What is a…
sanctuary in the Bible

In the Bible, this word is used to refer to…

The Holy Tabernacle

“Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them.” —Exodus 25:8

Leviticus 12:4; 21:12

The Holy Temple

“Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise, therefore, and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built for the name of the Lord.” —1 Chronicles 22:19

2 Chronicles 29:21

The Holy Place

This is the place of the Presence of God (Greek: hieron, the temple-house; not the naos, which is the temple area, with its courts and porches)

and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood 7 times before Yahweh in front of the veil of the sanctuary. —Leviticus 4:6

The Church

for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, is growing into a holy sanctuary in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. —Ephesians 2:18-22

The Holy Land

You will bring them and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance,
The place, O Yahweh, which You have made for You to inhabit,
The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established. —Exodus 15:17 LSB

So He brought them to His holy land, to this hill country which His right hand had acquired. —Psalm 78:54

Then Yahweh will inherit Judah as His portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem. —Zechariah 2:12 LSB

Judah became His sanctuary, Israel, His dominion. —Psalm 114:2

God’s holy habitation in heaven

For He looked down from His holy height;
From heaven Yahweh gazed upon the earth —Psalm 102:19 LSB

New Heavens and New Earth

In the final state, there is no specific sanctuary place, for God and the Lamb “are the sanctuary” (“temple”). In the New Heavens and New Earth, all is hallowed by the Divine Presence; all is sancturary.

And I saw no sanctuary in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its sanctuary. —Revelation 21:22

But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. —2 Peter 3:13

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. —Revelation 21:1

More information

“Sanctuary city”?

The modern politically Woke term “sanctuary city” does not appear in Scripture. A so-called “sanctuary city” is a municipality that limits or denies its cooperation with the national government in deporting people who have entered the nation illegally. There was no such thing as this in the Bible. The word “sanctuary” has everything to do with God’s holiness and presence, and nothing to do with immigration.

There is a dissimilar term in the Bible: “city of refuge” or “cities of refuge.” This was something that existed within ancient Israel for the purpose of working with the enforcement of the law, not against it. It provided protection from death when an accused person was being vengefully pursued, outside the law. The refuge gave the accused the opportunity for lawful judgment, rather than vigilante justice. Refuge cities were definitely not for the purpose of escaping legal justice. Quite to the contrary.

SEE: running manWhat is a city of refuge? and how many were there? Are they a “Sanctuary City”?

Article Version: January 30, 2026