"And he built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the rafters; he thus formed within the house an inner sanctuary, the most holy place." — The *inner sanctuary* (*dvir*, literally "the speaker" or oracle chamber) is separated from the main hall: *va-yiven et-esrim amah ba-achar ha-bayit...ve-yiven otah le-dvir le-kodesh ha-kodashim* (he built twenty cubits of the rear with boards of cedar; he formed within the house an inner sanctuary, the most holy place). The *inner sanctuary* is a *perfect cube* (*twenty cubits* in all dimensions: length, width, height as specified in verse 2), creating the *holiest space* where the *ark of the covenant* will rest. The *Hebrew phrase kodesh ha-kodashim* (holy of holies) is the *absolute superlative of sanctity*.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

Publish a note on this verse