Bible: Old Testament: English Standard Version

In the Old Testament, the terms redemption and salvation both refer to the acts of God in rescuing his people. Redemption carries a connotation of having someone pay for another’s indebtedness or bondage (as, for instance, in the purchase and liberation of enslaved peoples). Salvation evokes the image of being saved from a catastrophic event or danger. In many cases in the Old Testament, redemption and salvation refer to God’s intervention in Israel’s national life by rescuing them from dire sociopolitical situations, as when he saves his people from their enslavement in Egypt, illustrated in the following verses:

And Moses said to the people, ‘Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today (Exodus 14:13).

You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you (Deuteronomy 15:15).

The terms redemption and salvation also have a spiritual application, relating to God’s action in delivering people from the consequences of their sin, and this usage can be seen most frequently in the books of Psalms and Isaiah.

Atonement is a theological term for the process of dealing with sin in such a way that a right relationship with God can be restored. The Hebrew term used for this is kaphar, which denotes the idea of one’s sins being covered over. The English word “atonement” also fits the theological scope of the Old Testament use of the term, as it bears connotations of one’s relationship with God being restored: at-one-ment (i.e., whereas before your sins had separated you from God, when they are atoned you are made “at one” with God). Many of the references to atonement in the Old Testament have to do with the ritual practices involved in sacrificing animals, but other passages make clear that atonement is not simply a mechanistic process of doing the proper rites to achieve an automatic result of atonement. Instead, atonement is portrayed as a direct work of God’s mercy on humanity’s behalf. As the psalmist says to God, “When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions” (Psalm 65:3).

The tabernacle and temple are two representations of the same thing: a physical structure consecrated as the place in which God meets with his people. There can only be one tabernacle or temple at a given time because God requires his people to worship only at the place he designates (in contrast to many other cultures in the ancient “Near East,” which approved of cultic sites in many places). The tabernacle is the first incarnation of this location, a massive tent structure made to precise specifications given to Moses in the book of Exodus. The tabernacle includes an outer courtyard and a large inner tent (called the tent of meeting) with two rooms: a sanctuary for the work of the priests, and the Most Holy Place, an innermost room where the presence of God rested over Israel’s highest ritual object, the Ark of the Covenant (a gold-covered box containing the tablets of the Ten Commandments). Just outside the tent of meeting stood a giant basin and a large altar used in the rituals of sacrifice. The tabernacle was Israel’s sole place of worship from the time of Moses through the time of David, after which Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem, a larger and more permanent building constructed to the same divine specifications as the tabernacle.