Tent

Fig. 328—Arabian Tent

The patriarchal fathers of the Israelites were dwellers in tents, and their descendants proceeded at once from tents to houses. We therefore read but little of huts among them; and never as the fixed habitations of any people with whom they were conversant. Tents were invented before the Deluge, and appear from the first to have been associated with the pastoral life, to which a movable habitation was necessary (Gen 4:20). The practice of the pastoral fathers was to pitch their tents near wells of water, and if possible, under some shady tree (Gen 18:4; Jdg 4:5). The first tents were undoubtedly covered with skins, of which there are traces in the Pentateuch (Exo 26:14); but nearly all the tents mentioned in Scripture were, doubtless, of goats’ hair, spun and woven by the women (Exo 35:26; Exo 36:14); such as are now, in Western Asia, used by all who dwell in tents; hence their black color (Son 1:5). Tents of linen were, and still are, only used occasionally, for holiday or traveling purposes, by those who do not habitually live in them. The patriarchal tents were probably such as we now see in Arabia, of an oblong shape, and eight or ten feet high in the middle. They vary in size, and have, accordingly, a greater or less number of poles to support them—from three to nine. An encampment is generally arranged circularly, forming an enclosure, within which the cattle are driven at night, and the center of which is occupied by the tent or tents of the Emir or Sheikh. If he is a person of much consequence, he may have three or four tents, for himself, his wives, his servants, and strangers respectively. The two first are of the most importance, and we know that Abraham’s wife had a separate tent (Gen 24:27). It is more usual, however, for one very large tent to be divided into two or more apartments by curtains. The Holy Tabernacle was on this model (Exo 26:31-37).

Dwelling in tents was very general in ancient times among Eastern nations, Gen 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, Gen 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.,\par Jdg 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, Jdg 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, Psa 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 tentpins 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 .\par Tents are of various colors; black, as tents of Kedar, Psa 120:5 Son 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, Exo 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, Gen 31:33 Jdg 4:17 . Usually, however, one tent suffices for a family; being divided, if large, into several apartments by curtains.\par

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, Gen 4:20, namely, 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, Son 1:5, 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, around 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. Jdg 4:21.

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. Gen 26:17; Gen 26:22; Gen 26:25; Isa 38:12. In choosing places for encampment, Arabs prefer the neighborhood of trees, for the sake of the shade and coolness which they afford. Gen 18:4; Gen 18:8.

’ohel, "tabernacle "; mishkan, "dwelling"; sukkak, "booth"; qubbah, "recess" (Num 25:8). The characteristic dwelling of the keepers of cattle, the nomadic races, of whom Jabal was the father (Gen 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 (Gen 26:12), and probably in Heber’s case (Jdg 4:11-22). Hazerim (Deu 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. (Num 34:4; Num 34:9.) 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 (Jdg 4:21). The patriarchs’ wives had separate tents (Gen 24:67; Gen 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 (Num 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).

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; Psa 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 Exo 33:7. See CAMP.

2. mishkan , rightly translated ’tabernacle’ but is ’tent’ in Son 1:8.

3. sukkah also translated ’tabernacle,’ ’pavilion,’ ’booth;’ and only once ’tent.’ 2Sa 11:11.

4. qubbah, occurring only in Num 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.

TENT (σκηνή).—The light shelter of the nomad, here to-day and away to-morrow, is an apt symbol of what is fleeting and transitory. This lends the suggestion of irony to our Lord’s phrase (Luk 16:9) ‘eternal tents.’ The notion of transiency is uppermost also in 2Co 5:1; 2Co 5:4 (σκῆνος).

The ordinary Eastern tent is made of black goats’ hair cloth, spun and woven by the women with very primitive implements. The women pitch the tents, and on removing they strike and pack them for the journey. The roof is supported by three rows of three upright posts, from 6 feet to 8 feet in height, the middle row being highest. It is stretched by cords fastened to the edges, and attached to pegs driven firmly into the ground. The ‘walls’ are hung like certains round the eaves, and a breadth of cloth across the tent cuts off the women’s compartment from that open to the public. It is an effective shelter from the sun. When wet, the cloth shrinks and becomes quite waterproof. σκηνή may also mean a hut, booth, or other temporary structure, like those made by the Arabs of el-Huleh from the reeds that abound in the marshes close by the base of Hermon. Peter was doubtless familiar with these rude peasant structures, the leafy shelters erected on the roofs for cool retreat in summer, and the booths for the Feast of Tabernacles (Mat 17:4 etc.).

W. Ewing.

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By: Executive Committee of the Editorial Board., Immanuel Benzinger

The usual home of nomads, who are accordingly described as dwelling in tents (Gen. iv. 20). As distinguished from the hut of boughs ("sukkah") it is a portable habitation of skin or cloth stretched over poles. The tent of the ancient Israelites was in all probability very similar to that of the modern Bedouins of Syria and Arabia. The covering of the tent ("yeri'ah") originally consisted of skins, later of the modern coarse tent-cloth spun of the hair of black goats (comp. Cant. i. 5); the Arabs accordingly speak of their "houses of hair" ("bait wabar," "bait sha'r"). This cloth, which is spun in long narrow strips on primitive looms by the Bedouin women, felts quickly, and is proof against the heaviest rains. The strips are sewed together to form a covering of the required size, and are stretched over three rows of three tent-poles each ("'ammudim"; Judges xvi. 26). The center poles are somewhat higher than those in front and behind, and the covering of the tent consequently falls away slightly on either side, where the rows of poles, also, are frequently lower, so that the roof is somewhat arched; Isaiah accordingly compares the heavens to a tent which is spread out (Isa. xl. 22).

The covering of the tent was held in place by strong cords ("metarim," Ex. xxxv. 18, Isa. liv. 2, Jer. x. 20; "yeter," Job iv. 21), which were fastened to wooden pegs driven into the ground ("yated"; see below), whence were derived such phrases as "nasa'," with or without "yated," in the sense of breaking camp (Gen. xxxv. 16 et passim). A tent-cloth was hung from the top in such a way as to give protection against wind and sun; and a curtain suspended on the three middle poles divided the tent into two sections, one for the men and the other for the women ("ḥeder"; Judges xv. 2; Gen. xliii. 30), since only the wealthiest had special tents for the latter (Gen. xxiv. 67, xxxi. 33). The tents of a clan or a family were grouped as a camp, a small number being pitched in a circle (comp. "ṭirah" [= "enclosure "] used as a term for the camp of the Israelites), while larger encampments formed long rows.

The tents were furnished with extreme simplicity. A few coarse straw mats covered a portion of thefloor and served for both chairs and beds, while a hole in the ground in the men's division formed the hearth. A round piece of leather was spread on the floor as a table("shulḥan"), and bags of goatskin ("no'd," "ḥemet") with the hair outward contained water, milk, or grain, the equipment being completed by a baking-pan, a few rough metal spoons, a hand-mill for grinding grain, and saddles for the camels.

After settling in the land of Canaan, and in proportion as they became agriculturists, the Hebrews ceased to dwell in tents, although, for religious reasons, the Rechabites long observed the ancient mode of life; and even to the latest period the Hebrew language retained, even in cases where the primitive idea was no longer present, a number of terms originally derived from life in tents, as is shown by the phrase "halak le-oholo" = "to return home" (comp. Josh. xxii. 4 et seq.; Judges vii. 8, xix. 9; I Kings xii. 16), and by the frequent mention of tents in symbolic language (e.g., in Isa. xxii. 23, xxxviii. 12; Ezra ix. 8; Jer. iv. 20).

The word "yated" (Ex. xxvii. 19, xxxv. 18, xxxviii. 31; Judges iv. 21, 22; Isa. xxxiii. 20, liv. 2) designates a tent-pin. Among the Bedouins today the poles which form the framework of the tent, as well as part of the tent-cloth placed upon them, are held in place by ropes fastened to pegs driven into the ground at a certain distance from the tent. These pegs are of wood, about a foot long and an inch in diameter, pointed at one end, and with a hook at the other, to which the rope can be tied. The Hebrew equivalent for the expression "to pitch a tent" is, therefore, "taḳa'" (comp. Gen. xxxi. 25; Jer. vi. 3), which means "to drive in the tent-pins." In the same way "to pull out the tent-pins," as noted above, means to strike tent for a journey.

TENT.—Apart from the traditions of the patriarchs as ‘quiet’ men, ‘dwelling in tents’ (Gen 25:27 RVm [Note: 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’ (Jdg 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. Son 1:5 ‘I am black as the tents of Kedar’). These ‘curtains’ (Jer 4:20, Exo 26:2 and oft.) are held up by poles, generally 9 in number, arranged in three rows of three, and 6–7 ft. high, which are kept in position by ropes—the ‘cords’ of EV [Note: English Version.] , and the ‘tent-cord’ of Job 4:21 RV [Note: Revised Version.] —attached to ‘stakes’ or ‘tent-pins’ driven into the ground by a mallet (Jdg 4:21). The larger the tent, the longer the cords and the stronger the stakes, according to the figure. Isa 54:2. The tent, then as now, was probably divided into two parts by hanging a curtain from the three middle poles along the length of the tent—the front division open and free to all, the back closed and reserved for the women and the privacy of domestic life (Jdg 15:1, Son 3:4; cf. Gen 18:9 f.).

In time of war we read both of booths (2Sa 11:11, so RV [Note: Revised Version.] rightly for AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘tents’) and of tents (2Ki 7:7, Jer 37:10). The Assyrian sculptures represent the soldiers’ tents as conical in shape, supported by a central pole with two arms. On the famous bronze Sheathing of the palace gates at Balawat, representing every detail of the conduct of war, the royal pavilion (1Ki 20:12; 1Ki 20:16) is frequently represented. It was rectangular in shape, with ornamental wooden pillars with floral capitals at the four corners. The walls were probably of linen, and the roof evidently of tapestry or other rich material edged with tassels (see the plates in Billerbeck’s Die Palasttore Satmanassars II., 1908).

In early times a special tent was pitched for a newly wedded pair (Psa 19:6, Joe 2:15; cf. 2Sa 16:22), as is still the custom among the Arahs. The canopy under which Jewish couples are married at the present day still retains the name, as it is a survival of the ancient chuppah or bridal tent.

Priscilla and Aquila, as well as the Apostle Paul, were tentmakers (Act 18:2 f.). See Spinning and, Weaving, §§1, 4 (c). For the tent of meeting (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ) see Tabernacle.

A. R. S. Kennedy.

tent (אהל, ’ōhel; σκηνή, skēnḗ; ’ōhel is a derivative of אהל, ’āhal, “to be clear,” “to shine”; hence, ’ōhel, “to be conspicuous from a distance”): In the great stretches of uncultivated lands in the interior of Syria or Arabia, which probably have much the same aspect today as in Abraham’s time, it is an easy matter to espy an encampment of roving Bedouin, “a nation ... that dwelleth without care ... that have neither gates nor bars” (Jer 49:31). The peaks of their black (compare Son 1:5) goats’ hair tents stand out in contrast against the lighter colors of the soil.

There seems to be little doubt about the antiquity of the Arab tent, and one can rightly believe that-the dwelling-places of Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, and their descendants were made on the same pattern and of the same materials (Gen 4:20; Gen 9:27; Gen 12:8; Gen 13:3; Gen 18:6; Gen 31:25, Gen 31:30; Psa 78:55; Heb 11:9, etc.). Long after the children of Israel had given up their tents for houses they continued to worship in tents (2Sa 7:1-6; 2Ch 1:3, 2Ch 1:4) (for the use of tents in connection with religious observances see TABERNACLE).

The Arab tents (called bait sha‛r, “house of hair”) are made of strips of black goats’ hair cloth, sewed together into one large piece (see &GOATS’ HAIR; WEAVING). Poles are placed under this covering at intervals to hold it from the ground, and it is stretched over these poles by ropes of goats hair or hemp (compare Job 4:21; Isa 54:2; Jer 10:20) “fastened to hard-wood pins driven into the ground (Isa 54:2; Jdg 4:21; Jdg 5:26). A large wooden mallet for driving the pegs is part of the regular camp equipment (Jdg 4:21; Jdg 5:26). The sides (curtains) of the tent (Isa 54:2) are made of strips of goats hair cloth or from mats woven from split cane or rushes (see Illustration, p. 2948). Where more than one family occupies the same tent or the animals are provided with shelter under the same roof (compare 2Ch 14:15), curtains of the same materials mentioned above form the dividing walls. A corner of the matting where two ends meet is turned back to form the door of the tent (Gen 18:1). In the summer time the walls are mostly removed. New tents are not water-proof, and the condition of the interior after a heavy rain is not far from squalid. The tent material becomes matted by use, especially if wool has been woven into the fabric, and is then a better protection against the rain. It is the women’s duty to pitch the tents.

The poorer Arabs have no mats to cover the ground under their tents. Straw mats, goats’ hair or woolen rugs (compare Jdg 4:18), more or less elaborate as the taste and means of the family allow, are the usual coverings for the tent floor. The food supplies are usually kept in goats’ hair bags, the liquids, as oil or milk products, in skins. One or two tinned copper cooking-vessels, a shallow tray of the same material, a coffee set consisting of roasting pan, mortar and pestle, boiling-pot and cups, make up the usual camp furniture. The more thrifty include bedding in their equipment, but this increases the difficulties of moving, since it might require more than the one animal, sometimes only a donkey, which carries all the earthly belongings of the family. A sheikh or chief has several tents, one for himself and guests, separate ones for his wives and female servants, and still others for his animals (compare Gen 31:33).

Other Hebrew words translated “tent” are forms of חנה, ḥānāh (Num 13:19; 1Sa 17:53; 2Ki 7:16; 2Ch 31:2; Zec 14:15); סכּה, ṣukkāh (2Sa 11:11; 2Sa 22:12); משׁכּנות, mishk^enōth (Son 1:8).

Figurative: “Neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there” typified utter desolation (Isa 13:20). “Enlarge the place of thy tent ... stretch forth the curtains ... lengthen thy cords ... strengthen thy stakes” prophesied an increase in numbers and prosperity of God’s people (Isa 54:2; compare Isa 33:20; Luk 16:9; 2Co 5:4). Tent cords plucked up denoted death. (Job 4:21). Jer 10:20 is a picture of a destroyed household as applied to Judah. Hezekiah in his sickness bewails that his dwelling (life) had been carried away as easily as a shepherd’s tent is plucked up (Isa 38:12). Isaiah compared the heavens to a tent spread out (Isa 40:22). “They shall pitch their tents against her” i.e. they shall make war (Jer 6:3).

Because tents could be easily put up and taken down, they were the normal dwelling places of ancient peoples who moved around from place to place with their flocks and herds. They were among the earliest kinds of human dwelling places (Gen 4:20; Gen 9:21; Gen 12:8; Gen 18:1; Gen 26:25; Song of Son 1:8; Isa 38:12; Jer 49:28-29).

Tents were made of the skins of animals, the woven hair of animals, or heavy cloth. The material was stretched over poles and tied with cords to pegs in the ground. Tents were dark and drab externally, but internally they were usually colourful, because of the curtain hangings that divided them into rooms (Song of Son 1:5; Isa 54:2).

Sometimes there were separate tents for men and women (Gen 18:6; Gen 18:9; Gen 31:33). Armies camped in tents (2Ki 7:7-8), and the Israelites camped in tents on their journey from Egypt to Canaan (Exo 16:16; Exo 33:8; Num 16:26; Num 24:5; Deu 1:27).

Israel’s place of worship, which they took with them on the journey, was in the form of a tent (Exo 26:14; Exo 26:36; see TABERNACLE). When David conquered Jerusalem he put the ark of the covenant in a tent he had erected for it in the city, in anticipation of the permanent temple he had planned for Jerusalem. This would replace the tabernacle-tent, which at that time was at Gibeon (1Ch 16:1; 1Ch 16:39).

Bible writers use the tent as a picture of the brief life that men and women have upon the earth. It comes to an inglorious end like a tent that collapses when its cords are cut (Job 4:21). But whereas the physical body is, like a tent, temporary, what God has prepared for believers in the age to come is a permanent home (2Co 5:1).