006. "He Shall Dwell Between His Shoulders"
"He Shall Dwell Between His Shoulders"
"The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders." This Scripture refers to the Bible Lands’ hammock or cradle, made of camel’s hair, and used by the village mothers and the mothers of the tent dwellers. It is a hammock about two by two and a half feet, with a strong cord at either end, so that it may be carried on the mother’s shoulders, with the cords passing across her forehead. In the field the mother suspends the little hammock from the limb of a tree, or if there is no tree, she erects a tripod of sticks from which the hammock hangs, covering the baby’s face with one of her own garments to protect the child from the sun and flies.
How often we have seen a small hammock on the shoulders of a young mother, with a tiny face peeking out, or more often with a sleeping baby and a little foot or a small hand showing at the side of the hammock. When the mother carries the child, she will draw a part of her large white veil over the hammock as a protection against the hot sun, either partly or completely covering it. This is the common picture referred to in Deuteronomy 33:12 : "The beloved of the Lord shall dwell safely by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders."