13. The Court And The Vessels Of The Tabernacle
BOOK TWO
the Lord and brought to the sure completion of perfection. Wherefore it is aptly added in conclusion:
27:8 As it has been shown to you on the mountain. In that celestial conversation in which Moses remained with the Lord for forty days, he had previously perceived that the citizens of heaven were doing with unwearied and unceasing attention all the h n g s that he [later] signified mystically to us as having been done in the construction of the altar and of the whole tabernacle. For we should not doubt that he was able to see before the throne of God that most sacred altar which Isaiah merited to see filled with the living coals of chanty within, and to see the holy tongs which that same prophct saw, one [pair] of which the angel used to carry from the altar a coal with which he cleansed [Isaiah's] lips. For surely sins are forgiven and gifts of virtues are granted to human beings on earth by the grace of the same Spirit with which the angels in heaven are always on fire for the love of God.
Consequently, the altar is ordered to be made hollow and empty, as it was shown to Moses on the mountain, because just as the angels and the spirits of the righteous in heaven are devoid of sins and full of piety and righteousness, so in the same way, to the best of our ability, we who are on earth should turn away from evil and do good.2 Just as we are taught by the open exhortations of the heavenly word that this is what we should always do, in the same way [we are instructed] also by the mystical figures of the tabernacle and its vessels and ceremonies.
13. THE COURT AND THE VESSELS OF THE TABERNACLE
27:9 You shall also make the court of the tabernacle on the south side; there shall be hangings of fine twisted linen. Just as the holy of holies designates that part of the Holy Church which is in heaven, and the first tabernacle indicates by means of a type the perfect life of the faithful as long as thcy arc sojourning in this world, so in the same way does the court of thc tabernaclc which was on the outside represent the first principles for beginners. For this rcason were the hangings of that same court properly made from fine twisted linen, because beginners must be extremely careful to curb the allurements of both flesh and spirit, in accordance with that [saying] of the Apostle which he adds concerning the children
1 Isa. 6:6-7 2 Ps. 37127 (36:27)
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of adoption, saying: Since we have these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves$-om every defilement of the flesh and of the spirit.
[85] For fine linen, as we have quite often mentioned; is green when it is growing in the ground, but when uprooted from the ground it is dried, crushed, baked, twisted, and by great and prolonged effort its colour is changed from green to white. In the same way, it is also necessary for our flesh to subdue itself by the practices of fasts, prayer, and vigils, and by labours of complete continence, in order that it may come to the virtue and beauty of charity.3 By these means we are able to dry up its natural and inborn pleasures, so to speak, and ascend to that excellence of virtue whch we desire. And fine linen is twisted so that it cannot easily be unraveled when the rankness4 of the flesh is not only bound fast, but even the memory of it is completely tom out by the roots from the inmost heart.
27:9-10 [The court] shall be a hundred cubits long on one side Its twenty pillars shall have as many bases of bronze; their heads with their engravings shall be made of silver. It is well known that in the Scriptures the number one hundred, which in counting on the fingers is transferred from the left hand to the right, often contains a figure of the heavenly life, which is as rightly preferred to the present [life] as the right hand is to the left.' Surely the mystery of this number is frequently found in the Divine
Writings. Noah completed the building of the ark in a hundredth year,6 because in the [life] to come the Lord perfects the Holy Church which he builds during the time of this life. Isaac, the son of the promise, was bom in Abraham's hundredth [year],7 because the blessing of the inheritance which is promised to all the families of the earth through his seed will doubtless be conferred in the heavenly homeland which is to come. [Abraham] himself sojourned a hundred years in the land of promise,' because all of us who are made children of Abraham through faith ought to live as 1 2 Cor. 7.1
2 Ekde, De tab. 2,2 (CCSL 119A: 45, 135-8) 3 'of charity' = caritatis; var.: castitatis = 'of chastity'
4 luxoria 5 In the system of finger-counting that Ekde explains in De temp. rat. 1 (CCSL 123B:
268-73), the lefl hand was used to express the numbers one through ninety-nine, and the right hand began to be used at one hundred. See Hunter Blair (1977), 166-8. This interpretation of the number one hundred, along with those that follow, is also found in Bede, In Gen. 4,21,
4-5 (CCX 118A: 237, 1561-75).
6 According to Gem 7:6, Noah was six hundred years old at the time when he built the ark.
7Gen. 215
8 Gen. 12:4; 25:7. Abraham was seventy-five years old when he lefl Haran for the land of Canaan, and one hundred seventy-five when he died.
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sojourners in the present Church in hope' of a heavenly inheritance. In llke manner, Isaac sowed in Gem; (which is interpreted as 'residence [as an alien]'), and in that same year he acquireda h~ndredfold,~ because as soon as we go forth from the body into the heavenly life, we receive back whatever good works we have done while sojourning in this life as children of the promise.
This figure also [represents] the seed of the evangelical word that fell on good soil and when it sprung up bore fruit a h~ndredfold,~ as well as those who leave temporal goods for the sake of Christ and the gospel, who will receive in the present [world] a hundredfold and in the world to come life everlasting6 (that is, the joy of fraternal fellowship now, in the hope of heavenly life, and then, that very life itself when they are together in the kingdom of heaven). The side of the tabernacle, therefore, is a hundred cubits long because it is necessary for all those who belong among the members of the Church to take the labour of temporal patience and continence upon themselves, for the sake of eternal life in heaven
Now the pillars upon which these hangings are suspended on high are the holy teachers. When they have drawn the hearts of their hearers away from earthly contagions, they lift them up to the heavenly things which are to be desired, carefully stretching them out like a garment for the Lord so that there is no duplicity in them, in order that they may shine before the Lord with a taut intention7 that is single and pure, like hangings of fine linen. These pillars were bronze but covered with silver, as is said more plainly further ow8 bronze either on account of their perseverance in virtue or on account of the sound of their preaching, but covered with silver because they utter no sound other than the word of God (the clarity of which (861 is often accustomed to be figured by silver), and because in their lives they show forth no deeds other than the observance of the Divine Eloquences.
Not only were they overlaid with silver, but they also had heads made entirely of silver, because it is properly [said] of teachers that they submit themselves entirely to the words of Sacred Scripture and subject soul and body to them by meditating, preaching, and working. For just as our members are unable to exist or to live apart from the head, in the same way
1 in spe, a well-attested ms. variant for rpsr, 'ourselves'
2 Gen. 2616, 12 3 mcolatus; Jerome, Nom. (CCSL 72: 66, 26) 4 Gem 26: 12
5 Luke 8:8
6 Matt. 19:29; Mark 10:30
7 'taut intention' = infenrro, which can mean both 'tautness' and 'intention'
8 Exod. 38:17
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those who value their life never cease to bear the Divine Eloquences by obeying them, and to raise them up by humbling themselves.
Now, how could we understand the bases of the pillars more aptly than to say that they are the beginning of wisdom, [which is] the fear of God?'
Concerning it the sonof Sirachalso says, The root ofwisdom is tojGar God; whereupon he also adds pleasingly, for its branches are longlived. Doubtless this is because the manifold sprouts of virtues which come forth from the fear of God (just as the handiwork and the engravings of the pillars come forth from the bases) never lack the fruit of their reward. Now, the reason why there were twenty pillars on one side of the court has already been explained above, [in reference to the verse] in which that same number of boards was commanded to be made on one side of the
27: 11 In a similar manner on the north side there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, twenty pillars, and the same number of bases of bronze, and their heads with their engravings made of silver. The same things are repeated with respect to the north side which had already been set forth with respect to the south side, because the heralds of both testaments raise us up to heaven with a concordant voice, although they will have different sacramental rites on account of the [difference in] times. Or perhaps we should say that all those from both peoples who attain to salvation in the time of the New Testament have not only the same faith, confession, and working, but also the same sacraments for the cleansing of sins and the acquisition of heavenly life in the grace of God through our
Lord Jesus Christ.
[87] 27: 12 But in the width of the court which faces westward, there shall be fifty cubits of hangings, and ten pillars, and as many bases. The width of the court which faces the setting of the sun, where the sleepbringing grace of night succeeds the labour of the day which is ended, rightly signifies that time after death when the active life is over and rest follows for the elect, with an eternal reward. Accordingly, those who were working in the vineyard of the Supreme Householder4 when evening came have at last received the rewards of their l a b ~ u r , ~ because when all of the righteous come to the end of tlus life, each of them is then allotted entrance into true life. Hence John in the Apocalypse [writes]: I heard a voicefi.om heaven
1 Ps. 111:10(110:10) 2 sir. 1:25
3 Ekde, De tab. 2,6 (CCSL 119A: 63, 82 1-3). commenting on Exod. 26: 18.
4 summi patrisfamilras 5 Matt. 20:8
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saying, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord; from now on ', says the Spirit, 'they may restfrom their labours, for their worhfollow them. J
On account of this rest, the western side of the court rightly had fifty cubits of hangings and ten pillars. For in the law the number fiity customarily signifies the fiftieth year, which had been entirely dedicated to liberty, rest, and remission.2 For that reason it was commanded to be called the 'jubilee', for surely iobel is interpreted as 'releasing' or 'being e~changed'.~
It is also well known that the number ten designates those Same supernal rewards, in which human nature rejoices in the presence of the Divine
Vision when it is raised up to immortality in both of its substances. For God is a trinity, our body is constituted out of four elements, and our inner person is comprehended in the number three when we are ordered to love
God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength4 When our seven [parts] are eternally joined to the vision of the Holy Trinity in accordance with that [saying] of the psalmist, 'But for me it isgood to be near to God, l5 that is surely the denarius whch the cultivators of the Lord's vineyard receive as a reward on the day when their labours are complete.6 Therefore, because the holy preachers promise us the presence of our Creator and eternal rest when this life is over, and because with these promises they lift up our desires from a longing for things below to the heavenly things which are to be sought, it is as if ten supporting pillars raise up hangings fifty cubits long on the west side of the court.
[88/ 27: 13 In that width of the court which faces eastward there shall also be fifty cubits. The width of the court which faces eastward signifies the origin of our good way of life, which begins with faith. Tlus [width] is rightly said to face eastward on account of the first perception of heavenly grace. in accordance with that [saying] of blessed Zechariah: 'The dawn from on high has visited us, to enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. O7 There were fifty cubits on this side, doubtless because all those who are being catechized are taught, as soon as they enter upon the [Christian] way of life,' to hope for the remission of sins and for eternal rest; for the number fifty also pertains to the remission of sins. For 1 Rev. 14:13
2 Lev. 25:lO-11 3 Jerome, Nom. (CCSL 72: 67, 10) 4 Mark 12:30
5 Ps. 73:28 (72:28) 6 Matt. 20:9-10 7 Luke 1:78-9; 'dawn' = oriens, which can also mean 'the east'.
8 'way of life' = conversationis; var.: conversionis = 'conversion'
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the same reason, the psalm of that same number' described penitence and confession and remission of sins, so that those who had sinned against the Lord and done evil in his sight might be cleansed when they acknowledged their iniquity, and be washed whiter than snow by him against whom they had sinned, and might again possess the joy of God's Saviour (that is, of the Lord Jesus against whom they had sinned), and might be strengthened by his princely2 Spirit, that they might not be liable to fall any more.
Thus the eastern width of the court has fity cubits when the first confession of faith rejoices in the remission of sins and in the hope of future rest and peace in Christ. Accordingly, in the Apostles' Creed we confess that we believe in the Holy Church, the remission of sins, [and] the resurrection of theflesh, which the universal synod of the later fathers wished to express more fully, saying, I confess one baptism for the rernission of sins; I hope for the resurrection of the dead and the I$e of the world to come.3 Therefore, the fifty cubits on the eastcrn side generally designate the initiatory rites for believers: which are celebrated for the remission of sins and the hope of future blessedness. Nevertheless, there is immediately added another specific division of these [fifty cubits] which, whencarefully considered, is related to one and the same end. For there follows:
27: 14-15 In these [fifty cubits] thereshall be hangingsoffifteen cubits allotted for one side, with three pillars and as many bases, and on the other side there shall be hangings of fifteen cubits, having three pillars and as many bases. Surely it is well known that fifteen, which is the sum of seven plus eight, rightly designates the joys of eternal life, which begin with the sabbath-keeping of souls and are perfected in the resurrection of bodies. For the Lord rested in the tomb on the seventh [day], the sabbath, and rose again from the dead on the eighth day, that is, after the seventh
[89] [day] which was the sabbath.
Now, that there were three pillars on the side of the fifteen cubits, with as many bases, designates the holy preachers pre-eminent in faith, hope, and charity, who set their minds most firmly on the steadfaslness of the fear of God. Therefore, when you enter into the court of the tabernacle you have on each side hangings of fifteen cubits suspended from three pillars, because
1 Ps. 51 (50) 2 prrncrpalr 3 The Apostles' Creed was the baptismal creed used in the western churches. The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed was a more fully developed doctrinal statement that in Bcde's time had not yet come to be recited in the Mass. the references to baptism. resurrection, and eternal life quoted here were added in 381 at the Second Council ofConstantinople, which Bede refers to as the 'universal synod of the later fathers'.
4 'initiatory rites for believers' = rnrfra credenfruni
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anyone who is about to enter into the Holy Church, and who resolves to learn about the sacraments of faith by directing a mental gaze either to the synagogue or to the church of the Gentiles, will find that in both portions of the faithful there are teachers strong in faith, sublime in hope, fervent in chanty, and grounded in the fear of the Lord, who promise to their hearers the rest of blessed souls and the resurrection of immortal bodies. They suspend hangings of fine twisted linen from themselves, as it were, when by their example they teach those same hearers to seek the h n g s that are above, not the things that are on earth, and to keep their spirits, souls, and bodies blameless without complaining until the day of the Lord.
27: 16 But at the entrance of the court there shall be made a hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen, with embroidery work; it shall have four pillars with as many bases. There an: four pillars at the entrance of the court because no one is able to come into the unity of the Holy Church except through the faith and the sacraments of the gospel, which are contained in four books.
For th~s reason, in that same Church the pleasing custom has developed from ancient times that the beginnings of the four gospels are recited to those who are about to be catechized and initiated into the Christian sacraments, and at the opening of their ears they are carefully instructed concerning the figures [of the evangelists] and their order,2 so that from then on they may know and remember which books, and how many,
[contain] the words by which they ought chcfly to bc instructed in the true faith.
At th~s entrance there is also commmanded to be made a hanging of twenty cubits, which is a number the same as four times five. Now it is well known that we have five bodily senses, namely: vision, hearing, taste, smell,
1 1 Thess. 523
2 The liturgical rite known as the 'opening ofthe ears' was one ofthe so-called 'scrutinies' ofthose who were being prepared for baptism at Easter, see Dondepe (1932), Chavasse (1948 and 1960), and Fisher (1965), 5-11. There are no surviving liturgical texts from early
Anglo-Saxon England, but it is presumed that those used must have contained some mix?ure of Roman and Gallican elements; see Willis (1968), 189-242, and (on the baptismal rites) especially Foot (1992). The descriptions of the baptismal scrutinies in the Gelasian
Sacramentary 34 (ed. Wilson, 50-2) and in Ordo Romanus XI 47-60 (ed. Andrieu, 2: 429-33) refled the practice of the sixth-century church at Rome, although in their present forms the documents contain Gallican elements and date from the eighth and ninth centuries, respectively. They indicate that the opening of the ears took place on a weekday during Lent
(in an earlier period it would have been on a Sunday) and involved the reading of the first few verses from each of the four gospels, with an explanation of the four symbolic figures in Ezek.
1: 10 (man, lion, ox, and eagle) as representative of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. As noted above concerning Ekde's comment on Exod. 25:12 at 1, 4, (CCSL 119A: 16, 436-a), this differed from the Augustinian order of the figures preferred by Ekde.
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and touch Therefore a hanging of twenty cubits is properly suspended from four pillars at the entrance of the court, because all those who enter into the Holy Church should order both their faith and their action in accordance with the rule of the gospels, so that they may restrain all their bodily senses from carnal enticements by subjecting them to the divine commands. Not only is this hanging supported by four pillars, but in its length it also contains the number which is five multiplied by four when any of the humble and pious hearers who come to faith are not only imbued with the words of the gospel but also expend all their bodily senses in obedience to charity, since they desire to lead the evangelical life.
[90] Now this hanging at the entrance of the court is rightly made not from fine twisted linen, as were [those] in the rest of the court, but from the four most noble colours, namely, blue and purple and scarlet twice dyed and the same fine twisted linen, with embroidery work. This is because the exterior face of the Church does indeed shine beautifully for those who are being catechized, but its dignity and virtue will appear much brighter to those who merit to enter it through the sacrament of baptism. For no one attains to the highest place all of a sudden, but it is necessary for us to move gradually from the lesser things to the more perfect.'
We have frequently said that blue signifies the hope for heavenly goods; purple, the endurance of temporal evils; scarlet twice dyed, the ardour of perfect love; and fine twisted linen, the curbing of carnal delight. Surely these colours are made to vary fmm one another with cmbroidery work when any one virtue of the faithful shines all the more when it is in the company of the virtues near it, in a kind of familial relationship' [with them], as it were.
However, the individual colours previously mentioned can also correspond to individual persons among the elect. For one, who merits to look upon heavenly things at a very great height, is blue; another, who suffers many things for righteousness' sake, is purple; th~s one, who is inflamed with a very fewent love for God and neighbour, is scarlet twice dyed; that one, who is especially white with the innocence of virginal flesh, is fine twisted linen And when the righteous rejoice together on account of their virtues in one and the same evangelical faith and piety, it is as if the entrance of the court of the Lord is adorned with a beautiful hanging that is woven with a diversity of varying colours.
27: 17 All the pillars around the court shall be arrayed with plates of silver, heads of silver, and bases of bronze. [Scripture] emphasizes even
1 Gregory the Great, Horn. in Ezech. 2,3,3 (CCSr. 142: 238, 53-5) 2 'familial relationship' = consangurnitate
BOOKTWO
more diligently the things that had [already] been said, in order to remind the reader earnestly that no one can to be reckoned among the teachers of truth (that is, among the pillars of the heavenly court) who does not learn to be like bronze by having invincible patience in the midst of adversities; who is not careful to be fortified and equipped on all sides with the observance and announcement of the heavenly words, as if with plates of silver; who does not strive to submit to the divine precepts with complete subjection, as if to a silver head; who is not accustomed to stand fast in the fear of God, as if on a base of bronze.
(911 27: 18 The court occupied a hundred cubits in length, fifty in width, and five cubits in height. The Church is a hundred cubits long because it stretches out its arms in good works for the sake of eternal life.' It is fifty in width because it hopes for eternal rest in the grace of the Holy Spirit, which he willed to designate by the number fdty when by his coming he deigned to hallow Pentecost, which is the fiitieth day of the paschal feast.2
[The Church's] height is five cubits, corresponding to the number of our bodily senses, because at that time we each shall receive the things appropriate to what we have done in our bodies, whether it be good or evil.
But the figure in the court of the Lord's house represents only those who have done good in the body, on which basis they merit to enter into the rest of eternal life. At present, they glisten like fine twisted linen in the works of righteousness whch they perform with bodies and hearts that are chaste, but when they receive the rewards of righteousness forever, they will then rejoice in the same bodies, which will have been laised to the glory of immortality. Both of these aspects are mentioned together in the gospel parable in whch the five virgins who had come to the bridegroom with works of light immediately entered with him into the wedding feast, but the other five, who had not performed works of chastity with a chaste soul, were cast out far from the doors of the kingdom, being driven away along with their darl~ness.~ They numbered five and five, because both [groups] were judged according to what they had done in the flesh.
Consequently, the entire length and width of the court extended for one hundred and fifty cubits, and it had a height of five cubits, because we who have received the promise of a peaceful and heavenly homeland must
1 As in Bede's comment on Exod. 27:910 above, the number one hundred is here said to signify eternal life because in the system offinger-counting known to Ekde this was the number at which one moved from the left hand to the right. See Ekde, De temp. rut 1 (CCZ 123B:
270,50-1).
2 Acts 2:l-2 3 Matt. iS:1-12
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cleanse ourselvesfrom every defilement of the,flesh and of the spirit.' Not only must we cleanse ourselves from defilement, but we must also make perfect our sanctijcation in thefear ofGod,2 so that when the hour of the promised recompense appears we may merit to rejoice in the fear of God, not only in the spirit but also in the flesh. What was said previously with respect to this cleansing of both our substances (that is, both our soul and our flesh) in the fear of God, is now repeated once again, so that it might be even more diligently committed to memory:
27: 18-19 And it shall be made of fine twisted linen and have bases of bronze. And then there is added: All the vessels of the tabernacle for every use and for all its ceremonies, and its pegs and those of the court as well, you shall make of bronze. The vessels of the tabernacle which are prepared forevery use and for all its ceremonies are the people in the Church who serve the Lord, diverse in merit and in rank. As we have often said before, the fact that all of its vessels are ordered to be made of bronze doubtless holds the figure of a mystery. Either [it signifies] that whenever
[the faithful] are assailed by adversities they should persevere to the end, and not lose through idleness the salvation which has been promised to them, or else [it signifies] that they should not be afraid to confess openly, even to contentious enemies, the faith which they have learned, but should remember to use the gifts that they have received to make a constant sound before their friends as well. For it is the nature of bronze, and of the sounds that it makes, to last for a long while.
(921 Now the pegs (which it says were of the tabernacle or of the court) were made in such a way that they protruded when they were affixed at the tops of the outside columns, so that when the cords were placed upon them [the pegs] were able to support the curtains or the hangings by lifting them up from the ground. It is not inappropriate for their malung and position to be designated by the very speech of the teachers, which by preaching touches the hearts of the hearers, and by touching raises them up. For there are numerous instances in which Sacred Scriptun: is designated b cords. Hence it is written that a threefold cord is not easi1-v broken,
1 2 Cor. 7: 1
2 Ibid.
3 Eccles. 4:12. Note that the number three in this quotation leads Bede to expound a threefold scheme for the interpretation of Scripture, just as the number four in Exod. 25:26 inspired him to set forth a fourfold scheme above in De rub. 1, 6 (CCSL 119A: 24, 773 - 25,
81 1). As noted by Barrows (1%3), 70, the shape of Bede's statements of exegetical theory is often determined by number symbolism.
BOOK TWO
doubtless because Scripture, which is customarily interpreted in the historical, allegorical, and moral senses, cannot be corrupted by the perversity of heretics or pagans.
Now in order forthese hangings orcurtains to be able to receive the cords, it was necessary for them to have loops or rings on their upper [edges], into which those same cords could be inserted. And if you wish to become God's hanging, you must prepare in your heart a receptacle for his words, by which you can be raised up to the thmgs that are above. For the cords of the hangings are put on the pegs of the pillars so that [the hangings] may be spread out and lifted up in such a way that they fill out the beauty of the tabernacle: let the holy preachers impart the Divine Eloquences to the hearts of the faithful and remind them to be raised up from the depths by [taking] these [words] for their example. When they are stretched out and raised up by the cords, the curtains or hangings show forth the marvelous beauty of their workmanship to everyone far and wide, which they could not do while they were rolled up: let the faithful exhibit the amplitude of good works as well as the beauty of the mind and of the inner grace which they have received as a gift from the Lord, so that the nei hbours who see their good works mayglorrfi the Father who is in heaven and say, 'How lovely are your tabernacles, 0 Lord of hosts; my soul longs and faints for the courts
of the Lord. '2
1 Matt. 5:16
2 Ps. 84: 1-2 (83:2-3)