Holy of Holies#Tabernacle

File:Holman The Holy of Holies.jpg wearing the priestly breastplate and ephod, included as an illustration in a Christian Bible; the Holy of Holies is in the background (A. J. Holman Bible, 1890)]]

The construction "Holy of Holies" is a translation of the Hebrew, which is intended to express a superlative. Examples of similar constructions are "servant of servants" (Gen 9:25), "sabbath of sabbaths" (Ex 31:15), "God of gods" (Deut 10:17), "vanity of vanities" (Eccl 1:2), "Song of Songs" (Song of Songs 1:1), "king of kings" (Ezra 7:12), etc.

In the King James Version, "Holy of Holies" is always translated as "Most Holy Place". This is in keeping with the intention of the Hebrew idiom to express the utmost degree of holiness. Thus, the name "Most Holy Place" was used to refer to the "Holy of Holies" in many English documents.

A related term is debir, transliterated in the Septuagint ({{langx|grc-x-koine|δαβιρ|dabir}}),{{Cite web |title=H1687 – dᵊḇîr – Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) |url=https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/gen/1/1/s_1001 |website=Blue Letter Bible}} which either means the back (i.e. western) part of the Sanctuary,The Solomonic Debir according to the Hebrew Text of I Kings 6 J. Ouellette – Journal of Biblical Literature, 1970 – JSTOR "The immediate implication of this reading is that the holy of holies was built "from within the debir," that is ... The LXX simply transliterates dabir, while the Vulgate has "oraculum", thus suggesting a derivation from dbr "to speak." or derives from the verb stem ד־ב־ר "to speak", justifying the translation in the Vulgate as oraculum, which the traditional English translation "oracle" (KJV, 1611) derives from.The Damaged "blueprints" of the Temple of Solomon. L. Waterman – Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 1943 – JSTOR "The term "holy of holies" has long been accepted as a later descriptive term applied to the debir. The Hebrew word debir, rendered "oracle" in the versions, is a mistranslation based on a false etymology. The term itself signifies only the back or part behind, for example."

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File:Door guardian figure (Lamassu) from Nimrud 2.jpg illustrates the hybrid form of the twin cherubim of the Ark]]

File:Tabernacle.gif

According to the Hebrew Bible, so that Yahweh might dwell among the Israelites, he gave Moses instructions for erecting a sanctuary. The directions provide for:

1. The Ark of the Covenant, wood with gilded inside and outside, for the Tablets of Stone, with a pure gold cover as the "mercy seat" for the Shekhinah;
2. A gilt table for the showbread, on which loaves of bread were arranged;
3. A golden Temple menorah, a lampstand of seven oil lamps for a light never to be extinguished;
4. The dwelling, including the curtains for the roof, the walls made of boards resting on silver feet and held together by wooden bolts; the parochet, a multi-colored curtain veiling the Holy of Holies colored blue, purple, crimson, white and gold; the table and candlestick; and the outer curtain
5. A sacrificial altar made of bronzed boards for the korban (sacrifice)
6. The outer court formed by columns resting on bronze pedestals and connected by hooks and crossbars of silver, with embroidered curtains;
7. Recipe and preparation of the fresh olive oil for the lampstand.

According to Exodus 26:31–33, the parochet covered the Holy of Holies and no one was allowed to enter except the High Priest of Israel. Even he would only enter once a year, on Yom Kippur,Leviticus 16 to offer the blood of sacrifice and incense. In the wilderness, on the day that the Tabernacle was first raised, the cloud of the Lord covered the tabernacle according to Exodus 40:33-34. There are other times that this was recorded. Instructions were given that the Lord would appear in the cloud upon the Mercy Seat, and at that time the priests should not enter into the tabernacle according to Leviticus 16:2. The Holy of Holies contained the Ark of the Covenant with a representation of cherubim.

Upon completion of the dedication of the Tabernacle, the Voice of God spoke to Moses "from between the Cherubim" in Numbers 7:89.

{{main|Solomon's Temple}}

The Holy of Holies was the inner sanctuary within the Tabernacle and Temple in Jerusalem when Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple were standing. The parochet, a brocade curtain with cherubim motifs woven directly into the fabric from the loom, divided the Holy of Holies from the lesser Holy place.Babylonian Talmud (Yoma 72b); Rashi's Commentary and Aramaic Targum of Exodus 26:31. The "parochet" was "the work of an artisan," meaning, one who was skilled in motifs worked into the loom. Brocade refers to the decorative elements inserted into the weft on the loom, unlike embroidery that is added to the finished cloth.

The Holy of Holies was located at the westernmost end of the Temple building and was a cube: 20 cubits by 20 cubits by 20 cubits. The inside was in darkness and contained the Ark of the Covenant, gilded inside and out, in which was placed the Tablets of Stone. According to both Jewish and Christian traditions, Aaron's rod and a pot of manna were also in the ark.Midrash Rabba, Midrash HaGadol, et al.; Hebrews 9:4 in the New Testament The Ark was covered with a lid made of pure gold, known as the "mercy seat" ({{bibleverse|Exodus|37:6}}), which was covered by the beaten gold cherubim wings, creating the space for the Shekhinah ({{bibleverse|Exodus|25:22}}).

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File:Jerus-n4i.jpg

When the Temple was rebuilt after the Babylonian captivity, the Ark was no longer present in the Holy of Holies; instead, a portion of the floor was raised slightly to indicate the place where it had stood. In Jewish tradition, two curtains separated the Holy of Holies from the lesser Holy place during the period of the Second Temple. These curtains were woven with motifs directly from the loom, rather than embroidered, and each curtain had the thickness of a handbreadth (ca. 9 cm.; 3½").Midrash HaGadol on Exodus 26:31; Babylonian Talmud (Yoma 72b) Josephus records that Pompey profaned the Temple by insisting on entering the Holy of Holies in 63 BCE.{{Cite web|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Jews/Book_I#Chapter_7|title=The War of the Jews|via=Wikisource}} When Titus captured the city during the First Jewish–Roman War, Roman soldiers took down the curtain and used it to wrap therein golden vessels retrieved from the Temple.

{{Main|Yom Kippur Temple service}}

File:Magdala Stone (5).jpg]]

The Holy of Holies was entered once a year by the High Priest of Israel on Yom Kippur, to sprinkle the blood of sacrificial animals: a bull offered as atonement for the High Priest and his household, and the scapegoat offered as atonement for the people and offer incense on the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat that sat on top of it in the Solomon's Temple. The Second Temple had no Ark, so the blood was sprinkled where the Ark would have been, and an Altar of Incense was built. The goat was sacrificed and the blood was carried into the Holy of Holies. Gold was also present in the Most Holy Place.

The Magdala stone is thought to be a representation of the Holy of Holies carved before the destruction of the Temple in the year 70.{{cite news|last1=Kershner|first1=Isabel|title=A Carved Stone Block Upends Assumptions About Ancient Judaism|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/09/world/middleeast/magdala-stone-israel-judaism.html|access-date=9 December 2015|newspaper=The New York Times|date=8 December 2015}}

Traditional Judaism regards the location where the inner sanctuary was located as retaining some or all of its original sanctity for use in a future Third Temple. The exact location of the Holy of Holies is a subject of dispute.

File:Women praying in the Western Wall tunnels by David Shankbone.jpg]]

Traditional Judaism regards the Holy of Holies as the place where the presence of God dwells. The Talmud gives detailed descriptions of Temple architecture and layout. According to the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Yoma, the Holy of Holies was located in the center of the esplanade from a north–south perspective, but significantly to the west from an east–west perspective, with all the major courtyards and functional areas lying to its east.

The Talmud supplies additional details and describes the ritual performed by the High Priest. During the annual ritual, the High Priest would pronounce the Tetragrammaton, the only time it was pronounced. According to tradition, the people prostrated themselves fully on the ground when the Name was spoken. According to the Talmud, the High Priest's face upon exit from the Holy of Holies was radiant.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}

While under normal circumstances, access to the Holy of Holies was restricted to the High Priest and only on Yom Kippur, the Talmud suggests that repair crews were allowed inside as needed but were lowered from the upper portion of the room via enclosures so that they only saw the area they were to work on.[http://www.halakhah.com/pdf/moed/Pesachim.pdf Talmud Mas. Pesachim 26a][http://www.halakhah.com/pdf/moed/Eiruvin.pdf Talmud Mas. Eiruvin 105a]

Jews regards the Torah ark, a place in a synagogue where the Torah scrolls are kept, as a miniature Holy of Holies.

File:The rock of the Dome of the Rock Corrected.jpg under the Dome of the Rock, one of the possible historical locations for the Jewish Holy of Holies]]The exact location of the Holy of Holies is a contentious issue, as elements of questioning the exact placement of the Temple are often associated with Temple denial. There are three main theories as to where exactly the Temple stood on the Mount: where the Dome of the Rock is now located; to the north of the Dome of the Rock (Professor Asher Kaufman); or to the east of the Dome of the Rock (Professor Joseph Patrich of the Hebrew University).See article in the World Jewish Digest, April 2007.

The location of the Holy of Holies is connected to the location of the Jewish Temple. The location of the Temple, however, had become uncertain already less than 150 years after the Second Temple's destruction, as detailed in the Talmud. Chapter 54 of the Tractate Berakhot states that the Holy of Holies was directly aligned with the Golden Gate, which, assuming the current gate follows the same course as the now buried Herodian gate, would have placed the Holy of Holies slightly to the north of the Dome of the Rock, as Kaufman postulated.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Berakhot.54a.7?ven=William_Davidson_Edition_-_English&lang=bi|title=Berakhot 54a:7|website=www.sefaria.org}} Chapter 54 of the Tractate Yoma and chapter 26 of the Tractate Sanhedrin, on the other hand, assert that the Holy of Holies stood directly on the Foundation Stone.

The Crusaders associated the Holy of Holies with the Well of Souls, which is located under the Foundation Stone of the Dome of the Rock. Most Orthodox Jews today completely avoid climbing up to Temple Mount, to prevent them from accidentally stepping on any holy areas.Sidra DeKoven Ezrahi, Bernard Avishai, [https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-jews-don-t-have-a-holiest-site-1.10797092 'Jews Don’t Have a ‘Holiest’ Site,'] Haaretz 13 May :’The point is, this kind of recklessness not only offended secular democrats, it vulgarized what “holy” has meant for most observant Jews, too. Not coincidentally, more than 85 percent of Israel’s Haredi Jews oppose prayer on the Mount, for reasons having to do with purity and impurity that cannot be resolved in “our time.” Advocates of such prayer and sacrifice tend to be, like Goren, Orthodox-nationalist zealots educated in local yeshivas and identified with the neo-Zionist settlement project. They are, like Islamists, fanatics warped by violence and nationalist fantasy – “Jewists,” not Jews.‘ A few Orthodox Jewish authorities, following the opinion of the medieval scholar Maimonides, permit Jews to visit parts of the Temple Mount known not to be anywhere near any of the sanctified areas. Orthodox Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount, who come especially from those groups associated with the Temple Institute and its efforts to rebuild a Temple, seek to conform to the minimal requirements for coming near the Temple, such as immersing in a mikvah ("collection of water"; a ritual of purification), not coming during or following menstruation or immediately following a seminal emission, not showing their back towards its presumed location, etc.

To avoid religious conflict, Jewish visitors caught praying or bringing ritual objects are usually expelled from the area by police.{{Cite news |first=Nadav |last=Shragai

|date=1 September 2003 |title=Three Jews Expelled from Temple Mount for Praying |url=http://www.haaretz.com/three-jews-expelled-from-temple-mount-for-praying-1.98824 |work=Haaretz |access-date=12 April 2017}}

According to the ancient apocryphal Lives of the Prophets, after the death of Zechariah ben Jehoiada, the priests of the Temple could no more, as before, see the apparitions of the angels of the Lord, nor could make divinations with the Ephod, nor give responses from the Debir.{{Cite web |title=The Lives of the Prophets – Zechariah son of Jehoiada |url=http://www.summascriptura.com/html/Lives_of_the_Prophets_Torrey.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301192214/http://www.summascriptura.com/html/Lives_of_the_Prophets_Torrey.html |archive-date=2016-03-01 |access-date=2016-03-01}}

The Koine New Testament retains the pre-Christian Septuagint phrase "Holy of the Holies", {{lang|grc|ἅγιον τῶν ἁγίων}};{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kWEESjS8bg4C&pg=PA514|title=Ezekiel|isbn=978-9004177130|last1=Olley|first1=John W.|year=2009|publisher=BRILL }} without the definite article as "Holies of Holies" {{lang|grc|ἅγια ἁγίων}}{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/bible/heb009.htm|title=New Advent Bible: Hebrews 9|work=newadvent.org}} in Hebrews 9:3. Koine Greek was the lingua franca of the Hellenistic period, which began with the death of Alexander the Great, and even after the rise of the Roman Empire, it remained the primary language of much of the Levant and North Africa, even after the early Muslim conquests.

In the Latin Vulgate of Jerome, these are rendered as sanctum sanctorum and sancta sanctorum, respectively.

The ciborium, a permanent canopy over the altar in some churches, once surrounded by curtains at points in the liturgy, symbolizes the Holy of Holies. Some Christian churches, particularly the Catholic Church, consider the Church tabernacle, or its location (often at the rear of the sanctuary), as the symbolic equivalent of the Holy of Holies, due to the storage of consecrated sacramental bread in that vessel.

A cognate term in Geʽez, qidduse qiddusan or bete meqdes, is used by the Orthodox Tewahedo, who believe the Ark of the Covenant is now in the Holy of Holies of Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum, Ethiopia, and only the Christian monk chosen as its protector may enter the Holy of Holies to view it.

Other churches have one or more tabots to sanctify them; this term may refer to a sacred tablet or to the Ark in which it is stored. These are placed on altars, and the Holy of Holies is covered with a curtain, similar to the parochet; there can be as many altars as there are tabots. There are often three entry points to a Holy of Holies to symbolise the Trinity.Stuart C. Munro-Hay, Ethiopia, the unknown land: a cultural and historical guide, (London, England: I. B. Tauris, 2002). p. 50.

The Vulgate uses the translation sanctum sanctorum in Exodus 26:34. Reproducing in Latin the Hebrew construction, the expression is used as a superlative of the neuter adjective sanctum, to mean "a thing most holy". Catholics use it to refer to the Eucharist in the Church tabernacle, which is considered the physical presence of Christ.

The Vulgate also refers to the Holy of Holies with the plural form Sancta sanctorum in 2 Chronicles 5:7, possibly a synecdoche referring to the holy objects hosted there. This form is also used more broadly in Catholic tradition regarding sanctuaries other than the Temple in Jerusalem. A notable example is for the Church of San Lorenzo, Sancta Sanctorum, a chapel within the complex of St John Lateran in Rome.

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The Greek phrase refers to the Tabernacle or Temple. The name in Greek for the sanctuary of a church is {{lang|grc|Ἱερόν Βῆμα}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Hieron Vema}}, see Bema#Christianity), in Russian it is called {{Lang|ru|Святой Алтарь}} ({{Transliteration|ru|Svyatoy Altar}} – literally: "Holy Altar"), and in Romanian it is called Sfântul Altar.

File:A Syro Malabar Catholic Church or Nasrani Palli.JPG of the Syro-Malabar Church in Kerala, South India keeps the Holy of Holies veiled by a red curtain like the Temple of Jerusalem, as do Oriental Orthodox Churches such as the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.]]

The Saint Thomas Christians in Kerala, South India, veil their Holy of Holies most of the time. The red veil covers the inner or main altar. It is unveiled only during the central part of the main ritual, the Holy Qurbana, the eucharist.Ross, Israel J. (1979). "Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala". Asian Music. 11 (1): 80–98.

{{Main|Holy of Holies (LDS Church)}}

The Salt Lake Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) contains a Holy of Holies{{fact|date=March 2024}} wherein the church's president—acting as the Presiding High Priest—enters to fulfill the relationship between the High Priest of Israel and God in accordance with the LDS Church's interpretation of the Book of Exodus ({{sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Exodus|chapter=25|verse=22}}) and Latter-day Saint religious texts.

Seventh-Day Adventism (SDA) believes that the Holy of Holies on Earth was a copy of the true tabernacle in heaven,{{Cite web|url=https://www.andrews.edu/~damsteeg/pion.html|title=How Our Pioneers Discovered the Sanctuary Doctrine |last=Damsteegt |first=P. Gerard|date=Fall 1992 |publisher=Andrews University}} and this view can also be seen in other Christian denominations.{{Cite journal|last=Barker|first=Margaret|date=1998|title=Beyond the Veil of the Temple: The High Priestly Origins of the Apocalypses|journal=Scottish Journal of Theology|volume=51|issue=1|pages=1–21|doi=10.1017/s0036930600049991|s2cid=170375914 |issn=0036-9306}} Because in Hebrews, God commands Moses to make sure that all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the Mount Sinai (Heb 8:2, 5). After the "Great Disappointment", preacher O. R. L. Crosier, Hiram Edson, and F. B. Hahn published new insights into Christ's sanctuary ministry that Jesus began to minister in the heavenly sanctuary after His ascension (Heb 9:24). Seventh-Day Adventism (SDA) believes that just as the high priest completed the special ministry on Yom Kippur and blessed the Israelites. Christ will come and bless his people after cleaning the Holy of Holies in heaven (Heb 9:23).{{Cite web|url=https://www.adventist.org/en/beliefs/restoration/christs-ministry-in-the-heavenly-sanctuary/|title=Christ's ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary |publisher=General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists |access-date=2019-10-17}}

• Honden, the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine
• Lustral basin
• Warren's Gate, an ancient entrance into the Temple platform in Jerusalem

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Category:Yom Kippur

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