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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

SANCTUARY

Translation of two Hebrew words, kodesh and midkosh, both of which are derived from the verb “to be clean” and/or “to be holy.” It appears approximately 60 times in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers where the building, moving, and initial use of the tabernacle is reported. Places of revelation, sacrifice, and worship are referred to in Deuteronomy but not by the term “sanctuary.” The term appears over 60 times in Ezekiel, Daniel, and postexilic writings because of the importance the sanctuary had in the life of Israel during and after the exile.

“Sanctuary” refers to the place where God appeared and/or dwelt, as indicated by the presence of the ark. God’s Word was kept there and issued forth from it. There God’s people gathered for sacrifice, for hearing the covenant word, for worship and prayer, and for the celebration of the major feasts.

The patriarchs had places of worship (Gn 26:24-25; 28:16-22) but no actual sanctuary. The first reference to sanctuary (Ex 15:17) speaks of it as a symbol of God’s dwelling among his people and ruling over them from within it. The tabernacle, moved from place to place, was the central sanctuary until the time when Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem. It must be emphatically stressed that God’s people were to have one central sanctuary (Dt 12:4-7; 16:5-8).

The NT refers to the OT sanctuary as a type of a foreshadowing of God’s eternal dwelling with and among his people (Heb 8:5-6; 9:1-14).