ASSEMBLY AND TRANSPORT
OF MOSES' TABERNACLE
The most essential requisite of the Tabernacle was mobility, therefore it had to be transportable. In fact, it was transported all over the Sinai and into Palestine. Every time it had to be dismantled and re-assembled. What were the difficulties and how long did these operations take place?
The sequence of the assembling operations is well described in Exodus 40, 18-34:
18 And Moses reared up the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and reared up his pillars.
19 And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the LORD commanded Moses.
20 And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:
21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses.
22 And he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the vail.
24 And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward.
25 And he lighted the lamps before the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
26 And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the vail:
27 And he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the LORD commanded Moses.
28 And he set up the hanging at the door of the tabernacle.
29 And he put the altar of burnt offering by the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the meat offering; as the LORD commanded Moses.
30 And he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal.
31 And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat:
32 When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses.
33 And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.
34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
These operations were performed by men of the Levite families of Gershom, Keat and Merari, under the control of Itamar, son of Aaron.
Presumably two dozens of men were able to assemble and complete the entire Tabernacle in a morning.
The dismantling operation was effected in the opposite way; this also required only a few hours' work.
TRANSPORT AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Once the Tabernacle was dismantled, it all had to be packed up and transported. The transport was effected partly on men's backs and partly in covered wagons, each drawn by a pair of oxen (Num.7,1-9).
A two-weeled sumerian cart pulled by two oxen. The cart used by the Jews during the exodus should have responded to the same model, well fit to travel along the rough tracks of the desert. The load was covered with a sheet probably of goats’ wool.
There were 6 carts for the transport of the Tabernacle,each pulled by 2 oxen, for a total of 12. They had been donated to the Levites by the chiefs of the other 12 tribes, precisely for that scope, as reported in Numbers 7, 1-9:
1 And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments thereof, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them, and sanctified them;
2 That the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, and were over them that were numbered, offered:
3 And they brought their offering before the LORD, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the tabernacle.
4 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
5 Take it of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service.
6 And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites.
7 Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service:
8 And four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
9 But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders.
From Numbers 3 and 7 we know who was responsible for the maintenance and transport of each item. Aaron was responsible for the all temple-tent. Under his orders he had his survived sons Eleazar and Itamar. (Nm. 3):
5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
6 Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him.
7 And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle.
8 And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.
The tasks were attributed to the Levite families in the following way (Nm.3):
32 Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.
25 And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, the covering thereof, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,
26 And the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court,
which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it for all the service thereof.
For the transport of those materials, Moses gave the sons of Gershom 2 carts and 4 oxen.
The total weight of them should have been no more than 500 or 600 kgs, that were allocated to the 2 carts. Each cart, then, had a load of no more than 300 kgs, quite reasonable for that kind of vehicle. In this case, however, it was the volume more than the weight of the load, that required the use of 2 carts.
Let’s see now the tasks of Keat’s family:
31 And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the service thereof.
9 But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders.
36 And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto,
37 And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.
8 And four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
The total weight of the wood employed in the manufacturing of the Tabernacle has been evaluated in no more than 1,500 kgs, while that total weight of the metals was at the most of 700 kgs.
These weights are comprehensive of the objects that had to be carried on by shoulders by
the family of Keat, more or less 200 kgs. So Merari’s family was responsible for the transport
of no more than 2,000 kgs, for which he had at its disposition 4
carts and 8 oxen: no more than 500 kgs per cart, an affordable quantity.
Keat’s family had the responsibility to carry by shoulders the most precious objects, all of them with proper staves; the small loose metal objects were carried on common stretchers.
The probable number of persons needed for this task was:
- the ark
4 persons
- the table of offerings
2 persons
- the incense table
2 persons
- candlestick, plates, silver ware
2 persons
- the altar
8 persons
- utensils for the altar
2 persons
- basin and other utensils
4 persons
See following: The imprint of the Tabernacle at Har Karkom