Bible Study Evangelista - A Woven Veil: The “How” of the OT

Notes and References

Old Testament Veil

• Exodus 26:31-35, directions and description of the tabernacle curtain
• Genesis 3:24, Cherubim guard the way to the Tree of Life.
• Numbers 4:5, The tabernacle veil was used to wrap the ark of the covenant for protection when the Israelites journeyed through the wilderness.

New Testament Veil in Christ’s Flesh

• Psalm 22:6, “I am a [tola] worm, and no man; scorned by men, and despised by the people.”
• Matthew 27:46, Jesus quotes Psalm 22 on the cross as prophetic of Himself.
• Exodus 40:21, In Hebrew, the word used to describe the veil is sakak, translated twice in this verse as “screen(ed).” It is sometimes also translated in the Scriptures as “covered,” “woven” or “knit.”
• Psalm 139:6, “You ‘stitched’ me together in my mother’s womb.”
• John 2:19-22, Jesus’ own flesh veils the Presence of God.
• Luke 9:28-36, The transfiguration reveals the presence of God beneath Jesus’ veil of flesh.
• Matthew 27:46-51, In the agony of His Passion, just after Jesus quotes Psalm 22:1 “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”, the veil in Herod’s Temple was split from top to bottom.
• Hebrews 9, The Holy of Holies was a type of Heaven, and the veil signified that it was closed till Christ burst through it by His death.

Human Flesh as a Veil for the Presence of God

• Matthew 18:10, Jesus says my flesh is guarded by angels, as was the Holy of Holies.
• 1 Corinthians 6:19, Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own.
• Psalm 139:14, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made, fearfully meaning “respectfully.”

Episode Resources

Fulfilled, Uncovering the Biblical Foundations of Catholicism, Chapter 11, Holy of Holies

Ignite, Chapters 6 & 7, The How of the Bible

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“It is understood that there were two veils; one veiling the Holy of Holies, the other, the outer part of the tabernacle or temple. In the Passion then of our Lord and Savior, it was the outer veil which was rent from the top to the bottom, that by the rending of the veil from the beginning to the end of the world, the mysteries might be published which had been hid with good reason until the Lord’s coming. ‘But when that which is perfect is come’ (1 Cor. 13:10), then the second veil also shall be taken away, that we may see the things that are hidden within, to wit, the true Ark of the Testament, and behold the Cherubim and the rest in their real nature” (Catena Aurea, Gospel of Matthew, Origen, Matt. 27:51).