Tabernacle Furnishings in Exodus and Hebrews

According to the instructions found in the Book of Exodus, the Tabernacle contained seven ceremonial items. Chapter 25 details four of these furnishings: the ark of the covenant, its atonement cover, in some translations called the mercy seat, which was graced by two cherubim, the table of the bread of presence, and the menorah, sometimes called the lampstand or candlestick). Subsequent passages describe the three remaining items: the altar of burnt offering (27:1-8), the altar of incense (30:1-10), and the brazen laver or basin (30:17-21). In the closing chapter of Exodus, the God of Israel gives Moses specific directions for setting up and consecrating the Tabernacle (40:1-33). Notably, this passage refers to each of the seven items described in the earlier sections of the book.

In the New Testament Epistle to the Hebrews, the author draws parallels between the Mosaic tabernacle and "the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man" (8:2, NIV). Chapter 9 mentions specifically the lampstand, the table, the altar of incense, the ark of the covenant, and the atonement cover (9:2-5), but not the two items that stood outside the tent of meeting, in the tabernacle courtyard: the brazen laver and the altar of burnt sacrifice.