The Holy of Holies (Hebrew: קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים, romanized: Qōḏeš haqQŏḏāšīm or Kodesh HaKodashim; also הַדְּבִיר hadDəḇīr, 'the Sanctuary') is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where the Shekhinah (God's presence) appeared. According to Hebrew tradition, the area was defined by four pillars that held up the veil of the covering, under which the Ark of the Covenant was held above the floor. According to the Hebrew Bible, the Ark contained the Ten Commandments, which were given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. The first Temple in Jerusalem, called Solomon's Temple, was said to have been built by King Solomon to keep the Ark.
Ancient Jewish traditions viewed the Holy of Holies as the spiritual junction of Heaven and Earth, the "axis mundi".
As a part of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, the Holy of Holies was situated somewhere on Temple Mount; its precise location in the Mount being a matter of dispute, with some classical Jewish sources identifying its location with the Foundation Stone, which sits under the Dome of the Rock shrine.[1][2] Other Jewish scholars argue that contemporary reports would place the Temple to the north or to the east of the Dome of the Rock.[3]
The Christian Crusaders associated the Holy of Holies with the Well of Souls, a small cave that lies underneath the Foundation Stone in the Dome of the Rock.[4]
- ^ "Yoma 54b:2". www.sefaria.org.
- ^ "Sanhedrin 26b:5". www.sefaria.org.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
World Jewish Digestwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Ritmeyer, Kathleen (1 January 2006). Secrets of Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Biblical Archaeology Society. p. 104. ISBN 9781880317860.