shrine

Specifically a box or container in which sacred objects are placed. The Ark of the Covenant was a shrine, since it contained the tablets of the testimony (Exod 25:16). The most holy place of the tabernacle or Temple, in which the Ark was housed, could also be termed a shrine (Exod 26:33; 1Kgs 6:19; 1Kgs 8:6). Similarly, non-Hebrew cult places that housed idols or other sacred objects (2Kgs 23:4-20) or at which worship was performed were called shrines.