Court (courtyard)An open space fenced with linen; its entrance faces east.
Tent of Meeting (the tabernacle itself)A wall of gold-covered boards under four layers of covering.
Gate of the courtAn embroidered screen in blue, purple and scarlet on four pillars.
Altar of burnt offering (bronze altar)Acacia wood overlaid with bronze, square, a horn on each corner.
Bronze laver (basin)Bronze, on a bronze base; the priests washed hands and feet here.
Holy PlaceThe outer room: table to the north, lampstand to the south.
Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies)The inner room behind the veil; it holds only the ark.
Ark of the covenantAn acacia chest overlaid with gold inside and out, carried on poles.
The court from above 2
Hangings of the courtFine twined linen, hung from pillar to pillar around the court.
Pillars of the court (posts)Each stands in a bronze socket; hooks and bands are silver.
Inside the tent, from above 5
Lampstand (menorah)Hammered from pure gold: a shaft, six branches and seven lamps.
Table of showbread (bread of the Presence)Acacia wood overlaid with gold; it stands on the north side.
Altar of incense (golden altar)Small, square and overlaid with gold; it stands before the veil.
VeilEmbroidered with cherubim; it separates the two rooms.
Door screen (door of the tent)Embroidered linen on five gold-covered pillars in bronze sockets.
Coverings, frame and the ark close up 9
Mercy seat (cover of the ark)A slab of pure gold laid on top of the ark.
CherubimTwo, of hammered gold, facing each other with wings spread upward.
Boards (frames)Acacia wood overlaid with gold, standing upright side by side.
Bars (crossbars)Five to a wall; the middle one runs end to end.
Silver sockets (bases)Two under every board, one for each tenon.
Linen curtains (first covering)Ten curtains of fine linen worked with cherubim, joined by gold clasps.
Goats' hair curtains (second covering)Eleven curtains joined by bronze clasps; Exodus calls this layer the tent.
Rams' skins dyed red (third covering)Laid over the goats' hair as a covering for the tent.
Outer covering of hides (tachash)The Hebrew word is tachash; translations differ on the animal.
How this list was compiled: Part names, places and every detail line were checked, for facts only and with nothing copied, against pages read on 2026-09-20. The text itself, in two public-domain English translations. World English Bible: https://ebible.org/web/EXO25.htm (the ark, the mercy seat and cherubim, the table and the bread of the presence, the lamp stand with six branches and seven lamps), https://ebible.org/web/EXO26.htm (ten curtains of fine twined linen with cherubim, called the tabernacle; eleven curtains of goats' hair, called the tent; a covering of red-dyed rams' skins and a covering of sea cow hides above; boards of acacia wood standing upright, two tenons and two silver sockets to a board, five bars to a side with the middle bar passing from end to end; the veil on four pillars separating the holy place from the most holy; the table on the north side and the lamp stand opposite it toward the south; a screen for the door of the Tent on five pillars), https://ebible.org/web/EXO27.htm (the square altar of acacia wood overlaid with bronze, horns on its four corners; the court with hangings of fine twined linen, pillars in bronze sockets with silver hooks and fillets; the east side with a gate screen of twenty cubits on four pillars), https://ebible.org/web/EXO30.htm (the altar to burn incense on, overlaid with pure gold and set before the veil; the basin of bronze set between altar and Tent of Meeting) and https://ebible.org/web/EXO40.htm (the order in which the pieces were set up, which confirms each position; the names altar of burnt offering and golden altar). King James Version, read for the older English names: https://ebible.org/eng-kjv/EXO25.htm (shewbread, candlestick, cherubims), https://ebible.org/eng-kjv/EXO26.htm (vail, taches, badgers' skins, hanging for the door of the tent), https://ebible.org/eng-kjv/EXO27.htm (brass, hangings, fillets, pins) and https://ebible.org/eng-kjv/EXO30.htm (laver and his foot, altar of incense, altar of burnt offering, tabernacle of the congregation). A university religious studies course, as the teaching witness: Open Yale Courses, RLST 145 Introduction to the Old Testament, lecture 9, https://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies/rlst-145/lecture-9 (an open courtyard with the main sacrificial altar and a basin for ablutions; a screen marking the entrance to the shrine; an incense altar, a seven-branched lampstand or menorah on one side and a table of loaves on the other; the backmost square chamber, the inner sanctum or holy of holies; the ark with its cover, the kapporeth, traditionally translated mercy seat, and two cherubim). The Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906, in the public domain: https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14184-tabernacle (the tent stood in the western part of the court; the eastern side remained open; forty-eight boards in silver sockets, two to each board, joined by tenons and five cross-bars to a side; four layers, the innermost called the dwelling, the goats' hair called the tent, then ramskin dyed red, then skins of the tahash; the veil, paroket, dividing the most holy place from the holy place; the door screen, masak; the names mishkan and ohel mo'ed). Wikipedia, text only: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabernacle (a table with the showbread on the north, the menorah on the south, the golden altar of incense on the west before the veil; the bronze laver; the word tachash for the roof covering), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_of_Holies (the King James translators wrote Most Holy Place; the room held the Ark of the Covenant; the veil is the parochet) and, for the other meaning of the word, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_tabernacle (a fixed, locked receptacle in a church in which the Eucharist is reserved). Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-28 to the art brief in this file, a teaching reconstruction from the text of Exodus 25 to 27 and 30; copies no published plate or model. Licence: own work
How it works
The tabernacle in the Book of Exodus is a tent sanctuary inside a fenced court, described in chapters 25 to 27 and 30. This drawing sets it out as a plan, with the tent's side and the ark enlarged: 24 names in all.
Read the full guide
Tabernacle parts from the gate inward
Enter by the gate on the east side. In the court stand the altar of burnt offering, then the bronze laver, then the Tent of Meeting. Past the door screen is the Holy Place: table of showbread on the north side, lampstand on the south, altar of incense before the veil. Behind the veil, the Most Holy Place holds only the ark.
Tabernacle or tent? The four coverings
Exodus 26 uses tabernacle for the innermost layer, ten linen curtains worked with cherubim, and tent for the goats' hair curtains over it. Rams' skins dyed red come next, then an outer covering of hides. All four rest on gold-covered boards that stand in silver sockets and are tied together by bars.
North is at the top of both plans, so the table sits above the lampstand. Exodus places them by compass side, not left or right.
A church tabernacle is a different thing: the locked cabinet where a Catholic church keeps consecrated hosts. This page draws the tent of Exodus.
Questions and answers
What are the three parts of the tabernacle?
The court, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The court is the fenced yard. The other two are the rooms of the tent, divided by the veil.
What was inside the Holy of Holies?
Only the ark of the covenant. Its lid is the mercy seat, a slab of pure gold with two cherubim of hammered gold facing each other. Exodus 26:34 calls the room the most holy place, and typed answers accept both names.
What were the four coverings of the tabernacle?
Linen curtains, goats' hair curtains, rams' skins dyed red and an outer layer of hides, from the inside out. The Hebrew word for the outer hide is tachash: the King James Version says badgers' skins, the World English Bible sea cow hides.
Which direction did the tabernacle face?
East. The gate of the court is on the east side, the door of the tent faces it, and the Most Holy Place is at the west end.
Which names does this drawing follow?
Names and places were checked on September 20, 2026 against Exodus 25 to 27, 30 and 40 in the World English Bible and the King James Version, and a Yale religious studies lecture. Older words such as shewbread, candlestick and vail are accepted.