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Boyd’s Bible Dictionary
:
(stretched). The
house
of nomad and pastoral peoples. It was made of strong
cloth
, chiefly of
goat
’s
hair
, stretched on poles, and firmly pegged to the ground (
Gen. 4:20; 18:1
20
And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. (Genesis 4:20)
1
And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; (Genesis 18:1)
;
Judg. 4:21
21
Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. (Judges 4:21)
;
Isa. 38:12
12
Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. (Isaiah 38:12)
).
Concise Bible Dictionary
:
1.
The word
commonly translated “tent” is
ohel
, but it is often translated in the AV “tabernacle,” and is used also for “dwelling” or “habitation,” (
Job 8:22
22
They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought. (Job 8:22)
;
Psa. 91:10
10
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. (Psalm 91:10)
; &c). This word also shows that the goats’
hair
curtains formed the “tent” of
the tabernacle
. See TABERNACLE. It was also a “tent” that
Moses
pitched outside the
camp
in
Exodus 33:7
7
And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp. (Exodus 33:7)
. See CAMP.
2.
mishkan
, rightly translated “tabernacle,” but is “tent” in
Song of Solomon 1:8
8
If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. (Song of Solomon 1:8)
.
3.
sukkah
, also translated “tabernacle,” “
pavilion
,” “booth;” and only once “tent” (
2 Sam. 11:11
11
And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing. (2 Samuel 11:11)
).
4.
qubbah
, occurring only in
Numbers 25:8
8
And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. (Numbers 25:8)
. With the patriarchs their “tent” was their dwelling place as far as they had any, easily moved from place to place as the
cattle
needed fresh pasture. On
Israel
entering the land the tents gave way to houses in the cities: as the
Christian
’s “tabernacle” will give place to the “
house
” above (
2 Cor. 5:1
1
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (2 Corinthians 5:1)
).
Download (2.1 MB)
Encampment on
Pisgah
’s slopes,
west
over the
Dead
Sea
(1900s).
From
Manners and Customs of the Bible
:
Song of Solomon 1:5
5
I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. (Song of Solomon 1:5)
. I am
black
, but comely, O ye daughters of
Jerusalem
, as the tents of
Kedar
, as the curtains of Solomon.
Tents were among the early habitations of
man
, though not the earliest, since they were not introduced until the
time
of
Jabal
, who was in the seventh
generation
from
Adam
. See
Genesis 4:20
20
And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. (Genesis 4:20)
. The first tents were doubtless made of skins, though afterward when the process of
weaving
became known they were made, as they are at this
day
, of
cloth
of camels’
hair
, or of goats’ hair, spun by the women. The latter is the material most commonly used by the Arabs, and since the goats are usually black, or a very dark brown, the tents exhibit the same appearance. It was thus in the days of Solomon with the tents made by the descendants of the Ishmaelitish Kedar. These tents individually are not very beautiful objects, but when arranged in the form of a circular encampment, with the
cattle
enclosed by the circle of tents, and the sheikh’s
tent
in the center, they present a picturesque appearance.
Balaam
was impressed with the beauty of such a scene when he beheld the vast encampment of the Israelites, and exclaimed, “How goodly are thy tents, O
Jacob
, and thy tabernacles, O
Israel
!” (
Num. 24:5
5
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! (Numbers 24:5)
).
The
Arab
tents are of various sizes, according to the number of the family or the wealth of the proprietor. The number of poles to a tent varies from one to nine. Some tents are circular in shape, some square, and others oblong. The covering is spread over the poles, which are fastened in the ground. The edges of the cover have
leather
loops, to which are attached the cords of the tent, which are
sometimes
stretched out tight and fastened to the ground by means of
iron
or wooden pins, or else are fastened to upright
posts
, on which a curtain is hung around the tent, forming the walls, which can be removed at pleasure without disturbing the
rest
of the tent. Other cords reach from the top of the tent to the ground, where they are fastened with pins, thus steadying the whole structure. It was one of these pins which
Jael
drove into the
head
of
Sisera
(
Judg. 4:21
21
Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. (Judges 4:21)
).
The tent erected, and its cords stretched out, are often figuratively alluded to in the
Bible
. Thus Isaiah represents
God
as the one “that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in” (
Isa. 40:22
22
It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: (Isaiah 40:22)
). He also says, in speaking of the glorious prosperity of the
Church
and the need of enlargement, “Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes” (
Isa. 54:2
2
Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; (Isaiah 54:2)
). See also
Isaiah 33:20
20
Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. (Isaiah 33:20)
.
It is a work of some effort to
pitch
a tent properly, especially a large one, requiring the united efforts of willing hands. Hence the pathetic language of
Jeremiah
in
mourning
over the desolations of God’s people: “My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my
children
are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains” (
Jer. 10:20
20
My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains. (Jeremiah 10:20)
).
The large tents have nine poles, placed in
three
rows, covering sometimes a space twenty to twenty-five feet long,
ten
feet wide, and eight to ten-feet high in the middle, with the sides sloping. Such tents often have a curtain hung on the middle row of poles, dividing the tent into two parts, one for the men, and the other for the women. See notes on
Genesis 18:10
10
And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. (Genesis 18:10)
(#14); 24:67 (#90). The poles which thus uphold the tent and divide it into sections are further made useful by having hooks driven into them from which are suspended clothes, baskets, saddles, weapons, and various other articles of daily use.
These tents are rapidly struck and removed from place to place, so that the eye which today rests on a large encampment active with
life
may tomorrow behold nothing but a
wilderness
. Thus Isaiah says, “Mine
age
is departed, and is removed from me as a
shepherd
’s tent” (
Isa. 38:12
12
Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. (Isaiah 38:12)
). The facility with which tents are taken down, and the frailty of their material, are beautifully alluded to by
Paul
in
2 Corinthians 5:1
1
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (2 Corinthians 5:1)
. See also
2 Peter 1:13, 14
13
Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;
14
Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me. (2 Peter 1:13‑14)
.
Tents of cotton,
linen
, or
silk
are used for traveling or for holiday purposes, are of all colors, and are sometimes very magnificent. Stories which would be incredible if not from good authorities, are told of the splendor of state tents which have been reared by Oriental monarchs.
Silver
,
gold
, precious
stones
, silk, velvet, camels’ hair cloth, and brocades, have combined to make these structures at once costly and splendid. The state tents of Tamerlane are said to have had poles of silver inlaid with gold, curtains of velvet, and ropes of silk. Nadir Shah had a state tent the outside of which was of fine
scarlet
broadcloth, and the lining of violet-colored satin. On this lining were embroideries in pearls, diamonds,
rubies
, emeralds, amethysts, and other precious stones, representing
birds
, beasts, trees, and flowers.
No description is given us of Solomon’s state tents; indeed, some suppose that the “curtains” mentioned in the text refer to some of the splendid hangings of his
palace
. The unity of the
passage
, however, suggests the idea of tents, and it is not at all improbable that Solomon, the luxurious monarch who spared no expense to gratify his taste, had tents of magnificence commensurate with his royal grandeur. The King of
Babylon
had a royal
pavilion
though no description is given of it (
Jer. 43:10
10
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them. (Jeremiah 43:10)
).
Related Books and Articles:
474. Tents
From:
Manners and Customs of the Bible
By:
James M. Freeman
Call: 1-630-543-1441
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, … rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
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