- Classes
- Certificates
- My Account
- Donate
- Search
Search
Search
Overlay
OVERLAY (צָפָה, H7596, sheet over, חָפָה, H2902, cover). Archeology reveals that the process of overlaying was known quite early among the Egyptians, and the offspring of Jacob may have learned it during their stay in Egypt. By far, gilding was the most prominent type of overlaying practiced by Israel. Gold plates covered parts of the Tabernacle structure: the pillars that supported the veil and the side frames of the Tabernacle with their bars. Gold-plated items of Tabernacle furniture were the Ark of the covenant (inside and out) with its carrying bars, the table of shewbread with its bars and the altar of incense with its bars (
Even more extensive was the amount of gold used in this way in Solomon’s Temple. “The whole house,” meaning the Holy of Holies and the holy place; the altar next to the Holy of Holies; the cherubim; the floor; the two doors to the Holy of Holies and the doors at the entrance to the Temple were overlaid with gold. The enormous quantity of this precious metal required for such an undertaking could hardly be estimated, but the six hundred talents within the Holy of Holies alone amounts to more than twenty tons (
Overlaying with silver was done only sparingly, being limited to the capitals of the pillars in the court of the Tabernacle (
The lone NT occurrence of “overlay” is in