Intriguing Discovery Could Offer Proof Of The Tabernacle – Has The Dwelling Place Of God Been Located?

AncientPages.com - Has the dwelling place of God finally been located?

Archaeologists and historians have searched for evidence of the Biblical Tabernacle for many years.

Now, finally an intriguing discovery can shed more light on a mystery that has fascinated mankind for so long.

According to the Bible, the Tabernacle (the Tent of Meeting) housed the Ark of the Covenant. During the Exodus, God erected a tent, a tabernacle in the wilderness.

In the Bible it is written:

Exodus 33:9-11

"And it came to pass, when Moses entered into the Tent, the pillar of cloud descended, and stood at the door of the Tent: and Jehovah spake with Moses.

And all the people saw the pillar of cloud stand at the door of the Tent: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man at his tent door.

And Jehovah spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend."

Biblical Tabernacle

The Tabernacle was the dwelling place of God.

The tabernacle was constructed of wood and fabric, "not materials cut out for thousands of years of survival." Despite this, archaeologists have been searching for the past few years for evidence of the Tabernacle.

That search has focused on a site believed to be the ancient city of Shiloh and has yielded some intriguing findings.

Because the Tent of Meeting and Ark of the Covenant were portable, archaeologists are considering the possibility that the Tent of Meeting stood there.
The Tent of Meeting served as a place of prayer and sacrifice until the First Temple in Jerusalem was built by King Solomon.

Archaeologists have discovered holes carved into the ground into which beams of a temporary structure could have fit.

Could this be proof the Tabernacle existed and was located at this particular place?

Archaeologists digging at Tel Shiloh believe this may be one place the Israelites set up the Tabernacle holding the Ark of the Covenant (Photo courtesy: Yisrael Medad)

Archaeologists digging at Tel Shiloh believe this may be one place the Israelites set up the Tabernacle holding the Ark of the Covenant (Photo courtesy: Yisrael Medad)

The Israel Hayom reports that "near the holes, in the northern part of Tel Shiloh, structures were unearthed that correspond to the dates when Joshua first settled the land of Israel until the period of King David's reign.

One of these structures was found to contain ceramic vessels as well as three large taboon clay ovens.

Did these holes hold the beams of the Tent of Meeting? | Photo credit: Tel Shiloh

Did these holes hold the beams of the Tent of Meeting? | Photo credit: Tel Shiloh

"This is not something that was common in private residences and therefore we do not believe these structures served as family dwellings," explained Hananya Hizmi, staff officer for archeology in the Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria.

Similarly, evidence has been unearthed of what appears to be the southwestern corner of the wall that encircled Shiloh.

An idea of waht the tabernacle could have lloked. Image credit: ingodsimage.com

An idea of what the tabernacle could have looked like. Image credit: ingodsimage.com

This discovery allows archaeologists hypothesize the location of the city's entrance gate. From this, they may eventually be able to derive the location of the Tent of Meeting. According to the accepted theory, that is because the religious cult took place next to the city gate."

The discovery is very intriguing and could be a breakthrough in the search for the Tabernacle, but archaeologists remain cautious and avoid jumping to conclusions. More excavations must be carried out to determine with certainty whether the Tabernacle did indeed stand in Shlioh.

AncientPages.com