Bible Dictionaries
Veil

　　VEIL.—‘The veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom’ when Jesus died (Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45). The Temple is, of course, the Temple of Herod, and the veil is, the ‘second veil’ (Hebrews 9:3) which divided the τὸ καταπέτασμα τοῦ ναοῦ. In the LXX Septuagintדְּבִיר in Psalms 28:2 and פָרכָח, the curtain between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies (similarly Philo, Vita Moysis, iii. 5). The Gospel according to the Hebrews, as quoted by Jerome, had in the above passage ‘lintel’ instead of ‘veil’ (‘superliminare templi infinitae magnitudinae fractum esse atque divisum’). It is asserted that in the Temple of Solomon there was no veil, since it is mentioned only in 2 Chronicles 3:14; but Thenius’ emendation of 1 Kings 6:21 ‘drew the veil across with golden chains’ is good. In the Mishna the veil of the sanctuary is presupposed, e.g. in Yoma v. 1, where the mention of the ark shows that the writer is thinking of the Temple of Solomon. Josephus (BJ v. v. 4) mentions a gorgeously embroidered veil before the מרקסין, that is, מָסְוֶה, LXX Septuagintἐν Χριστῷ καταργεῖται).

　　Literature.—Grimm-Thayer, Lex. s.v.