side the table of shewbread, and it is said to be the altar of incense. But, may scholars reject this on the grounds that incense was not used in the worship until post-exilic days. But, there is also reason to believe that the writer of the passage might have been referring to frankincense, which was used in pre-exilic times. These assumptions are based upon the fact that there are two words that are rendered “incense”, one of which is frankincense. Some controversy still arises because of the passage from the Law of Holiness about the shewbread. It is said that frankincense is to be placed alongside the shewbread on the table of shewbread. This seems to imply that there was only one table. Also, in a later age, there is a Brazen Serpent that stood in the Temple. There is no specific information that tells when it was brought into the Temple, but there is an account given of its making in the Wilderness period, where Moses is said to have been responsible for its creation. The hekal, the Holy Place, led directly into the debir, the Holy of Holies. This inner sanctuary was a perfect cube, which was 20 cubits in length, width, and height. The entrance of the Holy of Holies was closed with folding doors. No light would have entered into this chamber except when the doors were open, which would have been only rarely because God declared that he would live in darkness. In the inner sanctuary, Solomon made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high. Five cubits was the length to the tip of each of the wings. Both cherubim had the same measure and the same form. The height of both cherubim was ten cubits. The wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one touched the one wall, and a wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; their other wings touched each other in the middle of the house. One other indication of the position of the cherubim is preserved where it is clearly stated that...
