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ordinance of David king of Israel” (Ezra 3:10). The second marker is a form of the word
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, “holy”: “O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple
have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps” (Ps. 79:1). Sometimes the definite
article suffices to identify the “temple in Jerusalem”: “In the year that King Uzziah died I
saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple”
(Isa. 6:1), especially in a section dealing with the “temple” (Ezek. 41).
The Old Testament also speaks about the heavenly
, the
of God. It is
difficult to decide on a translation, whether “palace” or “temple.” Most versions opt in
favor of the “temple” idea: “Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is:
and let the Lord God be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple” (Mic. 1:2;
cf. Ps. 5:7; 11:4; Hab. 2:20). “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God:
and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears” (2 Sam.
22:7). However, since Scripture portrays the presence of the royal judgment throne in
heaven, it is not altogether impossible that the original authors had a royal “palace” in
mind. The imagery of the throne, the “palace,” and judgment seems to lie behind Ps.
11:4-5. “The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold,
his eyelids try, the children of men. The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him
that loveth violence his soul hateth.”
The Septuagint has the words
(“temple”) and
(“house; palace; dwelling;
household”).
TENT
(
, 168), “tent; home; dwelling; habitation.” Cognates of this word appear in
Ugaritic, Phoenician, and Arabic. It appears about 343 times in biblical Hebrew and in all
periods.
First, this word refers to the mobile structure called a “tent.” This is its meaning in
Gen. 4:20: “And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such
as have cattle.” These are what nomadic Bedouins normally live in. “Tents” can also be
used as housing for animals: “They smote also the tents of cattle [
NASB
, “those who
owned”], and carried away sheep and camels in abundance …” (2 Chron. 14:15). Soldiers
lived in “tents” during military campaigns (1 Sam. 17:54). A “tent” was pitched on top of
a house so everyone could see that Absalom went in to his father’s concubines (2 Sam.
16:22). This constituted an open rejection of David’s dominion and a declaration that he
(Absalom) was claiming the throne.
Second, the word is a synonym for “home, dwelling,” and “habitation.” This
emphasis is especially evident in Judg. 19:9: “… Behold, the day groweth to an end,
lodge here, that thine heart may be merry; and tomorrow get you early on your way, that
thou mayest go home.” This meaning appears in the phrase “to your tents”: “We have no
part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O
Israel” (2 Sam. 20:1). The “tabernacle” (“tent”) of David, therefore, is his dwelling place
or palace (Isa. 16:5). Similarly, the “tabernacle” (“tent”) of the daughter of Zion is
Israel’s capital, or what Israel inhabits— Jerusalem (Lam. 2:4).
Third,
may represent those who dwell in the dwellings of a given area or who
form a unit of people. Thus the “tents” of Judah are her inhabitants: “The Lord also shall
save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the