Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical times, the concept of a bed was quite different from modern understandings. Beds in the ancient Near East were often simple and functional, reflecting the lifestyle and resources of the people. The term "bed" in the Bible can refer to various sleeping arrangements, from simple mats to more elaborate structures.
Old Testament ReferencesIn the Old Testament, beds were often rudimentary. For example, in
Exodus 8:3, during the plague of frogs, it is mentioned that the frogs would come up into the houses and "into your bedroom and onto your bed." This indicates that beds were a common household item, even if they were simple. In
1 Samuel 19:13, Michal, David's wife, uses a household idol and places it in the bed to deceive Saul's messengers, suggesting that beds could be used for concealment.
The bed is also a place of rest and reflection. In
Psalm 63:6, David writes, "When I remember You on my bed, I think of You through the watches of the night." Here, the bed is a place of meditation and communion with God.
New Testament ReferencesIn the New Testament, beds continue to serve as a symbol of rest and healing. In
Mark 2:11, Jesus tells the paralytic, "I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home." The mat, a type of bed, becomes a symbol of Jesus' healing power and authority.
Beds are also mentioned in the context of illness and recovery. In
John 5:8, Jesus commands the invalid at the Pool of Bethesda, "Get up, pick up your mat, and walk." This again highlights the bed as a place of transformation through divine intervention.
Cultural and Symbolic SignificanceBeds in biblical times were not only for sleeping but also held cultural and symbolic significance. They could be a place of intimacy, as seen in the Song of Solomon, where the bed is a setting for expressions of love and affection. In
Song of Solomon 3:1, the bride says, "On my bed at night I sought the one I love; I sought him, but did not find him."
Beds could also symbolize vulnerability and mortality. In
2 Kings 20:1, when Hezekiah is ill, the prophet Isaiah tells him, "Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover." Here, the bed is associated with sickness and the approach of death.
Practical AspectsThe construction of beds varied depending on one's social status and wealth. Wealthier individuals might have had beds with frames and coverings, while poorer people likely used mats or simple bedding on the floor. In
Amos 6:4, the prophet criticizes those who "lie on beds of ivory and lounge on their couches," indicating luxury and excess.
Moral and Ethical ImplicationsThe Bible also uses the concept of the bed to address moral and ethical issues. In
Proverbs 7:16-17, the adulterous woman describes her bed as being covered with "colored linens from Egypt" and perfumed with "myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon," using it as a lure for sin. This illustrates how the bed can be a setting for both righteous rest and moral failure.
In summary, the bed in biblical literature serves multiple roles, from a literal place of rest to a metaphorical space for spiritual reflection, healing, and moral testing. Its presence in Scripture underscores the everyday realities of life in ancient times while also providing a backdrop for divine encounters and moral teachings.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
BedThe Jewish bed consisted of the mattress, a mere mat, or one or more quilts; the covering, a finer quilt, or sometimes the outer garment worn by day, (1 Samuel 19:13) which the law provided should not be kept in pledge after sunset, that the poor man might not lack his needful covering, (24:13) the pillow, (1 Samuel 19:13) probably formed of sheep's fleece or goat's skin with a stuffing of cotton, etc.; the bedstead, a divan or bench along the side or end of the room, sufficing at a support for the bedding. Besides we have bedsteads made of ivory, wood, etc. referred to in (3:11;Amos 6:4) The ornamental portions were pillars and a canopy, Judith 13:9, ivory carvings, gold and silver, and probably mosaic work, purple and fine linen. (Esther 1:6;Solomon 3:9,10) The ordinary furniture of a bedchamber in private life is given in (2 Kings 4:10)
ATS Bible Dictionary
BedIn the East, is, and was anciently, a divan, or broad low step around the sides of a room, like a sofa, which answered to purpose of a sofa by day for reclining, and of a bed by night for sleeping,Exodus 8:32 Samuel 4:5-7. Sometimes it was raised several steps above the floor,2 Kings 1:4Psalm 132:4. It was covered very differently, and with more or less ornament, according to the rank of owner of the house. The poor had but a simple mattress or sheepskin; or a cloak or blanked, which also answered to wrap themselves in by day,Exodus 22:2 De 24:13. Hence it was easy for the persons whom Jesus healed, to take up their beads and walk,Mark 4:21. Bedsteads, however, were not unknown, though unlike those of modern times. See De 3:111 Samuel 19:15 Am 6:4. The Jews only laid off their sandals and outer garments at night.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Hebrews mittah), for rest at night (
Exodus 8:3;
1 Samuel 19:13, 15, 16, etc.); during sickness (
Genesis 47:31;
48:2;
49:33, etc.); as a sofa for rest (
1 Samuel 28:23;
Amos 3:12). Another Hebrew word (er'es) so rendered denotes a canopied bed, or a bed with curtains (
Deuteronomy 3:11;
Psalm 132:3), for sickness (
Psalm 6:6;
41:3).
In the New Testament it denotes sometimes a litter with a coverlet (Matthew 9:2, 6;Luke 5:18;Acts 5:15).
The Jewish bedstead was frequently merely the divan or platform along the sides of the house, sometimes a very slight portable frame, sometimes only a mat or one or more quilts. The only material for bed-clothes is mentioned in1 Samuel 19:13. Sleeping in the open air was not uncommon, the sleeper wrapping himself in his outer garment (Exodus 22:26, 27;Deuteronomy 24:12, 13).
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) An article of furniture to sleep or take rest in or on; a couch. Specifically: A sack or mattress, filled with some soft material, in distinction from the bedstead on which it is placed (as, a feather bed), or this with the bedclothes added. In a general sense, any thing or place used for sleeping or reclining on or in, as a quantity of hay, straw, leaves, or twigs.
2. (n.) (Used as the symbol of matrimony) Marriage.
3. (n.) A plat or level piece of ground in a garden, usually a little raised above the adjoining ground.
4. (n.) A mass or heap of anything arranged like a bed; as, a bed of ashes or coals.
5. (n.) The bottom of a watercourse, or of any body of water; as, the bed of a river.
6. (n.) A layer or seam, or a horizontal stratum between layers; as, a bed of coal, iron, etc.
7. (n.) See Gun carriage, and Mortar bed.
8. (n.) The horizontal surface of a building stone; as, the upper and lower beds.
9. (n.) A course of stone or brick in a wall.
10. (n.) The place or material in which a block or brick is laid.
11. (n.) The lower surface of a brick, slate, or tile.
12. (n.) The foundation or the more solid and fixed part or framing of a machine; or a part on which something is laid or supported; as, the bed of an engine.
13. (n.) The superficial earthwork, or ballast, of a railroad.
14. (n.) The flat part of the press, on which the form is laid.
15. (v. t.) To place in a bed.
16. (v. t.) To make partaker of one's bed; to cohabit with.
17. (v. t.) To furnish with a bed or bedding.
18. (v. t.) To plant or arrange in beds; to set, or cover, as in a bed of soft earth; as, to bed the roots of a plant in mold.
19. (v. t.) To lay or put in any hollow place, or place of rest and security, surrounded or enclosed; to embed; to furnish with or place upon a bed or foundation; as, to bed a stone; it was bedded on a rock.
20. (v. t.) To dress or prepare the surface of stone) so as to serve as a bed.
21. (v. t.) To lay flat; to lay in order; to place in a horizontal or recumbent position.
22. (v. i.) To go to bed; to cohabit.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
BED; BEDCHAMBER; BEDSTEADFor the very poor of the East, in ancient times as now, the "bed" was and is, as a rule, the bare ground; and the bedclothes, the gown, simlah, or "outer garment," worn during the day ("For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep?" (Exodus 22:27); compareDeuteronomy 24:13, "Thou shalt surely restore to him the pledge when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his garment").
When one was on a journey, or watching his flock by night as a shepherd, such a "bed" was the most natural, and often a stone would serve as a pillow. (SeeGenesis 28:11, where Jacob "took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep.")
An advance on this custom, which came in due course of time, or under change of circumstances, was the use of a mat on the floor as a bed, with or without covering. At first it was literally laid on the floor, which was generally of one common level, in some convenient place near the wall; but later it was put on an elevation, either a raised part of the floor on one side, or a bedstead, which gave rise to the expression "going up to the bed" (compareGenesis 49:33 English Versions of the Bible, "He gathered up his feet into the bed," andPsalm 132:3, "go up into my bed").
1. Old Testament Terms for Bed, and Sleeping Customs of the Hebrews:
With a later development and civilization, "beds" came to be built upon supports and constructed in different forms, which fact is reflected in the variety of names given the "bed" in the Hebrew and related languages.
(1) The following Hebrew words are used in the Bible for "bed," and, though it is impossible at this remove of time and place and custom to differentiate them sharply, they will repay study: miTTah (Genesis 48:2, "And Israel strengthened himself and sat upon the bed"; Exodus 8:3, "frogs. shall come into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed"); mishkabh, compare (Genesis 49:4, Jacob to Reuben: "Because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it"); `eres (Proverbs 7:16, the "strange woman" says: "I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry"; comparePsalm 41:3, "Thou makest all his bed in his sickness"); matstsa` (once only,Isaiah 28:20, "For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it; and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it"); and yetsua` (Job 17:13, "I have spread my couch in the darkness";1 Chronicles 5:1, "He defiled his father's couch"; compareGenesis 49:4 where the same "father's bed" is mishkabh;Psalm 63:6, "when I remember thee upon my bed";Psalm 132:3, "nor go up into my bed").
(2) It is a far cry from the simple sleeping customs ofDeuteronomy 24:13 to the luxurious arts and customs of the post-exilic days, when beds of fine wood and ivory are found in use among the Hebrews, as well as pillows of the most costly materials elaborately embroidered (see Judith 10:21;Esther 1:6; compareSongs 3:10); but it all came about as a natural, as well as artificial development, with changed conditions and contacts and increasing civilization and luxury. As marking the several stages of that development, we find pictures of the poor, first sleeping upon the ground without mat or mattress, then in a single sleeping-room for the whole family, often without a separate bed, then with "beds" that were simply wadded quilts, or thin mattresses, and mats for keeping them off the ground; then with still better "beds" laid upon light portable, wooden frames, or upon more elevated bedsteads (comparePsalm 132:3 andMark 4:21 the Revised Version (British and American) "under the bed"). The degree of richness depended, of course, upon time and place, in a measure, but more upon the wealth and station of the family and the style of the house or tent in which they lived, as it does even with the Bedouin of today. The prophet Amos gives a vivid and significant picture of the luxury of certain children of Israel, "that sit in Samaria in the corner of a couch, and on the silken cushions of a bed" (Amos 3:12); and of certain children of luxury "that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock. that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph" (Amos 6:4-6; compareRevelation 18:10-13).
(3) We find that the poor, while sleeping for the most part in their ordinary clothing, often, in cold weather, made their beds of the skins of animals, old cloaks, or rugs, as they do still in the East. The "beds" and "bedding" now in ordinary use among Orientals are much the same, we may be sure, as they were in olden times. "Bedsteads" of any pretention were and are rare among the common people; but the richness of "beds" and "bedsteads" among Asiatics of wealth and rank was quite equal to that of the Greeks and Romans (compareProverbs 7:16, 17, "I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon");Songs 1:16, 17: "The beams of our house are cedars, and our rafters are firs. also our couch is green." Compare the "palanquin" of Solomon, "of the wood of Lebanon," "the pillars thereof of silver," "the bottom of gold," and "the seat of purple" (Songs 3:9, 10).
(4) As soon as any family could afford it, a special bedroom would be set apart, and the whole family would sleep in it (seeLuke 11:5-8, "My children are with me in bed"). When the house had two stories the upper story was used for sleeping, or, during very hot weather, preferably the roof, or the room on the roof. SeeHOUSE. When morning came the "bed," a wadded quilt or mattress, used with or without covering according to the season, was rolled up, aired and sunned, and then put aside on the raised platform, or packed away in a chest or closet.
The words mishkabh and miTTah came to have a figurative meaning signifying the final resting-place; and `eres used of the "bedstead" of the King of Og (Deuteronomy 3:11) is thought by some to mean his sarcophagus (Benzinger, Hebrew Arch., 123; Nowack, I, 143).Genesis 47:31, "And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head" is not rightly rendered (see STAFF, and Crit. Commentary in the place cited.).
2. New Testament Terms for Bed, Their Meaning, etc.:
(1) We find several Greek words, kline, krabbatos, and koitte, used in the New Testament somewhat indiscriminately and rendered English Versions of the Bible by "bed," "couch," etc.; but, as with the Hebrew words noted, there is little to indicate just exactly what they severally stand for, or how they are related to the Hebrew terms rendered "bed" or "couch" in the Old Testament. Of one thing we can be sure, reasoning from what we know of "the unchanging East," the "beds" and sleeping customs of the Hebrews in Christ's time were in the main about what they were in later Old Testament times.
(2) An interesting case for study is that of the man "sick of the palsy" whom they brought to Jesus "lying on a bed," and who when healed "took up the bed, and went forth before them all" (Matthew 9:2, 6Mark 2:4, 12Luke 5:18, 19; compareJohn 5:8-12). Here the "bed" on which the sick of the palsy lay was let down from the housetop "through the tiles with his couch into the midst before Jesus" (Luke 5:18, 19); and when the man was healed Jesus commanded him, as Luke says, to "take up (his) couch and go unto (his) house," and he "took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his house, glorifying God" (Luke 5:24, 25). It seems, therefore, that this "bed" was a "pallet" and "couch" combined, a thin mattress upon a light portable frame, such as we have already seen was in use among the ancients. Another kindred case was that of the sick man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:2) whom Jesus healed and commanded to "take up his bed and walk," and he "took up his bed and walked"; only in this case the "bed" is a "pallet" without the frame, it would seem.
(3) Jesus in His teaching (Mark 4:21; compareLuke 8:16) asks, in language which is significant in this connection: "Is the lamp brought to be put under. the bed?" (Luke 8:16: "No man, when he hath lighted a lamp, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed"). Here, clearly, "the bed" is the "bedstead," bedclothes, draperies and all, under which "the lamp" would be obscured and hindered in its function of "giving light to all in the room." Again (Luke 17:34) Jesus says, "In that night there shall be two men on one bed," which is incidental evidence that the "beds" of that day were not all "pallets" or "couches" for one only (compareLuke 11:7, "My children are with me in bed";Songs 1:16;Songs 3:10Proverbs 7:16, 18).
(4) For figurative use in the prophets (e.g.Ezekiel 23:17) and in the New Testament (e.g. "Let the bed be undefiled,"Hebrews 13:4), see commentaries in the place cited
George B. Eager
Greek
2845. koite -- abed... a
bed. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: koite Phonetic Spelling:
(koy'-tay) Short Definition: a
bed, marriage
bed Definition: (a) a
bed, (b) a
...2895. krabattos -- a campbed
... a campbed. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: krabattos Phonetic
Spelling: (krab'-bat-os) Short Definition: abed, mattress, mat Definition: abed...
4237. prasia -- a gardenbed
... a gardenbed. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: prasia Phonetic Spelling:
(pras-ee-ah') Short Definition: a company formed into divisions...
4742a. stibas -- abed of leaves or rushes
... 4742, 4742a. stibas. 4742b . abed of leaves or rushes. Transliteration:
stibas Short Definition: branches. Word Origin from steibo...
4742. stigma -- abed of leaves or rushes
... abed of leaves or rushes. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: stigma
Phonetic Spelling: (stig'-mah) Short Definition: a mark or brand Definition: a...
2135. eunouchos -- a eunuch
... Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: eunouchos Phonetic Spelling:
(yoo-noo'-khos) Short Definition: a eunuch, keeper of thebed-chamber Definition...
4766. stronnuo -- to spread
... to spread. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: stronnuo Phonetic Spelling:
(strone'-noo-mee) Short Definition: I spread, make abed Definition: I spread, make...
2825. kline -- a small couch
... a small couch. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: kline Phonetic Spelling:
(klee'-nay) Short Definition: a couch,bed, mat, bier Definition: a couch...
2621. katakeimai -- to lie down, recline
... katakeimai Phonetic Spelling: (kat-ak'-i-mahee) Short Definition: I recline, am
lying ill Definition: I recline (at table); more often: I keep mybed, am lying...
733. arsenokoites -- a sodomite
... sodomite, pederast. 733 (from 730 , "a male" and 2845 , "a mat,bed") --
properly, a man inbed with another man; a . homosexual From...
Strong's Hebrew
3326. yatsua -- a couch,bed... 3325, 3326. yatsua. 3327 . a couch,
bed. Transliteration: yatsua Phonetic Spelling:
(yaw-tsoo'-ah) Short Definition:
bed. Word Origin pass. part.
...4903. mishkab -- couch,bed
... 4902, 4903. mishkab. 4904 . couch,bed. Transliteration: mishkab Phonetic
Spelling: (mish-kab') Short Definition:bed. Word Origin...
4296. mittah -- a couch,bed
... 4295, 4296. mittah. 4297 . a couch,bed. Transliteration: mittah Phonetic
Spelling: (mit-taw') Short Definition:bed. Word Origin...
4702. matstsa -- couch,bed
... couch,bed. Transliteration: matstsa Phonetic Spelling: (mats-tsaw') Short Definition:
bed. Word Origin from yatsa Definition couch,bed NASB Word Usagebed (1)...
6170. arugah -- a garden terrace orbed
... 6169, 6170. arugah. 6171 . a garden terrace orbed. Transliteration: arugah
Phonetic Spelling: (ar-oo-gaw') Short Definition: beds....bed, furrow....
4904. mishkab -- place of lying, a couch, act of lying
... 4903, 4904. mishkab. 4905 . place of lying, a couch, act of lying. Transliteration:
mishkab Phonetic Spelling: (mish-kawb') Short Definition:bed....
3331. yatsa -- to lay, spread
... Word Origin a prim. root Definition to lay, spread NASB Word Usage lay (1), make
mybed (1), spread (1), spreading (1). make one'sbed, lie, spread....
7502. raphad -- to spread
... comfort, make abed, spread. A primitive root; to spread (abed); by implication,
to refresh -- comfort, make (abed), spread. 7501, 7502. raphad. 7503 ....
6210. eres -- a couch, divan
... Word Origin from an unused word Definition a couch, divan NASB Word Usagebed (1),
bed* (1), bedstead (2), couch (4), couches (1), sickbed* (1)....
2015. haphak -- to turn, overturn
... become, change, come, be converted, give, make abed, overthrow turn, perverse,.
A primitive root; to turn about or over; by implication...
Library
TheBed and Its Covering
... TheBed and Its Covering. A Sermon... It requires rest, which is pictured to us in sleep.
The soul needs abed upon which it may repose quietly and take its ease....
Verse 1. By Night on MyBed, I Sought Him whom My Soul Loveth; I...
... CHAPTER III. VERSE 1. By night on mybed, I sought him whom my soul loveth;
I sought. him but I found him not. The soul, finding...
His Cheeks are as aBed of Spices, Prepared by the Perfumers; his...
... CHAPTER V. 13. His cheeks are as abed of spices, prepared by the perfumers;
His lips like lilies, dropping choice myrrh. The cheeks...
Behold hisBed, which is Solomon's; Threescore Valiant Men are...
... 7. Behold hisbed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the
valiant of Israel.... This is to go to God, who is thebed of the true Solomon....
Psalm 39 Part 3 Sick-Bed Devotion.
... THE PSALMS OF DAVID PSALM 39 PART 3 Sick-bed devotion. v.9-13 CM. Sick-bed devotion.
God of my life, look gently down,. Behold the pains I feel;...
Ten Years in a SickBed, yet Praising God.
... Ten Years in a SickBed, yet Praising God. I have found people who were poor in
this world's goods, in bad health, and yet continually praising God....
He Maketh all OurBed in Our Sickness.
... HE MAKETH ALL OURBED IN OUR SICKNESS. Angenehmes Alrankenbette [290]Philip Frederick
Hiller.... by Catherine Winkworth, 1869.Bed of sickness! thou art sweet,....
Of the Man Sick of the Palsy to whom the Lord Said, "Thy Sins are...
... Chapter XXV."Of the Man Sick of the Palsy to Whom the Lord Said, "Thy Sins are Forgiven
Thee," And "Take Up ThyBed;" And in Especial, of the Question...
Behold, Thou Art Fair, My Beloved, and Comely; OurBed is Adorned...
... COMMENTARY. CHAPTER I. 15. Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, and comely;
ourbed is adorned with flowers. The loving soul seeing...
How they Ought not to Go Back toBed Again after the Mattin...
... Prolegomena. Chapter V. How they ought not to go back tobed again after
the Mattin prayers. But some in this province, not knowing...
Thesaurus
Torrent-bed (1 Occurrence)Torrent-
bed. Torrent, Torrent-
bed. Torrential . Multi-Version
Concordance Torrent-
bed (1 Occurrence). Job 6:15 My brothers
...Bed (142 Occurrences)
... Another Hebrew word (er'es) so rendered denotes a canopiedbed, or abed with curtains
(Deuteronomy 3:11; Psalm 132:3), for sickness (Psalm 6:6; 41:3)....
Bed-chamber (6 Occurrences)
Bed-chamber. Bedchamber,Bed-chamber.Bed-chambers . Easton's Bible
Dictionary An apartment in Eastern houses, furnished with a...
Bed-chambers (3 Occurrences)
Bed-chambers.Bed-chamber,Bed-chambers.Bed-cover . Multi-Version
ConcordanceBed-chambers (3 Occurrences). Acts 12:20 And Herod...
Bride-bed (2 Occurrences)
Bride-bed. Bride, Bride-bed. Bridechamber . Multi-Version Concordance
Bride-bed (2 Occurrences). Genesis 49:4 But because...
Bed-cover (1 Occurrence)
Bed-cover.Bed-chambers,Bed-cover. Bedecked . Multi-Version
ConcordanceBed-cover (1 Occurrence). 2 Kings 8:15 Now...
Bed's (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version ConcordanceBed's (1 Occurrence). Genesis 47:31 He said, "Swear to
me," and he swore to him. Israel bowed himself on thebed's head....
Stream-bed (2 Occurrences)
Stream-bed. Stream, Stream-bed. Streamed . Multi-Version Concordance
Stream-bed (2 Occurrences). 2 Kings 3:16 He said...
O'bed-e'dom (14 Occurrences)
O'bed-e'dom. Obed-edom, O'bed-e'dom. O'bed-e'dom's . Multi-Version
Concordance O'bed-e'dom (14 Occurrences). 2 Samuel...
E'bed-Mel'ech (6 Occurrences)
E'bed-Mel'ech. Ebed-melech, E'bed-Mel'ech. Ebenbohan . Multi-Version
Concordance E'bed-Mel'ech (6 Occurrences). Jeremiah...
Resources
What does it mean that the marriage bed is undefiled (Hebrews 13:4)? | GotQuestions.orgWhat does the Bible say about a death bed conversion? | GotQuestions.orgDoes the Greek word arsenokoitai in 1 Corinthians 6:9 really mean 'homosexuals' or something else? | GotQuestions.orgBed: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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