Zevachim 118 - How Long Did the Tabernacle Stand?

The days of the Tent of Meeting in the wilderness were forty years minus one, that is, thirty-nine: in the first year following the Exodus from Egypt Moses built the Tabernacle, in the second year it was erected, and then Moses sent out the spies, which led to a 40-year stay in the desert.

The days of the Tent of Meeting at Gilgal numbered 14 years: 7 during the conquest of the Land of Israel, and 7 years while the land was divided. We know this from the life of Calev, who was 40 when the spies were sent out, 78 when they crossed the Jordan, and 85 when the land was conquered. Since the land was being conquered for 7 years, we can assume that it was also divided for 7 years.

The Tabernacle then stood in Shiloh for 369 years. In Nov and Giveon it stood for another 57 years, moving between these two places - and we know this from the lives of Eli the Priest and Samuel - until the Temple was built.

Art: Frederic Edwin Church - Twilight In The Wilderness


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