Josephus on the Symbolism of the Tabernacle

Now some might wonder at the hatred people have for us, which they profess to show on account of our despising the deity whom they themselves profess to honor. For if anyone observes the construction of the Tabernacle and beholds the priestly garments and the vessels that we use for our religious services, he will discover that our lawgiver was a divinely appointed man and that these blasphemies leveled against us by other men are without grounds, for if anyone regards these matters without prejudice and with intelligence, he will find that each and every one of these objects was made by way of imitation and representation of the universe. For when Moses divided the Tabernacle, thirty cubits in all, into three parts and allotted two of them to the priests as a place accessible and common, he denoted the land and the sea, these being accessible to all; but he set apart the third division for God, because heaven is inaccessible to men. And when he placed the twelve loaves on the table, he indicated by sign the year, divided into that many months. By having the lampstand be composed from seventy parts, he secretly intimated the decans, or seventy divisions of the planets. And as for the seven lamps on the candlesticks, they referred to the course of the planets, of which that is the number. The veils, too, which were woven out of four things, demonstrate the nature of the four elements. For the fine linen was proper to signify the earth, because the flax grows out of the earth; the purple signified the sea, because that color is dyed by the blood of a sea shellfish; the blue is fit to signify the air; and the scarlet would naturally be a sign of fire. Now the vestment of the high priest, being made of linen, signifies the earth; the blue denotes the firmament, being like lightning through its pomegranates, and the noise of the bells resembling thunder. As for the ephod, it showed that God made the universe of four elements. And as for the gold interwoven, I suppose it related to the splendor by which all things are enlightened. He also designated the breastplate to be placed in the middle of the ephod to resemble the earth, for that has the very middle place of the world. The girdle that went around the high priest signified the ocean, for that goes round about and includes the universe. Each of the sardonyxes [a type of stone] reminds us of the sun and the moon—those, I mean, that were like buttons on the high priest’s shoulders. And as for the twelve stones, whether we understand them as the months or whether we understand them to be the number of the signs of that circle the Greeks call the zodiac, we shall not mistake their meaning. And the turban, which was blue, seems to me to signify heaven, for how else could the name of God be inscribed on it? The fact that it was also illustrated with a crown, also made of gold, is because of the splendor with which God is pleased. Let this explication suffice at present, since the course of my narration will often and on many occasions give me the opportunity to elaborate on the virtue of our legislator.