Hebrews 9:3-5

‘And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holy of holies, having a golden altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, in which was a golden pot holding the manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant, and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy-seat; of which things we cannot now speak severally.’

And then there was the second tabernacle which was called ‘The Holy of Holies’, the only entrance to which was from the Holy Place. It was a place so holy that none could regularly enter. The contents of the Holy of Holies (often called the Holiest of all or the Most Holy Place) are now described.

It is noteworthy that he connects the altar of incense with the Holy of Holies. It stood against the veil probably between the two protruding staves which bore the ark (1 Kings 8:8), (for it would be central), and thus, although it was on the side of the veil facing the Holy Place, (so that priests could approach it) it was clearly seen as an essential part of the Holy of Holies (compare 1 Kings 6:22 where it is said to ‘belong to the oracle’, that is to the Holy of Holies). Note the way it is expressed, ‘having a golden altar of incense’ (contrast ‘having’ with ‘in which’ - Hebrews 9:2). It does not say that it was in it, only that it belonged to it. It was the one place throughout the year where, as it were, the Holy of Holies could be continually accessed, by means of the odour of the incense that pierced the veil, and annually the blood of the sin offering of atonement would be applied to its horns in order to atone for it (Exodus 30:10). It was most holy to Yahweh. And each year it was effectively borne into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement in the form of its golden censer.

Note on The Position of the Golden Altar of Incense.

The golden altar of incense was physically placed in the Holy Place ‘before the veil’. But it was carried annually into the Holy of Holies in the form of the censer which was filled from it, the only thing from the Holy Place that ever went in to the Holy of Holies. And in fact the exact literal translation of the Greek here is ‘the golden censer’, the altar being named after its most important function. A censer was a vessel which bore coals on which incense was burned. The altar was thus seen as there for two reasons, for offering incense on the fire which burned on it (acting continually like a huge censer), and in order to fill the censer which bore the coals on which the incense was burnt before Yahweh when the High Priest ventured into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement. The altar and the censer together could thus be called ‘a golden censer’ (both Josephus and Philo call the golden altar of incense this), for both acted as censers and were involved in the work of offering the incense. (Note the lack of the definite article compared with other items).

The actual censer, filled with coals taken from the golden altar of incense, was used to carry the ashes of the golden altar, on which incense was to be burned, into the very ‘presence’ of God, into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:12-13). And these came from the golden altar, so that the whole was seen as in some way a part of the Holy of Holies, although spending most of their time in the Holy Place. For the golden altar of incense was in an ambiguous position. It had to be in the Holy Place in order that the priests may offer the incense on it daily at the time of the morning and evening sacrifices, but its essential function was to offer incense before Yahweh with its sweet odour penetrating the veil to reach the throne of Yahweh. And by means of the censer it actually ‘went in’ to the Holy of Holies annually. It was placed immediately against the veil behind which was the ark of the covenant, almost certainly between the two protruding staves which bore the ark, which staves also represented the ark as embracing the altar. Essentially it belonged to the Holy of Holies.

This can be seen as confirmed by the ambiguity of the Law (Torah), since it places the golden altar ‘before the veil’ and ‘before the ark’ and ‘before Yahweh’ (see Exodus 30:1-10; Exodus 40:5; Exodus 40:26-27; Leviticus 16:12; Leviticus 16:18-19). It was clearly thus seen as before the ark and in God’s presence, although practicality and use demanded it being before the veil in order to preserve the holiness of the Holy of Holies. So it was in essence a Holy of Holies feature. The idea that the incense altar was closely connected with the Holy of Holies is further supported by two sources from the second-Temple period. In 2 Bar 6:7 , Baruch is said to have a vision of the angel descending to the Holy of Holies and removing the ark and the incense altar, and in Malachi 2:4-8; Malachi 2:4-8, in a letter detailing an alleged event in the life of Jeremiah the prophet, the ark and the incense altar are mentioned together, implying that they were considered to be in the closest of associations, and the essentials for the true worship of Yahweh. The golden altar of incense was thus seen as an essential part of the significance of the Holy of Holies.

End of note.

The other things that are mentioned are the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, a chest 4 feet by Hebrews 2:5 feet by Hebrews 2:5 feet (Exodus 25:17), in which was a golden pot holding the manna (Exodus 16:32-34), and Aaron's rod that budded (Numbers 17:1-11), and the tablets of the covenant (what we call the ten commandments - Exodus 25:16), and on which was the mercy-seat (Exodus 25:17-18; Exodus 25:21), the throne from which God dispensed His mercy, and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy-seat. All these were kept within the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle, but the pot and the rod appear to have disappeared by the time of the building of Solomon’s Temple. 1 Kings 8:9 tells us that, "There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone".

These were all symbolic of the old covenant. They stressed God’s promises and goodness under that old covenant, His provision of manna in the wilderness, the reminder that it was He Who had established the Aaronic priesthood (the rod that budded), and the very tablets containing the written covenant. And above all was the mercy-seat with the ‘cherubim of glory’ hovering over, which declared His Kingship, His mercy and His glory as watched over by the cherubim. It was on and before the mercy seat that blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:14-15). But the writer stresses that these are things he does not intend to go into. They are now of the past, and such as then survived would soon be of the past literally.).

The pot holding the manna is nowhere said to be golden in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, but LXX and Philo both describe it as such, and as gold predominated in the Holy of Holies such was most fitting and most likely.