Topical Bible: Dwellings

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In the biblical context, dwellings refer to the various types of living spaces inhabited by individuals and communities throughout the narratives of the Bible. These dwellings range from tents and temporary shelters to more permanent structures like houses and palaces. The concept of dwelling is not only physical but also spiritual, as it often symbolizes God's presence among His people.

Tents and Temporary Shelters

The earliest form of dwelling mentioned in the Bible is the tent. The patriarchs, such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were nomadic and lived in tents as they traveled through the land. Genesis 12:8 describes Abraham's lifestyle: "From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east." Tents were practical for their nomadic lifestyle, allowing them to move as God directed.

The Israelites also lived in tents during their 40-year journey in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt. The Tabernacle, a portable sanctuary, was a tent-like structure where God's presence dwelled among His people. Exodus 25:8 states, "And they are to make a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them."

Houses and Permanent Structures

As the Israelites settled in the Promised Land, their dwellings became more permanent. Houses were typically constructed from materials like stone, mud bricks, and wood. Deuteronomy 6:10-11 speaks of the transition to settled life: "When the LORD your God brings you into the land He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that He would give you—a land with great and splendid cities that you did not build, with houses full of every good thing with which you did not fill them..."

The Bible also describes more elaborate dwellings, such as the palaces of kings. King Solomon's palace is detailed in 1 Kings 7, showcasing the wealth and grandeur of Israel's monarchy. The construction of the Temple in Jerusalem, a permanent dwelling place for God's presence, was a significant event in Israel's history. 1 Kings 6:1 records, "In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the house of the LORD."

Spiritual Significance

Dwellings in the Bible often carry a deeper spiritual meaning. The concept of God dwelling with His people is a central theme. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is described as the Word who "became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14), signifying God's presence in human form. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in believers is another profound aspect of spiritual dwelling, as seen in 1 Corinthians 3:16 : "Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?"

The ultimate dwelling place for believers is depicted in Revelation, where God will dwell with His people in the new heaven and new earth. Revelation 21:3 declares, "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.'"

Throughout the Bible, dwellings serve as a tangible representation of God's relationship with humanity, reflecting both the physical and spiritual aspects of life with God.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

The materials used in buildings were commonly bricks, sometimes also stones (Leviticus 14:40, 42), which were held together by cement (Jeremiah 43:9) or bitumen (Genesis 11:3). The exterior was usually whitewashed (Leviticus 14:41; Ezek. 13:10; Matthew 23:27). The beams were of sycamore (Isaiah 9:10), or olive-wood, or cedar (1 Kings 7:2; Isaiah 9:10).

The form of Eastern dwellings differed in many respects from that of dwellings in Western lands. The larger houses were built in a quadrangle enclosing a court-yard (Luke 5:19; 2 Samuel 17:18; Nehemiah 8:16) surrounded by galleries, which formed the guest-chamber or reception-room for visitors. The flat roof, surrounded by a low parapet, was used for many domestic and social purposes. It was reached by steps from the court. In connection with it (2 Kings 23:12) was an upper room, used as a private chamber (2 Samuel 18:33; Dan. 6:11), also as a bedroom (2 Kings 23:12), a sleeping apartment for guests (2 Kings 4:10), and as a sick-chamber (1 Kings 17:19). The doors, sometimes of stone, swung on morticed pivots, and were generally fastened by wooden bolts. The houses of the more wealthy had a doorkeeper or a female porter (John 18:16; Acts 12:13). The windows generally opened into the courtyard, and were closed by a lattice (Judges 5:28). The interior rooms were set apart for the female portion of the household.

The furniture of the room (2 Kings 4:10) consisted of a couch furnished with pillows (Amos 6:4; Ezek. 13:20); and besides this, chairs, a table and lanterns or lamp-stands (2 Kings 4:10).

Greek

4633. skene -- a tent
... Word Origin a prim. word Definition a tent NASB Word Usage dwellings (1), tabernacle
(15), tabernacles (3), tents (1). habitation, tabernacle. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4633.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

4186. moshab -- a seat, assembly, dwelling place, dwelling ...
... a seat, assembly, dwelling place, dwelling, dwellers. Transliteration: moshab or
moshab Phonetic Spelling: (mo-shawb') Short Definition: dwellings. ...
/hebrew/4186.htm - 6k

4908. mishkan -- dwelling place, tabernacle
... Word Origin from shakan Definition dwelling place, tabernacle NASB Word Usage dwelling
(1), dwelling place (8), dwelling places (9), dwellings (9), resting ...
/hebrew/4908.htm - 6k

759. armon -- a citadel
... NASB Word Usage castle (1), citadel (2), citadels (13), fortified buildings (1),
fortified towers (1), palace (3), palaces (9), palatial dwellings (1), towers ...
/hebrew/759.htm - 6k

Library

Whether a Man Can Merit the First Grace for Another?
... it is written (Lk.16:9): "Make unto you friends of the mammon of iniquity, that
when you shall fail they may receive you into everlasting dwellings." Now it is ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether a man can merit.htm

Whether one Ought to Give Alms to those Rather who are More ...
... to Lk.16:9: "Make unto you friends of the mammon of iniquity, that when you shall
fail, they may receive you into everlasting dwellings, which passage ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether one ought to give 2.htm

A Bottle in the Smoke
... keep many articles, both dry and liquid, in such bottles, which, for security, are
suspended from the roof, or hung against the walls of their humble dwellings ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 2 1856/a bottle in the smoke.htm

The Prairie Pasture
... in this except that the house was different from the average house of the plains;
for at this particular time the greater part of the dwellings were made of sod ...
/.../byrum/how john became a man/chapter i the prairie pasture.htm

Cholera, 1866
... To this view there are two objections. First, the poor people themselves are not
in fault, but those who supply poisoned water, and foul dwellings. ...
/.../kingsley/the water of life and other sermons/sermon xvii cholera 1866.htm

Admiral Beechey's Account
... gave a curious and particular description of the habits and customs of the Esquimaux,
their wretched hovels, or "yourts," snow-dwellings, and underground huts ...
/.../murray/kalli the esquimaux christian /admiral beecheys account.htm

Useless Sacrifice
... few or no rich people in the place; that the rich who have an interest in the labour
of these masses live away from the place, and from the dwellings of those ...
/.../kingsley/all saints day and other sermons/sermon xxxvi useless sacrifice.htm

Lutherans in New York.
... be adherents of the Augsburg Confession, they persecuted the Lutherans, forbidding
all Lutheran worship in public meeting-houses as well as in private dwellings ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bente/american lutheranism/lutherans in new york.htm

John on the Same Passage.
... 2. But He is in a certain sense preparing the dwellings by preparing for
them the dwellers. As, for instance, when He said, "In ...
/.../augustine/homilies on the gospel of john/tractate lxviii john on the.htm

The Blessings, and Also the Curse, Pronounced by Noah were ...
... [2480] Now, in what he said, he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep
in retention the property and dwellings of Canaan: and again that the ...
/.../chapter cxxxix the blessings and also.htm

Thesaurus

Dwellings (54 Occurrences)
... The form of Eastern dwellings differed in many respects from that of dwellings in
Western lands. ... Multi-Version Concordance Dwellings (54 Occurrences). ...
/d/dwellings.htm - 25k

Cave-dwellings (1 Occurrence)
Cave-dwellings. Cave, Cave-dwellings. Caverns . Multi-Version
Concordance Cave-dwellings (1 Occurrence). Zephaniah 2 ...
/c/cave-dwellings.htm - 6k

Perpetual (57 Occurrences)
... Leviticus 3:17 "'It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in
all your dwellings, that you shall eat neither fat nor blood.'" (WEB KJV JPS ...
/p/perpetual.htm - 28k

Lasting (40 Occurrences)
... (Root in DBY NIV). Leviticus 3:17 It is an everlasting statute for your generations
throughout all your dwellings: no fat and no blood shall ye eat. ...
/l/lasting.htm - 19k

Statute (63 Occurrences)
... Leviticus 3:17 "'It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in
all your dwellings, that you shall eat neither fat nor blood.'" (WEB KJV JPS ...
/s/statute.htm - 27k

Dwelling (340 Occurrences)
... one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having
determined appointed seasons, and the boundaries of their dwellings, (Root in ...
/d/dwelling.htm - 36k

Village (21 Occurrences)
... tents (Arabic chiwa'). These in settled life soon became more permanent dwellings,
or what we understand by a village. The term, however ...
/v/village.htm - 16k

Naioth (5 Occurrences)
...Dwellings, the name given to the prophetical college established by Samuel near
Ramah. It consisted of a cluster of separate dwellings, and hence its name. ...
/n/naioth.htm - 9k

Convocation (19 Occurrences)
... work. It is a Sabbath to Yahweh in all your dwellings. ... work. This is a statute
forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. ...
/c/convocation.htm - 14k

Selfsame (18 Occurrences)
... ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it
shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. ...
/s/selfsame.htm - 12k

Resources

What did Jesus mean when He spoke of making friends by worldly wealth (Luke 16:9)? | GotQuestions.org

What is the meaning of the Parable of the Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1-13)? | GotQuestions.org

What is Zion? What is Mount Zion? What is the biblical meaning of Zion? | GotQuestions.org

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Dwellings (54 Occurrences)

Luke 16:9
I tell you, make for yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when you fail, they may receive you into the eternal tents.
(See NAS NIV)

Acts 17:26
He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons, and the boundaries of their dwellings,
(WEB YLT)

Genesis 36:43
chief Magdiel, chief Iram: these 'are' chiefs of Edom, in reference to their dwellings, in the land of their possession; he 'is' Esau father of Edom.
(YLT)

Exodus 10:23
They didn't see one another, neither did anyone rise from his place for three days; but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS)

Exodus 12:20
Ye shall eat nothing leavened: in all your dwellings shall ye eat unleavened bread.
(DBY YLT NAS RSV)

Exodus 35:3
Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings upon the sabbath day.
(DBY YLT NAS NIV)

Leviticus 3:17
"'It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings, that you shall eat neither fat nor blood.'"
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS)

Leviticus 7:26
You shall not eat any blood, whether it is of bird or of animal, in any of your dwellings.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Leviticus 23:3
"'Six days shall work be done: but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no manner of work. It is a Sabbath to Yahweh in all your dwellings.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Leviticus 23:14
You shall eat neither bread, nor roasted grain, nor fresh grain, until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God. This is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT RSV)

Leviticus 23:17
Out of your dwellings shall ye bring two wave-loaves, of two tenths of fine flour; with leaven shall they be baken; as first-fruits to Jehovah.
(DBY JPS YLT RSV)

Leviticus 23:21
You shall make proclamation on the same day: there shall be a holy convocation to you; you shall do no regular work. This is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT RSV)

Leviticus 23:31
You shall do no manner of work: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT RSV)

Numbers 15:2
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of your dwellings, which I give unto you,
(DBY YLT)

Numbers 16:24
Speak unto the congregation, saying: Get you up from about the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.'
(See NAS)

Numbers 16:27
So they got them up from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side; and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, and their sons, and their little ones.
(See NAS)

Numbers 24:5
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, Thy tabernacles, O Israel!
(See JPS NAS)

Numbers 35:29
"'These things shall be for a statute and ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

1 Chronicles 4:33
and all their villages that 'are' round about these cities unto Baal; these 'are' their dwellings, and they have their genealogy:
(YLT)

1 Chronicles 4:41
And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and smote their tents, and the Meunim that were found there, and destroyed them utterly, unto this day, and dwelt in their stead; because there was pasture there for their flocks.
(See NIV)

1 Chronicles 5:10
And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagrites, who fell by their hand; and they dwelt in their tents throughout all the land east of Gilead.
(See NIV)

1 Chronicles 6:54
And these 'are' their dwellings, throughout their towers, in their borders, of the sons of Aaron, of the family of the Kohathite, for theirs was the lot;
(YLT)

1 Chronicles 7:28
And their possession and their dwellings 'are' Beth-El and its small towns, and to the east Naaran, and to the west Gezer and its small towns, and Shechem and its small towns, unto Gaza and its small towns;
(YLT)

Job 18:19
He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings.
(KJV JPS WBS YLT)

Job 18:21
Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous. This is the place of him who doesn't know God."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV)

Job 21:28
For ye say, Where is the house of the noble? and where the tent of the dwellings of the wicked?
(DBY)

Job 38:20
that you should take it to its bound, that you should discern the paths to its house?
(See NIV)

Job 39:6
Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings.
(KJV DBY WBS YLT)

Psalms 49:11
Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling-places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.
(See NIV)

Psalms 55:15
Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
(KJV DBY WBS)

Psalms 74:20
Have respect unto the covenant; for the dark places of the earth are full of the dwellings of violence.
(DBY)

Psalms 78:28
And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, Round about their habitations.
(See JPS NAS)

Psalms 84:1
For the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. How lovely are your dwellings, Yahweh of Armies!
(WEB)

Psalms 87:2
Yahweh loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS NIV)

Song of Songs 1:8
If thou knowest not, O fair among women, Get thee forth by the traces of the flock, And feed thy kids by the shepherds' dwellings!
(YLT)

Isaiah 11:10
And in that day, the eyes of the nations will be turned to the root of Jesse which will be lifted up as the flag of the peoples; and his resting-place will be glory.
(See RSV)

Isaiah 32:18
My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting places.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV)

Isaiah 54:2
Make wide the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your house be stretched out without limit: make your cords long, and your tent-pins strong.
(See NAS)

Isaiah 58:12
And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places, thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in.
(See NIV)

Jeremiah 9:19
For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we ruined! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because they have cast down our dwellings.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV)

Jeremiah 21:13
Behold, I am against thee, inhabitress of the valley, the rock of the plain, saith Jehovah; ye that say, Who shall come down against us, or who shall enter into our dwellings?
(DBY)

Jeremiah 30:18
Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I turn back 'to' the captivity of the tents of Jacob, And his dwelling places I pity, And the city hath been built on its heap, And the palace according to its ordinance remaineth.
(See RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 51:30
The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they remain in their strongholds; their might hath failed, they are become as women; her dwelling-places are set on fire; her bars are broken.
(See RSV NIV)

Lamentations 2:2
The Lord hath swallowed up all the dwellings of Jacob, and hath not spared; he hath thrown down in his wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah: he hath brought them down to the ground; he hath profaned the kingdom and the princes thereof.
(DBY NIV)

Ezekiel 6:6
In all your dwellings the cities are laid waste, And the high places are desolate, So that waste and desolate are your altars, And broken and ceased have your idols, And cut down have been your images, And blotted out have been your works.
(YLT NAS)

Ezekiel 6:14
And I will stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness of Diblath, in all their dwellings; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.
(DBY YLT)

Ezekiel 25:4
therefore, behold, I will deliver you to the children of the east for a possession, and they shall set their encampments in you, and make their dwellings in you; they shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 34:13
And brought them out from the peoples, And have gathered them from the lands, And brought them unto their own ground, And have fed them on mountains of Israel, By streams, and by all dwellings of the land.
(YLT)

Ezekiel 37:23
Nor are they defiled any more with their idols, And with their abominations, And with any of their transgressions, And I have saved them out of all their dwellings, In which they have sinned, And I have cleansed them, And they have been to Me for a people, And I -- I am to them for God.
(YLT)

Ezekiel 48:15
And the five thousand that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a common place for the city, for dwellings and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst of it.
(DBY NAS RSV)

Hosea 8:14
For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces; and Judah has multiplied fortified cities; but I will send a fire on his cities, and it will devour its fortresses." Zechariah
(See NAS)

Habakkuk 3:7
I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction. The dwellings of the land of Midian trembled.
(WEB NIV)

Zephaniah 2:6
And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.
(KJV DBY WBS)

Zechariah 12:7
Yahweh also will save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem not be magnified above Judah.
(See NIV)

Subtopics

Dwellings

Related Terms

Borderer

Godhead (5 Occurrences)

Dwell (474 Occurrences)

Fullness (31 Occurrences)

Habitation (90 Occurrences)

Mortal (35 Occurrences)

Amorite (81 Occurrences)

Security (41 Occurrences)

Hittite (45 Occurrences)