Tabernacle - Subsequent History

Subsequent History

During the conquest of Canaan, the main Israelite camp was at Gilgal, (Joshua 4:19; 5:8-10) and the Tabernacle was probably erected within the camp: Joshua 6:14 "...and returned into the camp." (see Numbers 1:52-2:34 "...they shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side.")

After the conquest and division of the land among the tribes, the Tabernacle was moved to Shiloh in Ephraimite territory (Joshua's tribe) to avoid disputes among the other tribes (Joshua 18:1; 19:51; 22:9; Psalm 78:60). It remained there during the 300-year period of the Biblical judges (the rules of the individual judges total about 350 years, but most ruled regionally and some terms overlapped).

The subsequent history of the structure is separate from that of the Ark of the Covenant. After the Ark was captured by the Philistines, King Saul moved the Tabernacle to Nob, near his home town of Gibeah, but after he massacred the priests there (1 Samuel 21-22), it was moved to Gibeon. (1 Chronicles 16:39; 21:29; 2 Chronicles 1:2-6, 13)

The Ark was eventually brought to Jerusalem, where it was placed "inside the tent David had pitched for it" (2 Samuel 6:17; 1 Chronicles 15:1), not in the Tabernacle, which remained at Gibeon. The altar of the Tabernacle at Gibeon was used for sacrificial worship (1 Chronicles 16:39; 21:29; 1 Kings 3:2-4), until Solomon finally brought the structure and its furnishings to Jerusalem to furnish and dedicate the Temple. (1 Kings 8:4)

There is no mention of the Tabernacle in the Tanakh after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians in c. 587 BCE.