The Hebrew

Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

 word for symbol is ot, which, in early Judaism, denoted not only a sign, but also a visible religious token of the relation between God

God

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

 and man.
According to the Hebrew Bible

Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...

, while the Israelites were living in the Sinai

Sinai Peninsula

The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two...

 for forty years, they built a Tabernacle ( translit

Transliteration

Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another...

: mishkan, "Place of [Divine] dwelling"); this was viewed as the abode of the Shekhinah (the presence of YHWH) on Earth, and the place where the priests could minister to God on behalf of the nation of Israel.
According to the Hebrew Bible, while the Israelites were living in the Sinai for forty years, they built a Tabernacle (Hebrew: משכן translit: mishkan, "Place of [Divine] dwelling"); this was viewed as the abode of the Shekhinah (the presence of YHWH) on Earth, and the place where the priests could minister to God on behalf of the nation of Israel.
The Hebrew for priest is Kohen; the Kohanim (plural) mediated between God and man by offering sacrifices, and by other services in the Temple.