In the introduction of this book I discussed how recently evidence collected by a satellite supported the theory that up to 90 percent of the universe is made of invisible "dark matter" that scientists have yet been able to identify.    Could this mean that nine-tenths of the universe is God, the Hidden Deity, and only one-tenth is visible to our comprehension?

   To return to the Introduction subject of Dark matter.

• See later in history in Exodus 14:19 "And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them: and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face and stood behind them:"    14:20 "And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it (a barrier) was a cloud and darkness (symbol of wrath) to them, but it gave light (symbol of favor) by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night."    The pillar of cloud, was a slow and silent movement of a majestic column through the air, that exited the Israelites.
• Israel at Sinai in Exodus 19:16 "And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud (darkness in Psalm 18:9) upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled."
• Exodus 20:18 "And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off."    Then a vew verses later 20:21 "And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was."
• In Deut. 4:11 and 5:22 the LORD spoke to all of Israel face to face from under the mountain out of the midst of heaven "..mountain burned with the fire, of the cloud (clouds), and the thick darkness, with a great voice .." but they only heard the voice coming out of the midst of the fire, and they saw no similitude (resemblance or comparison).    In 4:32 "...and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, ..."
• Judges 5:4 "LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water." The kings came to fight the kings of Canaan in the fortified city of Ta’-a-nach (Heb. ta’anak, possibly Ta’annuk) a tell or mound in the plain of Megiddo or Esdraelon (now Leijun) and in Judges 5:20 "They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses (a fearful tempest burst upon them and threw them into disorder) fought against Sis’-e-ra."
• I Kings 8:12 and 2 Chronicles 6:1 "Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness."
• Job written originally in Hebrew could possibly be dated to 2150 B.C. at the beginning of the Age of Aries.
      Job 22:11 "Or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee (danger by floods is a less frequent image in this book)."    22:12 "Is not God in the height (Heb. ro’sh, head or top, i.e., elevation) of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!"    22:13 "And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud?" Does God concern himself with the affairs of humans seen also in Psalm 73:11.    22:14 "Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven."    (Circuit or circumference is a path or route the complete traversal of which without local change of direction requires returning to the starting point.)
• In Job 38:1-6 ".. the LORD " talked from "...a whirlwind (a description of His power exhibited in the phenomena of nature also seen in Nahum 1:3; also a symbol of judgment)," questioning where was man when he "... laid the foundations of the earth," or "... who hath stretched the line upon it (measured its proportions).." and "...fastened the corner stone (gravitation)..." the arrangements of the universe.
• In Job 38:7 "...the morning stars (symbols of the angels) sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"    38:8 "Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?"    38:9 "When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it," Swaddle or swaddling is to wrap or bind in bandages; swathe as to wrap (a baby) in swaddling clothes. To restrain or restrict.    A band or cloth used for swaddling [Middle English swadlen, probably back-formation from swadling (band), swaddling (cloth), or swathelbonde, both from swathel-, probably frequentative of Old English wathian, to swathe].
• In Job 38:10-12 we see God describing how he slowed up the "proud waves" of the universe and "... set bars and doors," on it, and ".. caused the dayspring (Heb. shachar, to break forth, KJV dawn, rising sun) to know his place;" and the waves in Job 38:13 "That it might take hold of the ends of the earth (spread itself over the earth to its utmost bounds in a moment, i.e. gravitation), that the wicked (who hate the light and do their evil in the dark as mentioned in Job 24:13 "those that rebel against the light") might be shaken out of it? (the corners or Hebrew wings or skirts, as of a garment, are taken hold of by the dayspring)"
• Job 38:14-18 Ask whether man knows the ways in which the earth was created.

• In Job 38:19 "Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof," or where is the origin of light and darkness, and remember that in Genesis 1, "light" is created distinct from and previous to, the light emitting bodies, the luminaries of heaven.
• Job 38:20 "That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?" Do you know its place so well as to be able to guide (also "take" as in Isa. 36:17) it to ("reach it in") its own boundary, i.e., the limit between light and darkness (Job 26:10 "He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.").
• Job 38:21 "Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?"    Ironic that man could know when God created light and darkness as in Job 15:7 "Art thou the first man that was born? Or wast thou made before the hills."
• Job 38:22 "Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? (verse 23 reserved for the time of trouble) or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail (reserved for the day of battle and war),"
• Job 38:24-30 discusses how light is parted, which affects the east wind, how were the waterways divided, and the cause of thunder and lightning were developed, for the rain cycle to occur, so that flowers could bloom.    Who made the ice and frost of the world?

• Job 38:31 "Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades (the joy diffused by spring at a time when Pleiades appear, as the seven stars are closely bound together like "heap of stars," "knot of stars," or "bands" also seen in Job 9:9), or loose the bands of Orion? (Greek Orion, Assyrian Nimrod, who rebelled against God, in Hebrew, was the fool, and is represented as an impious giant chained or fettered with "bands" to the sky for punishment.)"
      Paraphrased: "Have you fitted a curb to the Pleiades or loosened the bonds of Orion?"
• Job 38:32 "Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? (from their places or houses, Mazzaloth in 2 Kings 23:5, which Mazzaroth is equal, into the sky as "the twelve signs of the Zodiac" at their respective seasons in relation to the sun) or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? (Arcturus is Ursa Major and the three stars in its tail are his sons)"    Some scholars believe that the stars and constellations mentioned here are those of Taurus and Scorpius and suggest that if calculated by the precession of equinoxes, the time of Job would be 818 years after the Deluge and 184 years before Abraham.
      Paraphrased: "Can you bring forth the Mazzaroth in their season, or guide the Bear with its train?
• Job 38:33 "Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? (the ordinances regulate the alternation of seasons which was set firm in Genesis 8:22 after the Flood waters receded) canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth? (dominion are the controlling influence of the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon and the tides and weather of the earth from Gen. 1:16; Psalm 136:7-9)"
      Paraphrased: "Do you know the ordinances of the heavens; can you put into effect their plans on the earth?"
• Job 38:34-41 ask whether anyone can number or tell the clouds to make rain, as in verse 37 the bottles (figuratively, the clouds as the source of the rain; NIV "water jars of the heavens"), or make lightning, or know the inward workings of all things, and the care of nature.

• 2 Samuel 22:10-13 precedes Psalm 18:9-13; Psalm 18:9 "He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness (a dense cloud as in Exo. 19:16) was under his feet." 18:10 "And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea he did fly (he was seen) upon the wings of the wind (rapid motion)." 18:11 "He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion (pavilions, a covered place for hiding KJV; "dwelling" NIV) round about him were dark waters and thick clouds in the skies." 18:12 "At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire (coals of fire kindled)."
• Psalm 19:1 "The heavens are declaring the glory of God, and of the work of his hands the expanse is telling."
• Psalm 90:2 "Before the mountains were brought forth (born), or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God."    Here God is shown to have always existed, with no beginning or end, who never changes as stated in Malachi 3:6 "I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed."
• Psalm 97:2 "Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne."
• Psalm 104:3 "..who maketh the clouds his chariot: ... walketh upon the wings of the wind:"
• Isaiah 45:3 "And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel."
• Isaiah 45:7 "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." 45:8 "Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it."    45:12 "I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded."    45:15 "Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour."    45:18 "For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else."
• Isaiah 50:3 "I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering."
• Daniel 2:22 "He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him."
• 1 Corinthians 4:5 "..until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness,.."
• 2 Corinthians 4:6 "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.    4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

   As we saw earlier in:
    Gen. 15:12 And when (as was) the sun was going down , a deep sleep [Sleep (Heb. shenah, yashen, shakhav, Gr. hypnos) in some cases sleep was supernaturally imposed to accomplish a divine purpose (Gen. 2:21; 15:12)] fell upon Abram ,and, lo, an horror (a dread of ) great darkness [(Heb. hoshekh, the dark, Gr. skotos, darkness) a metaphor that describes both mystery and the place of eternal punishment.    Here it presents supernatural events as seen also in (Gen. 15:12; Exod. 10:21; Matt. 27:45; Rev. 8:12; 16:10)] fell upon him .

   This is a little premature but since it was significant to the prior subject I’ll present it anyway.

   At Sinai Moses was given a divine revelation concerning the nature, construction, and furnishings of the tabernacle (Exod. 25:40).    The work was carried out by Bezaleel, Oholiab, and their workmen (Exodus 36:1-38); and when the task was accomplished, the tent was covered by a cloud and was filled with the divine glory (40:34).

   The description in Exodus 26-27 and 35-38 present the structure as a portable shrine.    The tabernacle (Heb. ‘ohel, mo’edh, tent of meeting, Canaanite mishkan, dwelling, Gr. skene, tent) stood in an outer court enclosure or court, described in Exodus 27:9-18 and 38:9-20.    The designation ‘ohel mo’edh (Exodus 33:7 et al.) represents the name of the tabernacle here, as a place of revelation, where the people met with God.    The word mo’edh has been discovered in an Egyptian document dated c. 1100 B.C. referring to an assembly of the citizens of Byblus.    Later in Isaiah 14:13 it refers to the assembly of the gods in pagan Canaanite writings.    This tabernacle combine political and social functions with the religious revelations given by God to his covenant assembly.    The doctrine of the shekinah glory, which developed in the Intertestamental period was also related to the words shakhan (KJV "dwell" Exodus 25:8; 29:45) and mishkan, denoting a local manifestation of divine glory.

   The ancient Hebrew cubit measured eighteen inches, thus the enclosure were one hundred fifty feet in length and seventy-five feet in width.    The sides were covered with curtains made from finely woven linen about seven feet long which were fastened at the top by hooks and at the bottom by silver clasps to sixty supporting pillars of bronze, place at intervals of seven feet.    On the east end was an opening about twenty feet wide screened by thirty foot wide curtains embroidered in red, purple and blue.    The pillars had capitals (KJV "chapiters") overlaid in silver and were set in bases (KJV "sockets") of bronze, held in position by bronze pins (27:19; 38:20).

   In the center of the open court was the great altar of burnt offering made from acacia wood overlaid with bronze (Exodus 27:1-8), which was eight feet square by five feet in height, with its four corners projecting probably "horns."

   To the west end of the enclosure, parallel to the long walls, stood the tabernacle itself.    It was a rectangular structure about forty-five feet by fifteen feet, which was divided into two parts, a Holy Place and a Most Holy Place.    It consisted of forty-eight "boards" (Heb. qerashim, board Exo. 26:15 KJV, NASB; frame JB, MLB, NIV, RSV; plank NE; is found on a Canaanite tablet describing the "throne room", a trellis pavilion of the deity El) some fifteen feet in height (10 cubits) and over two feet wide (1½ cubit), overlaid with gold and made of shittim wood.    All this was held together (26:17-30) by horizontal bars, sockets, and tenons.

   The completed tabernacle was divided into two compartments by a curtain (vail) on which cherubim were embroidered in red (scarlet), purple and blue, and was suspended on four acacia (shittim) supports (26:31-34).

   In (26:33-5) the outermost area was known as the Holy Place (thirty feet by fifteen feet) and the innermost part, the Holy of Holiesor the Most Holy Place was fifteen feet square.    Also mentioned is the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony the location of the candlestick (menorah).

   The entrance to the tabernacle was screened by embroidered curtains supported by five acacia pillars overlaid with gold (26:35-37).

   The wooden framework of the tabernacle was adorned by ten linen curtains (Exodus 26:1-7) that were embroidered and decorated with figures of cherubim.    It measured forty feet long (28 cubits) and six feet wide (4 cubits), and joined in groups of five to make two large curtains.    All were fastened together by means of fifty loops and golden clasps (KJV "taches") to form one long curtain sixty feet long and forty-two feet wide.    This was draped over the tabernacle so that the embroidery was visible from the inside through the apertures of the trellis work, and then covered with three protective coverings: (26:7-13)

• 1st goat’s hair (11 curtains 30 by 4 cubits, 1 folded over); (26:14)
• 2nd red-dyed rams’ hides,
• and the 3rd is speculated on the term tahash leather (KJV "badger’s skins," NIV "hides of sea cows") which is connected etymologically with the early Egyptian word tj-h-s, used as a process of treating leather.

   The contemporary Phoenician shrines had a flat roof, thus possibly the tabernacle did also.

   A degree of symbolism was attached by the Hebrews to various aspects of the tabernacle but in general I find no Biblical connection between the ten Sefiroth and the ten curtains nor any mathematical significance in its dimensions that can be presented here.