Corroborating the Torn Temple Curtain
The three Synoptic Gospels report that when Jesus died, “the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom.” (Mark 15:38; Matthew 27:51; Luke 23:45) Regarding this ominous description, the NET Bible gives this explanation in a footnote:
The referent of this term, καταπέτασμα (katapetasma), is not entirely clear. It could refer to the curtain separating the holy of holies from the holy place (Josephus, J. W. [Jewish War] 5.5.5 [5.219]), or it could refer to one at the entrance of the temple court (Josephus, J. W. 5.5.4 [5.212]). Many argue that the inner curtain is meant because another term, κάλυμμα (kalumma), is also used for the outer curtain. Others see a reference to the outer curtain as more likely because of the public nature of this sign. Either way, the symbolism means that access to God has been opened up. It also pictures a judgment that includes the sacrifices.As will be seen, identifying which curtain is critical.
The entrance curtain
The Greek word for “sanctuary” is ναός (naos), which is “used of the temple at Jerusalem, but only of the sacred edifice (or sanctuary) itself, consisting of the Holy place and the Holy of Holies.”[1] This definition helps in isolating the main temple curtain separating the “Holy place and the Holy of Holies.”
Section-view of the Temple
SBL Study BibleThus, it is normally understood that the larger, main curtain was the one rent in two. Two questions that will now be addressed are:
Mr. 15:38 The curtain of the temple, perhaps that which veiled the holy of holies, was torn (see note on 1.10). This may foreshadow the destruction of the temple or symbolize the rending of the barrier between humanity and God; like Heb 9.8; 10.19-20, it may suggest that the death of Jesus has made access to God possible for all humanity.
Complete Jewish Study Bible
Mt. 27:51 The parokhet in the Temple was ripped in two. The parokhet was a thick curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. Only the cohen hagadol (high priest) was allowed to pass through it into the Holy of Holies, which he could do only once a year on Yom-Kippur. When this curtain was ripped in two from top to bottom, this symbolized the fact that God was allowing more access to himself, as taught explicitly in Heb. 9:3-9; 10:19-22 although only Yeshua can serve as High Priest in the heavenly Temple.
Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible
27:51 curtain … was torn in two. In later rabbinic tradition signs accompanied the death of the righteous. The veil torn here is probably the inner one; priests would be offering the afternoon/evening sacrifice at this time (cf. v. 46), so would be present in the sanctuary to witness the event. This act probably implies the departure of God’s presence from the temple, prefiguring its destruction (cf. Eze 9:3; 10:4-18). Some believe that the point also includes new access to the Most Holy Place through Jesus’ sacrifice—that access to God no longer required an intermediary (cf. Heb 6:19-20; 9:3; 10:19-20). earth shook. Most people viewed earthquakes as divine activity, often as judgment or as signs warning of it.
ESV Archeology Study Bible
Mt. 27:51 curtain of the temple. This separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place in the inmost part of the temple. It was a large, heavy, elaborately woven fabric.
ESV Study Bible
Mt. 27:51 The curtain between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place was an elaborately woven fabric of 72 twisted plaits of 24 threads each. It was 60 feet (18 m) high and 30 feet (9.1 m) wide. No one was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place behind the curtain except the high priest, and he only once a year, on the Day of Atonement (Heb. 9:2-7). Torn in two signifies the removal of the separation between God and the people.
NIV FaithLife Study Bible
Mt. 27:51 The direction of the tear—along with the passive verb—implies an act of God.
NASB Study Bible
Mr. 15:38 veil of the temple. The curtain that separated the holy place from the most holy place (Ex 26:31-33). The tearing of the curtain indicated that Christ had entered heaven itself for us so that we too may now enter God’s very presence (Heb 9:8-10,12; 10:19-20).
NIV Archeological Study Bible
Mr. 15:38 The “curtain of the temple” refers to the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
- Did the priesthood have a procedure to replace this curtain if it became unsuitable?
- Is there any evidence this curtain was replaced, and even replaced in a way that could be seen as a response to it being torn down the middle?
The veil refers to the following Mishna: Rabban Simon b. Gamaliel says in the name of R. Simon, the High-priest’s substitute: “The thickness of the veil [of the Temple] was a hand-breadth. It was woven of seventy-two cords, each cord consisting of twenty-four strands. Its length was forty cubits, by twenty in width. It was made by eighty-two myriads of damsels, and two such veils were made every year. It took three hundred priests to immerse and cleanse it [if it becomes unclean].” (italics added)[2]This is also seen in the Mishnaic tractate Shekalim 8.5.[3] Commenting on this, Temple scholar Leen Ritmeyer said:
The veil would have been too large to weave on one loom and therefore it was more likely to have been composed of seventy-two pieces joined together. Because of its enormous size and weight, the veil was probably hoisted up by pulleys fixed to the ceiling construction. Even so, three hundred priests were needed to move it, which shows how massive this veil must have been. If the veil became ritually unclean, or simply dirty, it had to be immersed in the azarah [Temple court], and then laid out to dry on the steps of the hel [terrace]. When a new veil was made, it was spread out on the roof of the portico, so that people could admire its beauty.[4]Thus, the priesthood had a procedure to remove, clean or replace the massive main curtain. It would not under any circumstances be allowed to remain hanging in a defiled state! Having the curtain rent in two from top to bottom, as the Synoptic Gospels claim, would definitely qualify as a defilement, and the priesthood would naturally respond to this by replacing the ruined curtain as quickly as possible. While there is no record of the torn curtain outside of the Gospels, let alone an account of how the priesthood responded to it, there is an indication that it was replaced with an innovation in case it should be torn again.
Leen Ritmeyer explains, under his curious heading “Two Veils or One?”:[5]
It is strange that we read in Yoma 5.1, that there were:He then asks:Two curtains separating the Sanctuary from the Holy of Holies. And there was a cubit’s space between them. Rabbi Jose says: Only one curtain was there, for it is written, And the veil shall divide for you between the holy place and the most holy” The outer curtain was looped up on the south side and the inner one on the north side. He went along between them until he reached the north side; when he reached the north he turned round to the south and went on with the curtain on his left hand until he reached the Ark. When he reached the Ark he put the fire-pan between the two bars.To reach the Holy of Holies, the High Priest would walk through the space between the two curtains. He first encountered the eastern veil, the one visible from inside the heikhal. A gap was left open on the left, or south, side and he entered the Holy of Holies through another gap left on the north side of the inner, or western, curtain.
Although the veil is not mentioned in Middot, the supposition that there were two veils is supported by the writer of this tractate, for in Middot 4.7, a “dividing space” (amah traksin) of one cubit apparently separated the forty-cubit-long interior of the Sanctuary from the Holy of Holies. This same space was also accentuated in the upper chamber above by a row of flagstones (Middot 4.5). Although the tradition of one veil dates back to the Tabernacle, indications in the Mishnah point to two veils in the Temple.
Is it possible that initially there was only one veil in Herod’s Temple and that a second veil was installed after the rending of the veil at the death of Jesus? The veil that was rent in A.D. 33 had to be replaced, otherwise the Holy of Holies, which the Law of Moses stipulated should only be entered once a year by the High Priest, would be open to view. A second veil may have been added to prevent such a situation from recurring.So, he is proposing that after the torn veil was replaced, it was modified to be open on the northern side and a second veil was added that was open on the southern side, forming a corridor of one cubit between them. See Figure 1:
The Jewish texts he used regarding two curtains creating a corridor were Yoma 5.1 and Middot 4.7.[6]
Thus, we have texts from the Gospels, Hebrews, and Josephus of one curtain between the Holy and Most Holy. Then, the last description of it is of two overlapping curtains, which Leen Ritmeyer viewed as evidence that the single curtain was replaced at some point, and replaced in a way that would be reacting to the curtain being torn down the middle. Any evidence of the curtain being torn is very significant—as this is evidence that the miracle happened, and consequently that Jesus’ death was significant. With evidence that his death was significant is also evidence that he was resurrected, as the torn curtain and his resurrection are tied together, so that evidence for the former is also evidence for the latter.
Footnotes:
[1] Strong’s. Translated as “divine habitation” in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation (KIT). This word is distinguished from another, more general word for “temple,” ἱερός (hieros), translated as “temple courtyards” in the NET Bible and as “temple” in the KIT. (See for instance hieros in John 8:20.)
[2] As seen on Sefaria: www.sefaria.org/Ein_Yaakov_(Glick_Edition)%2C_Chullin.7.1?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en
[3] The veil was one handbreadth thick and was woven on seventy-two rods, and over each rod were twenty-four threads. Its length was forty cubits and its breadth twenty cubits; it was made by eighty-two young girls, and they used to make two in every year; and three hundred priests immersed it. (As quoted in The Quest: Revealing The Temple Mount In Jerusalem by Leen Ritmeyer, page 390.)
[4] The Quest: Revealing The Temple Mount In Jerusalem, 2006. Pages 390 and 392.
[5] Page 392.
[6] These can be read on the Sefaria website:
Additional reading:
Thus, we have texts from the Gospels, Hebrews, and Josephus of one curtain between the Holy and Most Holy. Then, the last description of it is of two overlapping curtains, which Leen Ritmeyer viewed as evidence that the single curtain was replaced at some point, and replaced in a way that would be reacting to the curtain being torn down the middle. Any evidence of the curtain being torn is very significant—as this is evidence that the miracle happened, and consequently that Jesus’ death was significant. With evidence that his death was significant is also evidence that he was resurrected, as the torn curtain and his resurrection are tied together, so that evidence for the former is also evidence for the latter.
[1] Strong’s. Translated as “divine habitation” in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation (KIT). This word is distinguished from another, more general word for “temple,” ἱερός (hieros), translated as “temple courtyards” in the NET Bible and as “temple” in the KIT. (See for instance hieros in John 8:20.)
[2] As seen on Sefaria: www.sefaria.org/Ein_Yaakov_(Glick_Edition)%2C_Chullin.7.1?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en
[3] The veil was one handbreadth thick and was woven on seventy-two rods, and over each rod were twenty-four threads. Its length was forty cubits and its breadth twenty cubits; it was made by eighty-two young girls, and they used to make two in every year; and three hundred priests immersed it. (As quoted in The Quest: Revealing The Temple Mount In Jerusalem by Leen Ritmeyer, page 390.)
[4] The Quest: Revealing The Temple Mount In Jerusalem, 2006. Pages 390 and 392.
[5] Page 392.
[6] These can be read on the Sefaria website:
The High Priest would then walk west through the Sanctuary until he reaches the area between the two curtains that separated the Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies, and the space between them was one cubit. Rabbi Yosei says: There was only one curtain there, as it is stated: “And the curtain shall divide for you between the Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies” (Exodus 26:33). The outer curtain between the Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies was hooked [perufa] slightly open on the south side of the Sanctuary, and the inner curtain hooked slightly open on the north side of the Sanctuary, and therefore the High Priest could not enter the Holy of Holies directly. Rather, he enters through the southern opening and walks between the curtains until he reaches the opening to the north. When he reaches the opening to the north, he enters the Holy of Holies through that opening, turns his face to the south, and walks to his left along the curtain until he reaches the area before the Ark. When he reaches the Ark, he places the coal pan between the two staves. (link)
…the wall of the Hekhal six cubits and its interior forty, a cubit for the space between, and twenty cubits for the Holy of Holies… (link)
Additional reading:
- Passing Through the Curtain
jimspace3000.blogspot.com/2014/12/passing-through-curtain.html
- Temple entrance curtain from The Virtual New Testament iOS app by BYU Virtual Scriptures.
- First graphic found on streetlife-cebu.medium.com/a-torn-curtain-7af46641c7e
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Labels: Bible, Jesus' resurrection
posted by JimSpace at 7:57 PM
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