📖 Biblical Definition
The Tent of Meeting (Hebrew ohel moed) is the tabernacle — the portable sanctuary at the center of Israel’s camp during the wilderness years — the appointed place where God came down and met with Moses, with the priests, and with His people. "And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat" (Exodus 25:22); "and the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend" (Exodus 33:11). The whole biblical pattern of corporate worship descends from ohel moed: God gives His people a place to meet Him. The temple, the synagogue, the New-Covenant ekklēsia, and finally the New Jerusalem all extend the gracious institution.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
(Composite.) The tabernacle; the appointed tent in which the LORD met with Moses and with Israel.
expand to see more
Webster: tabernacle — “a tent; a temporary habitation; in particular, the tent which Moses erected in the wilderness for the worship of God.”
Three Hebrew phrases describe it: mishkan (dwelling), miqdash (sanctuary), and ohel mo'ed (tent of meeting). The last names its primary purpose: the place of appointed encounter.
📖 Key Scripture
Exodus 33:7 — "And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation."
Exodus 33:11 — "And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend."
Exodus 40:34 — "Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle."
John 1:14 — "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us... and we beheld his glory."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Christians sometimes treat the tent of meeting as Old Testament background; in fact, John 1:14 says Christ Himself tabernacled among us — the tent of meeting walked into the world.
expand to see more
John 1:14's eskēnōsen — “he tabernacled” — deliberately echoes the wilderness tent. The whole point: the God who once met His people in a portable tent has now pitched His tent in human flesh, in Jesus.
And the picture continues: the Spirit indwells the believer (1 Cor 6:19), and the saints together are God's temple (1 Cor 3:16). The tent of meeting is not behind us — it is, by the Spirit, around us and in us. Christian gathering is the tent reassembled.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Two Hebrew words form the phrase, and together they make the New Testament's root picture of incarnation.
expand to see more
H168 — אֹהֶל (ohel) — tent, dwelling, tabernacle.
H4150 — מוֹעֵד (mo'ed) — appointed meeting, season; the appointed encounter at the tent.
Usage
"John 1:14 is the second tent of meeting; this time, in flesh."
"Every gathered congregation is the wilderness tent reassembled."
"If God came down to meet Moses in a tent, He will meet you in your living room."