For the tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt offering, were at that season in the high place at Gibeon.

1 CHRONICLES 21:29KJV
Know the Bible

1 Chronicles 21:29 (KJV)

What does 1 Chronicles 21:29 mean?

1 Chronicles 21:29 explains that, at the time being described, the tabernacle of the LORD and the altar for burnt offerings—originally set up by Moses in the wilderness—were located at a high place in Gibeon. This detail helps clarify why worship and sacrifices were happening at Gibeon instead of Jerusalem during this period.

The verse is part of a narrative where King David is arranging sacrifices after a national crisis. The writer points out that the main sanctuary and altar, made by Moses (the tabernacle), had not yet been moved to Jerusalem, so official worship was still happening at Gibeon. This background helps the reader understand the religious setting and why David was not using the future temple site just yet.

The Hebrew behind 1 Chronicles 21:29

  • טַבְּנֶה (mishkan, transliterated "mishkan") — "tabernacle": This word refers to the portable sanctuary made by Moses, emphasizing that Israel's central place of worship was still mobile and not yet replaced by a permanent temple.
  • יְהוָה (YHWH, transliterated "YHWH") — "LORD": The verse highlights that the tabernacle belonged to the LORD, underlining its sacredness and authority as the center of Israelite worship.
  • מִזְבֵּחַ (mizbeach, transliterated "mizbeach") — "altar": This is the altar specifically for burnt offerings, showing that the sacrificial system established in the wilderness was still in use at Gibeon.
  • בָּמוֹת (bamah, transliterated "bamah") — "high place": The use of this word shows that the tabernacle and altar were set up on an elevated site at Gibeon, which was common for worship locations before the temple was built in Jerusalem.

Why 1 Chronicles 21:29 matters

  • This verse clears up why David and others were worshipping at Gibeon rather than Jerusalem, showing that the central sanctuary had not yet been moved.
  • It emphasizes the continuity between the worship practices established by Moses and those in David’s time, connecting Israel’s past in the wilderness to its present.
  • By mentioning the "high place," the verse hints at the transitional period in Israel’s worship, before the temple centralized all sacrifices in Jerusalem.

Where else these words appear

“Gibeon” Hebrew H1391 · used in 35 verses

  • Joshua 9:3 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai,
  • Joshua 18:25 Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth,
  • 1 Chronicles 8:29 And at Gibeon dwelt the father of Gibeon; whose wife's name was Maachah:

“place” Hebrew H1116 · used in 92 verses

  • Leviticus 26:30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
  • 2 Kings 15:35 Howbeit the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burned incense still in the high places. He built the higher gate of the house of the LORD.
  • 2 Chronicles 33:3 For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.

“tabernacle” Hebrew H4908 · used in 129 verses

  • Exodus 25:9 According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
  • Exodus 40:17 And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up.
  • Numbers 10:21 And the Kohathites set forward, bearing the sanctuary: and the other did set up the tabernacle against they came.