Veil (Tabernacle and Temple)

Biblical Text

The veil was the curtain that separated the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place in the tabernacle and the Jerusalem temple.

The Veil of the Tabernacle

• Exodus 26:31-33 describes how the veil was to be made. It was woven of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twined linen, with cherubim worked into it. It was hung on four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold, and the ark of the covenant was placed behind it, so that the veil divided the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
• The high priest could not go behind the veil whenever he chose. He entered only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, bringing blood and incense (Leviticus 16:2, 12-15).
• When the camp set out, Aaron and his sons took down the veil and covered the ark with it (Numbers 4:5).

The Veil of the Temple

• 2 Chronicles 3:14 records that a veil of the same materials, with cherubim worked into it, was also made for Solomon's temple.
• The Synoptic Gospels record what happened when Jesus died. Matthew 27:51 and Mark 15:38 state that "the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom." Luke 23:45 places the event just before His death.
• Hebrews refers to the Most Holy Place as "the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all," located "after the second veil" (Hebrews 9:3). It also says that Jesus has entered within the veil as a forerunner (Hebrews 6:19-20), and, speaking of the way He opened, it describes it as "through the veil, that is to say, his flesh" (Hebrews 10:19-20).

Background and Terminology

• Original language: The Hebrew word for the veil in front of the Most Holy Place is paroketh. The screen covering the door of the tabernacle or the gate of the court is a different word, masak. However, the New Korean Revised Version also renders this screen as "veil" (hwijang) in some places, so readers of the Korean Bible must determine from context which curtain is meant. The Septuagint and the New Testament mainly use katapetasma.
• Distinction from other terms: The covering over Moses' face in 2 Corinthians 3:13-16 translates a different word from the one used for the veil.
• Solomon's temple: 1 Kings 6:31-32 records that doors of olive wood were set at the entrance of the inner sanctuary (the Most Holy Place). Interpreters therefore differ on whether both a door and a veil were present.
• Herod's temple: A description of the temple veil by the historian Josephus has been preserved. The Mishnah, a work of Jewish tradition, records that the veil in front of the Most Holy Place was double.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

In the Old Testament, the veil illustrates the distance between the holy God and human beings. At the same time, it reveals an order in which only appointed persons could approach God, and only in the appointed manner.

The New Testament connects the veil with the death of Christ. Hebrews contrasts the high priest's sacrifices, repeated year after year, with the sacrifice of Christ. It teaches that Jesus entered once for all by His own blood, and that believers therefore have boldness to enter into the holiest (Hebrews 9:7-12; 10:19).

Interpretations and Debates

• Meaning of the torn veil: Protestants commonly read it as the event by which the way of access to God was opened to all believers, sometimes linking it to the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Other interpretations view it as a sign that the temple sacrificial system had come to an end, or as a judgment on the temple. These interpretations are sometimes held together.
• Which veil?: The Gospels speak only of "the veil of the temple." Many hold that this refers to the inner veil before the Most Holy Place, but some scholars take it to be the outer veil, which was visible to the people.
• The syntax of Hebrews 10:20: Interpreters differ on whether "his flesh" refers to the veil or to the "way" opened through the veil.
• Traditions outside the text: The claim that the veil was a handbreadth thick comes from Jewish tradition, such as the Mishnah, and is not found in the biblical text. There is also a story that a rope was tied around the high priest's ankle so that he could be dragged out if he died in the Most Holy Place, but this is generally regarded as a later tradition not attested in Scripture or early Jewish literature. Viewing the tearing of the veil "from the top to the bottom" as the work of God rather than of human hands is an interpretation of the text.

In the Korean Church

The scene of the torn veil is a frequent subject of sermons during Holy Week. Expressions such as "prayer that enters within the veil" and "Most Holy Place faith" are also used in sermons and prayer meetings. They refer to prayer that approaches God directly.