How Did Prophet Moses Pray in the Past? (The Tabernacle)

We know that in the past during the time of Moses, his followers were thought on how to pray or have an earthly meeting place with God. The Tabernacle (more info here), "residence" or "dwelling place", according to the Hebrew Bible, was the portable earthly meeting place of God with the children of Israel from the time of the Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan.

Built of woven layers of curtains along with 48 standing boards clad with polished gold and held in place by 5 bars per side with the middle bar shooting through from end to end and other items made from the gold, silver, brass, furs, jewels, and other valuable materials taken out of Egypt at God's orders, and according to specifications revealed by Yahweh (God) to Moses at Mount Sinai, it was transported by the Israelites on their journey through the wilderness and their conquest of the Promised Land. Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem superseded it as the dwelling-place of God some 300 years later.

The main source for the account of the construction of the Tabernacle is the biblical Book of Exodus, specifically Exodus 25–31 and 35–40. It describes an inner shrine, the Holy of Holies, which housed the Ark of the Covenant, which in turn was under the veil of the covering suspended by four pillars and an outer chamber (the "Holy Place").

The same way, Prophet Abraham built his house of worship during his time as we found clues in

Genesis 13:18 - So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the LORD.

Here's an overview on how The Tabernacle looks like. Instructions to build this place of worship is given in the book of Exodus.

Exodus 26:18 - Make twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle



And also from this verse Exodus 26:33, we know that this is a Holy Place.

Exodus 26:33 - Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the covenant law behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.

Another clue that we can find, is how traditional Jewish people, use this object called Phylacteries which is a cube object placed on their head. Why is it a cube shape? Based on the video here from a Jew, each side of the cube there is a small door which they put Holy Scriptures inside.

1) Exodus 13:1-10
2) Exodus 13:11-16
3) Deuteronomy 6:4-9
4) Deuteronomy 11:13-21

We also found a clue in the Bible that says, Moses told Pharaoh the ruler of Egypt to let his people go so they can do pilgrimage or festival.

Exodus 5:1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.'"

Moses then lead his people from Pharaoh Slavery from Egypt across the Red Sea towards the land of Arabia. Midian is where Moses met his wife which is daughter of Jethro (Descendant of Ishmael which is first son of Abraham) and Jethro told Moses about the pilgrimage / festival celebration since the time of their ancestor Abraham performed.

Exodus 12:14 - This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival (hag) to the LORD. This is a law for all time.

The word hag can be found here which translated to festival sacrifice or feast where people gather, celebrate and eat.

Based on this verse, God said each year, for generations to come, he has made the law to join this festival for all time. Do we see similarities between the shape of the Tabernacle and people performing Hajj at Mecca? And also Muslim (People of Islam), visit this place once a year to celebrate the blessed life of Prophet Abraham, they also feast by sacrificing farm animals there once a year which more info can be found here. Is there a connection between the traditional way of praying of Prophet Abraham, Moses and many others with current religion of Islam and their Prophet Muhammad?