Tabnit appears 20 times in the Hebrew Bible, derived from the root banah (to build). It denotes a pattern, model, or plan — specifically the heavenly blueprint revealed to Moses for the construction of the Tabernacle, and to David for the Temple. When God says 'Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you' (Exodus 25:9), the word used is tabnit.
The theology of tabnit is profound: earthly worship structures were to be built according to a heavenly original. Hebrews 8:5 explicitly states that the Tabernacle was 'a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: See to it that you make everything according to the pattern [tabnit] shown you on the mountain.' God is not improvising — He has an eternal pattern for redemption and worship, and earthly forms are shadows of that heavenly reality. The ultimate fulfillment is Christ Himself, the exact image (charakter) of the Father (Hebrews 1:3).