Biblical descriptions of the Tabernacle and the Temple suggest that the two structures were not nearly as similar as Wellhausen believed. For example, the Temple (reconstructed in this drawing) was a three-room building, consisting of a forecourt (’uïlaµm), an outer sanctum (heïkaµl) and the holy of holies (dbiïr), whereas the Tabernacle (see next image) had only two chambers. And while the 2:1 ratio emphasized by Wellhausen does apply to the length and width of the two buildings (the Temple measured 60 cubits by 20 cubits, while the Tabernacle, according to most reconstructions, measured 30 cubits by 10 cubits), the respective heights of the two structures do not maintain that ratio. Moreover, the side chambers of the Temple have no parallel in the Tabernacle design, just as the rectangular courtyard that enclosed the Tabernacle is completely missing from descriptions of the Jerusalem Temple (see the plans at the end of this article).
