for this purpose. The reason for this isn’t entirely clear; however, it’s theorized that since acacia trees produce little fruit and have no commercial value (meaning they don’t attract animals), they were ideal locations for stashing valuable items like the Ark of the Covenant.
Acacia wood isn’t easy to come by today it takes several years before an acacia tree can be harvested but if you wanted to build something similar today, it would cost you about $1 million worth of money per day if you bought your wood directly from someone who had already cut down their own trees (and then transported them).
The Tabernacle included several items made of pure gold.
The Tabernacle was a large tent where the Israelites worshipped God. It was located in the desert, which is hot and dry. During those times, there were no technologies that could protect the wood from rotting or keep water from evaporating. So God provided the Israelites with an Ark of the Covenant, a Table of Bread of Presence, and more. These items were made out of pure gold. Its purpose was to remind them that nothing is more valuable than His presence as well as to worship Him properly (Leviticus 16:2-5).
The Golden Lampstand had seven branches each branch representing one member of Jesus Christ’s body (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). The lamps themselves represented His Spirit pouring out into us all at once instead of one by one like we would normally do through our physical eyesight (Revelation 1:12-18).
The Golden Altar for Incense stood about four feet high with horns on each side so you could carry it easily while keeping it upright at all times during your journey outside your tent; this way smoke wouldn’t go up directly into someone’s face while they prayed inside their own tents nearby yours if they didn’t want any trouble falling asleep while praying deeply into their hearts before bedtime every night so they could dream sweet dreams together with their loved ones when they got back home again safely sometime later on in life.
While we may never know exactly how much the Tabernacle cost to build, we do know it would be costly to replicate today.
While we may never know exactly how much the Tabernacle cost to build, we do know it would be costly to replicate today.
The price of gold has increased significantly over the last few years. A gram of gold fetched $30 in 2013 but now costs almost three times that at $109.
If we use this figure as a baseline and average out the prices of all materials used in construction, including acacia wood planks (which have also seen an increase), animal skins from sheep or goats, brass fittings for pillars and bases, animal horns for trumpets, etc., then we can get an idea about what it would cost to build a modern-day equivalent in 2019 dollars.
How Much Would It Cost To Build The Tabernacle Today?
The tabernacle was designed to be a portable temple, a movable tent-and-dwelling that the Israelites could carry as they traveled through the wilderness on their way to Canaan. The materials and construction were therefore intended to be lightweight, but still sturdy enough for use in a desert climate.
The following is a list of some of the basic components needed for building this structure:
- one set of blueprints – $200 (estimated)
- wood – $10 per board foot or $5 per square foot (if hand-cut from trees; this includes labor cost)
- gold – $150 per ounce
- silver – about half that price at about $75-$100 per ounce (again including labor costs). This would cover all 1,600 pounds worth needed if each person contributed an average size share based on his portion during the census.*
Making the Tabernacles Linen Curtains
The Tabernacle’s linen curtains were made of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen woven with cherubim. They were 50 cubits long and 5 cubits wide. The curtains were sewn together and hung on four pillars of acacia wood covered with gold.
The cost of the raw materials for making a set of these curtains was $3,347.50 in today’s dollars (or $1,838 per meter). This included:
- 3 meters of fine linen cloth (10 yards) at $2 per yard
- 2 meters of blue yarn at $7 per yard
- 1 meter of purple yarn at $8 per yard
- 1 meter of scarlet yarn at $9 per yard
Making the Tabernacles Gold-Covered Boardsor Pillars
The Tabernacle was a tent, so it must have been constructed from wood. The Hebrew word for boards, or planks, is ” `etz”. It is used to describe the dwelling places of Noah and Lot (Genesis 6:14; Genesis 19:29).
The boards were covered with gold-plated sheets of copper alloyed with silver. According to Ex 28:15-17 and 39:2-3, we can see that the total weight of each board was about 1.5 kilograms or 3 lbs. The total weight for all boards would be 4200 lbs which means that these four walls made up about 1000 square feet combined or 400 square meters. That’s quite large considering most houses have an area of around 100 square meters (1000 square feet)
The sockets were made out of silver because they had to support the pillars (Ex 27:17). There were no structures like this at this time so there weren’t any examples either.
What Will The Cost Be For A Single Pillar?
The shekel was a unit of measurement used in Israel, which was based on the weight of a barleycorn.
One shekel was equivalent to 1/60th of an ounce, or 0.87 grams (g), and one talent weighed 60 shekels. In today’s currency and using the value of gold at $1,300 per ounce:
- 10 shekels = $20
- 20 shekels = $40
- 5 shekels = $10
What will it cost to make two pillars of gold-covered wood, or boards with their sockets of silver?
To replicate the pillars of pure gold-covered wood, or boards with their sockets of silver, you’ll need:
- Pure acacia wood
- A skilled carpenter who knows how to use a saw and hammer
- At least two large buckets’ worth of gold (#827373)
- A dozen buckets’ worth of silver (#1177982)
How much will it cost for the hooks, clasps, and bands made of gold?
- Gold hooks and clasps: These would be made of gold.
- Gold bands: These would also be made of gold, and they are used to connect the curtains to the pillars.
- Silver hooks: Made of silver, these are used to connect the curtains to the copper pillars.
How much would it cost to make the veil of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen woven with cherubim?
The veil was made of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn. It was made to cover the ark of the covenant. The veil was also made for another purpose: to cover the mercy seat in front of which Aaron and his sons must always pray (Exodus 27:20).
The veil separated between holy and most holy places where God would meet with Moses and other prophets (Exodus 26:33-34). The table of showbread was placed in front of this part of the tabernacle, so it also had to be covered by this special cloth that was called a “curtain” because it hung from four posts on top (Exodus 26:2-3).
How much would it cost to make an Ark of acacia wood covered with pure gold?
The ark of the covenant is a wooden chest that contains two stone tablets on which are written the Ten Commandments. It also contains Aaron’s rod and a jar of manna, which were used to prove that Aaron was still anointed by God after he lost his ability to produce miracles. The ark is covered with pure gold and called “the mercy seat.”
According to the Bible, God commanded Moses to build an ark for him to dwell in. The ark was made from acacia wood overlaid with pure gold inside and out (Exodus 25:10-16). While there are many different opinions about what shape this box should have been, most scholars agree it was rectangular with rounded corners and had sides that were 30 inches high and 30 inches wide (1 Kings 8:8). This would mean its volume was approximately 1.5 cubic feet quite small compared with other furniture of ancient times.
How much would it cost to make a mercy seat of pure gold?
According to the website preciousmetalprices.com, the current price of gold (as of 11/4/2018) is $1320 per ounce.
Let’s say you wanted to make a mercy seat out of pure gold. The Bible tells us that it was made of acacia wood overlaid with pure gold; this would require at least 4 ounces’ worth of material just for that part alone. If it were solid 22-karat gold, you’d need 8 more ounces’ worth just for the overlay and that’s not even considering any other embellishments or decoration you might want on your mercy seat.
So let’s say we’re talking about making a solid 22-karat mercy seat here: 16 ounces total. That means one big chunk o’ gold (or silver) will cost roughly $8050 USD at 2018 prices.
The Tabernacle is truly a testament to the power of faith and God’s love for his people. The cost of this amazing structure was minuscule compared to the value it has had throughout history, as well as its importance today in our lives. It is an inspiring example that we can all learn from when considering how much we are worth in God’s eyes.
