bed

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

The Jewish bed consisted of a mattress and coverings (Gen. 47:31³¹And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head. (Genesis 47:31); 1 Sam. 19:13¹³And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth. (1 Samuel 19:13); Matt. 9:6⁶But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. (Matthew 9:6)). Placed on the floor, or on a bench (2 Kings 1:4; 20:2⁴Now therefore thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed. (2 Kings 1:4)
²Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, (2 Kings 20:2); Psa. 132:3³Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; (Psalm 132:3); Amos 3:12¹²Thus saith the Lord; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch. (Amos 3:12)); and later became ornamental and canopied (Amos 6:4⁴That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; (Amos 6:4); Esther 1:6⁶Where were white, green, and blue, hangings, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the beds were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white, and black, marble. (Esther 1:6)). For bed-chamber furnishings see 2 Kings 4:10¹⁰Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither. (2 Kings 4:10).

Concise Bible Dictionary:

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In the East the beds were simply mats that could be rolled up in the morning and put away in any corner. This explains why the persons who were healed were told to “take up” their beds (Matt. 9:6⁶But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. (Matthew 9:6); Mark 2:9, 11-12⁹Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? (Mark 2:9)
¹¹I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. ¹²And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. (Mark 2:11‑12); John 5:8-12⁸Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. ⁹And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. ¹⁰The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. ¹¹He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. ¹²Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? (John 5:8‑12)). For covering, a quilt sufficed, and in cold weather a thicker one; but often they used their own garments only: this accounts for the law that a garment taken in pledge must be restored when the sun went down, that the owner might sleep in his own raiment, or outer garment (Deut. 24:13¹³In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the Lord thy God. (Deuteronomy 24:13)). For bedsteads, simple couches were commonly used, and where there was no separate bed-chamber the divan on one side of the room, that was used for reclining on in the day, served for the bedstead at night. Doubtless light movable couches were also used as bedsteads, (2 Kings 4:10¹⁰Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither. (2 Kings 4:10)), under which a lamp could be placed, (Mark 6:21²¹And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; (Mark 6:21)), and on which the man was let down through the roof (Luke 5:18¹⁸And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. (Luke 5:18)). The bedstead of Og the giant king of Bashan was of iron, 9 cubits long (about 13 feet 6 inches) and 4 cubits wide (6 feet) (Deut. 3:11¹¹For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man. (Deuteronomy 3:11)).

Strong’s Dictionary of Greek Words:

Number:

2895 (find all occurrences in KJV Bible)

Greek:

κράββατος

Transliteration:

krabbatos

Phonic:

krab’-bat-os

Meaning:

probably of foreign origin; a mattress

KJV Usage:

bed