Reference: Tent
American
Dwelling in tents was very general in ancient times among Eastern nations, Ge 4:20; their way of life being pastoral, locomotion became necessary for pasturage, and dwellings adapted for such a life became indispensable, Isa 38:12. The patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob dwelt in tents, Ge 18:1; Heb 11:9; and on the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, throughout their peregrinations until they obtained the promised land, and to some extent afterwards, they adopted the same kind of habitation. See BOOTHS. Hence the expression. "Every man to his tents, O Israel," etc.,
Jg 7:8; 2Sa 20:1; 2Ki 8:21. Indeed, the people of the East, men, women, and children, lived very much in the open air, as is obvious from the New Testament narratives. And the same is true of them at the present day. The Midianites, the Philistines, the Syrains, the descendants of Ham, the Hagarites, and the Cushanites are mentioned in Scripture as living in tents. But the people most remarkable for this unsettled and wandering mode of life are the Arabs, who from the time of Ishmael to the present have continued the custom of dwelling in tents. Amid the revolutions which have transferred kingdoms from one possessor to another , these wandering tribes still dwell in tents, unsubdued and wild as was their progenitor. This kind of dwelling is not, however, confined to the Arabs, but is used throughout the continent of Asia. The word tent is formed from the Latin, "to stretch;" tents being usually made of canvas stretched out, and sustained by poles with cords secured to pegs driven into the ground. The "nail of the tent" with which Jael pierced the head of Sisera was such a tent-pin, Jg 4:21. See also Isa 33:20; 40:22; 54:2. The house of God, and heaven, are spoken of in Scripture as the tent or tabernacle of Jehovah, Ps 15:1; 61:4; 84:1; Heb 8:2; 9:11; and the body as the tabernacle of the soul, taken down by death, 2Co 5:1; 2Pe 1:13. Says Lord Lindsay, "There is something very melancholy in our morning flitting. The tent-pins are plucked up, and in a few minutes a dozen holes, a heap or two of ashes, and the marks of the camels' knees in the sand, soon to be obliterated, are the only traces left of what has been for a while our home." "Often," says M'Cheyne, "we found ourselves shelterless before being fully dressed. What a type of the tent of our body! Ah, how often is it taken down before the soul is made meet for the inheritance of he saints in light." A tent is also put for its inmates, Hab 3:7; Zec 12:7.
Tents are of various colors; black, as tents of Kedar, Ps 120:5; Song 1:5; red, as of scarlet cloth; yellow, as of gold shining brilliantly; white, as of canvas. They are also of various shapes; some circular, others of an oblong figure, not unlike the bottom of a ship turned upside down. In Syria, the tents are generally made of cloth of goats' hair, woven by women, Ex 35:26. Those of the Arabs are of black goats' hair. Some other nations adopt the same kind, but it is not common. The Egyptian and Moorish inhabitants of Askalon are said to use white tents; and D'Arvieux mentions that the tent of an Arab emir he visited was distinguished from the rest by its being of white cloth. An Arab sheikh will have a number of tents, of himself, his family, servants, and visitors; as in patriarchal times Jacob had separate tents for himself, for Leah, Rachel, and their maids, Ge 31:33; Jg 4:17. Usually, however, one tent suffices for a family; being divided, if large, into several apartments by curtains.
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And Adah will bear Jabal; he was the father of him remaining in the tent, and riches.
And Jehovah will be seen to him at the oaks of Mamra: and he will sit at the entrance of his tent at the heat of the day.
And Laban will go into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the tent of the two maids, and he found them not And he will go out from the tent of Leah and will go into Rachel's tent
And all the women whose heart was lifted up in wisdom, spun goats' hair.
And Sisera fled upon his feet to the tent of Jael, wife of Heber, the Kenite: for peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
And Jael, Heber's wife, will take a peg of the tent, and will put a hammer in her hand, and will go to him softly, and will drive the peg into his temples, and it will go down into the earth; and he was in a deep sleep and was wearied. And he will die.
And the people will take food in their hand and their trumpets: and he sent all the men of Israel a man to his tent, and by the three hundred men he was strengthened: and the camp of Midian was to him beneath in the valley.
Chanting of David. O Jehovah, who shall sojourn in thy tent? who shall dwell in thy holy mountain?
I will dwell in thy tent forever: I will put my trust in the covering of thy wings. Silence.
To the overseer upon the stringed instrument: to the sons of Korah, a chanting. How beloved are thy tents, O Jehovah of armies!
Wo! to me that I sojourned in Mesech; I dwelt with the tents of Ke dar.
I am black and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
Behold Zion the city of our appointment: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet dwelling, the tent shall not remove; its pegs shall not be pulled up forever, and none of its cords shall be broken.
Mine age removed, and was carried away from me as a shepherd's tent: I rolled together as a weaver my life: from the thread he will cut me off: from the day even to the night thou wilt finish me.
He sitting upon the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants as locusts; he stretching out the heavens as fine cloth, and he will extend them as a tent to dwell in:
Enlarge the place of thy tent, stretch forth the hangings of thy dwellings; thou shalt not spare; lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy pegs.
I saw the tents of Cushan under vanity: the curtains of the land of strife shall be moved.
And Jehovah saved the tents of Judah first, so that the glorying of the house of David shall not be magnified, and the glorying of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, against Judah.
For we know that if our earthly house of the tent were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
A workman of holy things, and of the true tent, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
And Christ being present, a chief priest of good things about to be, by a greater and more perfect tent, not made with hands, that is; not of this creation;
By faith he dwelt in the land of promise, as a strange land, having dwelt in tents with Isaac and Jacob, co-heirs of the same promise:
Easton
(1.) Heb 'ohel (Ge 9:21,27). This word is used also of a dwelling or habitation (1Ki 8:66; Isa 16:5; Jer 4:20), and of the temple (Eze 41:1). When used of the tabernacle, as in 1Ki 1:39, it denotes the covering of goat's hair which was placed over the mishcan.
(2.) Heb mishcan (Song 1:8), used also of a dwelling (Job 18:21; Ps 87:2), the grave (Isa 22:16; comp. Isa 14:18), the temple (Ps 46:4; 84:2; 132:5), and of the tabernacle (Ex 25:9; 26:1; 40:9; Nu 1:50,53; 10:11). When distinguished from 'ohel, it denotes the twelve interior curtains which lay upon the framework of the tabernacle (q.v.).
(3.) Heb kubbah (Nu 25:8), a dome-like tent devoted to the impure worship of Baal-peor.
(4.) Heb succah (2Sa 11:11), a tent or booth made of green boughs or branches (see Ge 33:17; Le 23:34,42; Ps 18:11; Jon 4:5; Isa 4:6; Ne 8:15-17, where the word is variously rendered).
Jubal was "the father of such as dwell in tents" (Ge 4:20). The patriarchs were "dwellers in tents" (Ge 9:21,27; 12:8; 13:12; 26:17); and during their wilderness wanderings all Israel dwelt in tents (Ex 16:16; De 33:18; Jos 7:24). Tents have always occupied a prominent place in Eastern life (1Sa 17:54; 2Ki 7:7; Ps 120:5; Song 1:5). Paul the apostle's occupation was that of a tent-maker (Ac 18:3); i.e., perhaps a maker of tent cloth.
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And Adah will bear Jabal; he was the father of him remaining in the tent, and riches.
And he will drink of the wine and he will be intoxicated, and will be uncovered within his tent
And he will drink of the wine and he will be intoxicated, and will be uncovered within his tent
God will dilate Japheth; he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be servant to him.
God will dilate Japheth; he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be servant to him.
And he will remove from thence to the mountain from the cast of the house of God, and shall stretch forth his tent; Bethel from the sea, and Hai from the east, and he shall build there an altar to Jehovah, and will call upon the name of Jehovah.
Abram shall dwell in the land of Canaan, and Lot shall dwell in the cities of the country round about, and will pitch the tent at Sodom.
And Isaak will go from thence, and will sit down in the valley of Gerar, and will dwell there.
And Jacob will remove to the booths, and he will build for himself a house, and he made booths for his cattle; for this he called the name of the place Booths.
This the word which Jehovah commanded, Gather ye from it, each according to the mouth of his eating: an omer for the head from the numbering of your souls, ye shall take each for those in his tent
According to all which I having shewn to thee, the pattern of the tent and the pattern of all its vessels; and thus shall ye do.
And thou shalt make the tent, ten curtains, white linen twisted, and cerulean purple, and reddish purple, and double scarlet: and cherubs the work of the artificer shalt thou make them.
And take the oil of anointing, and anoint the dwelling and all that is in it, and consecrate it, and all its vessels: and it was holy.
Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, In the fifteenth day of this seventh month the festival of tents seven days to Jehovah.
Ye shall dwell in tents seven days; all the natives in Israel shall dwell in tents:
And thou, set the Levites over the dwelling of testimony, and over all its vessels, and over all which is to it: they shall lift up the dwelling and all its vessels, and they shall serve it, and they shall encamp round about the dwelling.
And the Levites shall encamp round about the dwelling of testimony; and there shall not be anger upon the assembly of the sons of Israel: and the Levites shall watch the watch of the dwelling of testimony.
And it shall be in the second year, in the second month, in the twentieth of the month, the cloud was taken up from the dwelling of testimony.
And he will go after the man of Israel to the tent, and will pierce the two of them, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly: and the smiting will be withheld from the sons of Israel.
And to Zebulon he said, Rejoice, Zebulon, in thy going forth, and Issachar, in thy tents.
And Joshua will take Achan, the son of Zerah, and the silver and the wide cloak, and the tongue of gold, and his sons and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep and his tent, and all which is to him, and all Israel with him, and they will bring them up to the valley of Achor.
And David will take the head of the rover, and bring it to Jerusalem; and he put his utensils in his tent
And Uriah will say to David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, dwell in tents; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamping upon the face of the field; and shall I come into my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? Thee living and thy soul living, if I shall do this word.
And Zadok the priest will take a horn of oil from the tent and will anoint Solomon; and they will strike upon the trumpet, and all the people will say, King Solomon shall live.
In the eighth day he sent away the people, and they will bless the king and go to their tents rejoicing and good of heart for all the good which Jehovah did for David his servant and for Israel his people.
And that they will cause to hear and will cause a voice to pass over in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go ye forth to the mountain and bring leaves of olive, and leaves of the tree of oil, and leaves of myrtle, and leaves of palms, and leaves of the tree interwoven, to make booths according to the writing. And the people will go forth, and will bring and make for themselves booths, each upon his roof, and in their enclosures, and in the enclosures of the house of God, and in the broad place of the gate of the waters and in the broad place of the gate of Ephraim. read more. And all the convocation of those turning back from the captivity will make booths, and they will dwell in booths; for from the days of Joshua son of Nun, the sons of Israel did not thus even to this day. And there will be great gladness exceedingly.
Also these the dwellings of evil, and this the place of him not knowing God.
He will set darkness his covering; his tent round about him darknesses of waters, thick clouds.
A river, its streams will gladden the city of God, the holy place of the tents of the Most High.
My soul longed after, and also failed for the enclosures of Jehovah: my heart and my flesh will rejoice for the living God.
Jehovah loved the gates of Zion above all the tents of Jacob.
Wo! to me that I sojourned in Mesech; I dwelt with the tents of Ke dar.
Even till I shall find a place for Jehovah, dwellings for the mighty one of Jacob.
I am black and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
If thou shalt not know for thyself, O fair one among women, come forth for thyself at the heels of the flock, and feed thy kids by the shepherds' tents.
And a booth shall be for a shadow by day from heat, and for a refuge, and for a hiding place from the storm, and from rain.
All the kings of the nations, all of them, lay down in honor, a man in his house.
And the throne was set up in mercy: and he sat upon it in truth in the tent of David, judging and seeking judgment, and hastening justice.
What to thee here, and who to thee here, that thou hewedst to thee here a tomb, he hewing from on high his tomb and cutting in a dwelling in a rock to himself?
Breaking upon breaking was called; for all the land was laid waste: suddenly were my tents laid waste, my curtains in a moment
And he will bring me to the temple, and he will measure the posts. six cubits the breadth from hence, and six cubits the breadth from thence, the breadth of the tent
And Jonah will go out of the city, and sit from the east to the city, and he make to him there a tent, and he will sit under it in the shadow, even till he shall see what will be upon the city.
And because being of the same trade, he remained with them, and wrought: for they were by trade tentmakers.
Fausets
ohel, "tabernacle "; mishkan, "dwelling"; sukkak, "booth"; qubbah, "recess" (Nu 25:8). The characteristic dwelling of the keepers of cattle, the nomadic races, of whom Jabal was the father (Ge 4:20). The stay of Israel in Egypt weaned them from tent life and trained them for their fixed home in Canaan. The pastoral tribes Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh, still in part retained the tent life E. of Jordan (Jos 22:8). The phrase "to your tents, O Israel," remained as a trace of the former nomadic state, when the nation was no longer so (1Ki 12:16). Agriculture was sometimes associated with tent life, as in Isaac's case (Ge 26:12), and probably in Heber's case (Jg 4:11-22). Hazerim (De 2:23) is not a proper name, but means nomadic "villages" or "enclosures," a piece of ground surrounded with a rude fence, in which tents were pitched and cattle tethered at night for safety from marauders; or as the Yezidee tent in Syria, a stone wall five feet high, roofed with goats' hair cloth raised on long poles.
So Hazar-adder in the S. and Hazar-erran in the N. (Nu 34:4,9.) Some tents are circular, resting on one central pole; others square on several poles. The better kind are oblong, and divided by a curtain into an outer apartment for the males and an inner one for the females. Hooks are fixed in the poles to hang articles on (Isa 22:23-24). To the rain-proof goats' hair covering a cloth is sewn or twisted round a stick, to the ends of which are tied leather loops.
To these loops one end of the tent ropes is fastened, the other being tied to a hooked sharp pin of wood which they drive into the ground with a mallet; such a nail and mallet Jael used (Jg 4:21). The patriarchs' wives had separate tents (Ge 24:67; 31:33). The beauty of Israel's orderly and wide encampment by the four parallel brooks running westward into Jordan is compared to trees in rows in beautiful gardens, such as Balaam had seen along his own river Euphrates (Nu 24:5-6). The quickness and ease with which tents can be struck, leaving their tenants without covering in the lonely desert, is Paul's image for the speedy dissolution of our mortal body, preparatory to our abiding resurrection home (2Co 5:1).
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And Adah will bear Jabal; he was the father of him remaining in the tent, and riches.
And Isaak will come into Sarah's his mother's tent, and will take Rebekah and she will be to him for a wife; and he will love her: and Isaak will be comforted after that for his mother.
And Isaak will sow in that land, and will find in that year a hundred measures; and Jehovah will praise him.
And Laban will go into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the tent of the two maids, and he found them not And he will go out from the tent of Leah and will go into Rachel's tent
How good thy tents, Jacob, and thy dwellings, Israel! As valleys extended, as a garden by the river, as tents Jehovah pitched, as cedars by the waters.
And he will go after the man of Israel to the tent, and will pierce the two of them, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly: and the smiting will be withheld from the sons of Israel.
And to you turned the boundary from the south to the ascending of Akrabbim, and it passed over Zin: and its going forth was from the south to Kadesh-Barnea, and it went forth to the Enclosure of the Threshing Floor, and it passed over to Azmon:
And the boundary went forth to Ziphron, and the goings out were the Enclosure of Enan: this shall be to you the north boundary.
And the Avims dwelling in the enclosures, even to Azzah, the Caphtorims, coming forth from Caphtor, destroyed them, and they dwelt instead of them.
And he will say to them, saying, With much riches turn back to your tents, and with exceeding many cattle, with silver and with gold and with brass and with iron and with exceeding many garments: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.
And Heber the Kenite separated himself from Kain, from the sons of Hobab, father-in law of Moses, and he will stretch out his tent even to the oak in Zaanaim which is at Kadesh. And they will announce to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam, went up to mount Tabor. read more. And Sisera will call together all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people which are with him from Harosheth of the nations, to the torrent of Kishon. And Deborah will say to Barak, Arise; for this is the day which Jehovah gave Sisera into thine hand; went not Jehovah out before thee? and Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. And Jehovah will discomfit Sisera and all the chariots and all the camp, with the mouth of the sword before Barak; and Sisera will descend from the chariot, and will flee on his feet And Barak pursued after the chariots and after the camp, even to Harosheth of the nations: and all the camp of Sisera will fall by the mouth of the sword; there was not left even one. And Sisera fled upon his feet to the tent of Jael, wife of Heber, the Kenite: for peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. And Jael will go forth to meet Sisera, and will say to him, Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; thou shalt not be afraid. And he will turn aside to her to the tent, and she will cover him with a carpet And he will say to her, Give me to drink now a little water, for I thirsted. And she will open a sack of milk, and will give him drink, and will cover him. And he will say to her, stand at the door of the tent, and it was when a man shall come, and ask thee and say, Is a man here? and say thou, No And Jael, Heber's wife, will take a peg of the tent, and will put a hammer in her hand, and will go to him softly, and will drive the peg into his temples, and it will go down into the earth; and he was in a deep sleep and was wearied. And he will die.
And Jael, Heber's wife, will take a peg of the tent, and will put a hammer in her hand, and will go to him softly, and will drive the peg into his temples, and it will go down into the earth; and he was in a deep sleep and was wearied. And he will die. And behold, Barak pursued Sisera, and Jael will come up to meet him, and she will say to him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest And he will go in to her, and behold, Sisera fallen dead, and the peg in his temples.
And all Israel will see that the king heard not to them, and the people will turn back the king word, saying, What part to us in David? and no inheritance in the son of Jesse: to thy tents, O Israel: now see to thy house, David. And Israel will go to their tents.
And I fastened him a peg in a faithful place; and he. was for a throne of glory to his father's house. And they hung upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the sprouts, all the vessels of smallness, from the vessels of lavers and even to all the vessels of flasks.
For we know that if our earthly house of the tent were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Hastings
Apart from the traditions of the patriarchs as 'quiet' men, 'dwelling in tents' (Ge 25:27 Revised Version margin), the settled Hebrews preserved a reminder of their nomad ancestry in such phrases as 'going to one's tent' for to 'go home' (Jg 19:9), and in the recurring call, 'to thy tents (i.e. to your homes), O Israel' (1Ki 12:16 etc.). For an interesting case of adherence to the 'nomadic Ideal' on religious grounds, see Rechabites.
The Hebrew tent, even in later days, cannot have differed much from the simple Bedouin tent of to-day, made by sewing together strips of the native goats' hair cloth (cf. Song 1:5 'I am black as the tents of Kedar'). These 'curtains' (Jer 4:20; Ex 26:2 and oft.) are held up by poles, generally 9 in number, arranged in three rows of three, and 6
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And they will say to him, Where is Sarah thy wife? and he will say, Behold, in the tent.
And the boys will become great; and Esau will be a man knowing the chase, a man of the country; and Jacob an upright man, dwelling in tents.
The length of one curtain, eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth, four cubits of the one curtain: one measure to all the curtains.
And Jael, Heber's wife, will take a peg of the tent, and will put a hammer in her hand, and will go to him softly, and will drive the peg into his temples, and it will go down into the earth; and he was in a deep sleep and was wearied. And he will die.
And it will be after days in days of the wheat harvest, and Samson will look after his wife with a kid of the goats; and he will say, I will go to my wife to the chamber. And her father gave him not to go in.
And the man will rise to go, he and his concubine and his boy; and his father-in-law, the girl's father, will say to him, Behold, now, the day weakened toward evening; lodge now: behold, the declining of the day; lodge here, and thy heart shall be joyous; and rise early to-morrow to your way and go to thy tent.
And Uriah will say to David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, dwell in tents; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamping upon the face of the field; and shall I come into my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? Thee living and thy soul living, if I shall do this word.
And they will stretch out a tent for Absalom upon the roof, and Absalom will go in to his father's concubines before the eyes of all Israel.
And all Israel will see that the king heard not to them, and the people will turn back the king word, saying, What part to us in David? and no inheritance in the son of Jesse: to thy tents, O Israel: now see to thy house, David. And Israel will go to their tents.
And it will be when he heard this word he was drinking, and the kings in the booths; and he will say to his servants, Set ye. And they will set against the city.
And they will go forth at noon. And Ben-hadad was drinking strong drink in the booths, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings helping him.
And they will rise and flee in darkness, and leave their tents, and their horses and their asses, the camp as it was, and flee for their soul.
Did not their remainder in them remove? They will die, and not in wisdom.
From the extremity of the heavens his going forth and his circuits upon their extremities and no hiding from his heat.
I am black and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
As a little I passed from them till I found him my soul loved: I held him fast, and I shall not let him go till I brought him into my mother's house, and to the chamber of her conceiving me.
Enlarge the place of thy tent, stretch forth the hangings of thy dwellings; thou shalt not spare; lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy pegs.
Breaking upon breaking was called; for all the land was laid waste: suddenly were my tents laid waste, my curtains in a moment
For if ye struck all the army of the Chaldeans warring with you, and men thrust through remained among them, they shall arise a man in his tent and burn this city in fire.
Clang ye the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast, call a restraining.
And having found a certain Jew by name Aquila, a Pontian by birth, having recently come from Italy, and Priscilla his wife; (for Claudius had ordered all Jews to be separated from Rome:) came to them.
Morish
1. The word commonly translated 'tent' is ohel, but it is often translated in the A.V. 'tabernacle,' and is used also for 'dwelling' or 'habitation,' as in Job 8:22; Ps 91:10; etc. 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 Ex 33:7. See CAMP.
2. mishkan, rightly translated 'tabernacle' but is 'tent' in Cant. 1:8.
3. sukkah also translated 'tabernacle,' 'pavilion,' 'booth;' and only once 'tent.' 2Sa 11:11.
4. qubbah, occurring only in Nu 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. 2Co 5:1.
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And Moses will take the tent and stretched it from without the camp afar off from the camp, and he called it the tent of appointment And it was every one seeking Jehovah went forth to the tent of appointment, which is from without the camp
And he will go after the man of Israel to the tent, and will pierce the two of them, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly: and the smiting will be withheld from the sons of Israel.
And Uriah will say to David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, dwell in tents; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamping upon the face of the field; and shall I come into my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? Thee living and thy soul living, if I shall do this word.
They hating thee shall put on shame; and the tent of the unjust shall not be.
Evil shall not approach to thee, and a blow shall not come near in thy tent
For we know that if our earthly house of the tent were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Smith
Tent.
Among the leading characteristics of the nomad races, those two have always been numbered whose origin has been ascribed to Jabal the son of Lameth,
viz., to be tent-dwellers and keepers of cattle. The same may be said of the forefathers of the Hebrew race; nor was it until the return into Canaan from Egypt that the Hebrews became inhabitants of cities. An Arab tent is called beit, "house;" its covering consists of stuff, about three quarters of a yard broad, made of black goat's-hair,
laid parallel with the tent's length. This is sufficient to resist the heaviest rain. The tent-poles or columns are usually nine in number, placed in three groups; but many tents have only one pole, others two or three. The ropes which hold the tent in its place are fastened, not to the tent-cover itself, but to loops consisting of a leathern thong tied to the ends of a stick, round which is twisted a piece of old cloth, which is itself sewed to the tent-cover. The ends of the tent-ropes are fastened to short sticks or pins, which are driven into the ground with a mallet.
Round the back and sides of the tent runs a piece of stuff removable at pleasure to admit air. The tent is divided into two apartments, separated by a carpet partition drawn across the middle of the tent and fastened to the three middle posts. When the pasture near an encampment is exhausted, the tents are taken down, packed on camels and removed.
In choosing places for encampment, Arabs prefer the neighborhood of trees, for the sake of the shade and coolness which they afford.
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And Adah will bear Jabal; he was the father of him remaining in the tent, and riches.
Now he shall take a little water, and will wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
And he will take curdled milk, and new milk, and the son of the cow which he did, and he will give before their face; and he stood by them under the tree, and they shall eat
And Isaak will go from thence, and will sit down in the valley of Gerar, and will dwell there.
And he will remove from thence, and will dig another well; and they strove not for that: and he will call its name Rehoboth; and he will say, For now Jehovah made wide for us, and made us fruitful in the earth.
And he will build an altar there, and will call on the name of Jehovah, and will stretch out there his tent: and there Isaak's servants will dig a well.
And Jael, Heber's wife, will take a peg of the tent, and will put a hammer in her hand, and will go to him softly, and will drive the peg into his temples, and it will go down into the earth; and he was in a deep sleep and was wearied. And he will die.
I am black and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
Mine age removed, and was carried away from me as a shepherd's tent: I rolled together as a weaver my life: from the thread he will cut me off: from the day even to the night thou wilt finish me.