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thy father’s house …” (Gen. 38:11), and it is used of God in a similar sense: “Thou, O
Lord, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation …” (Lam. 5:19). The
promise of restoration from captivity was: “And they shall build houses and inhabit them
…” (Isa. 65:21).
'
is sometimes combined with other words to form expressions in common
usage. For example, “When he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom” (Deut. 17:18; cf. 1
Kings 1:13, 17, 24) carries the meaning “begins to reign.” “To sit in the gate” means “to
hold court” or “to decide a case,” as in Ruth 4:1-2 and 1 Kings 22:10. “Sit thou at my
right hand” (Ps. 110:1) means to assume a ruling position as deputy. “There will I sit to
judge all the heathen” (Joel 3:12) was a promise of eschatological judgment. “To sit in
the dust” or “to sit on the ground” (Isa. 47:1) was a sign of humiliation and grief.
'
is often used figuratively of God. The sentences, “I saw the Lord sitting on
his throne” (1 Kings 22:19); “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh” (Ps. 2:4); and
“God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness” (Ps. 47:8) all describe God as the exalted
Ruler over the universe. The idea that God also “dwells” among men is expressed by this
verb: “Shalt thou [David] build me a house for me to dwell in?” (2 Sam. 7:5; cf. Ps.
132:14). The usage of
in such verses as 1 Sam. 4:4: “… The Lord of hosts, which
dwelleth between the cherubim,” describes His presence at the ark of the covenant in the
tabernacle and the temple.
The word is also used to describe man’s being in God’s presence: “One thing have I
desired of the Lord, … that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life
…” (Ps. 27:4; cf. Ps. 23:6). “Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of
thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in …”
(Exod. 15:17).
(
'
, 7931), “to dwell, inhabit, settle down, abide.” This word is common to
many Semitic languages, including ancient Akkadian and Ugaritic, and it is found
throughout all levels of Hebrew history.
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occurs nearly 130 times in Old
Testament Hebrew.
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is first used in the sense of “to dwell” in Gen. 9:27: “… And he shall dwell in
the tents of Shem.” Moses was commanded: “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I
may dwell among them” (Exod. 25:8).
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is a word from nomadic life, meaning “to live in a tent.” Thus, Balaam “saw
Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes” (Num. 24:2). In that verse,
refers to temporary “camping,” but it can also refer to being permanently “settled” (Ps.
102:28). God promised to give Israel security, “that they may dwell in a place of their
own, and move no more …” (2 Sam. 7:10).
The Septuagint version of the Old Testament uses a great number of Greek words to
translate
and
!
But one word,
, is used by far more often than any
other. This word also expresses in the New Testament the “dwelling” of the Holy Spirit
in the church: “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (Eph. 3:17). The Greek
word
(“to live in a tent”) shares in this also, being the more direct translation of
!
John 1:14 says of Jesus, “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” The