various items. The most important of these are the treaty or covenant documents that set out the obligations placed upon the Israelites by God.45 The importance of the tabernacle is reflected in the number of chapters devoted in Exodus to describing its construction (Exod. 25–31, 35–40). Three aspects of this special tent link it to God’s plans for the earth. First, as already noted, the tabernacle has features that associate it closely with the Garden of Eden. As divine sanctuaries, both are entered