Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical times, windows were architectural features that served both practical and symbolic purposes. They are mentioned in various contexts throughout the Scriptures, often providing insight into the daily life, culture, and spiritual symbolism of the ancient world.
Old Testament ReferencesThe first mention of a window in the Bible is found in the account of Noah's Ark. In
Genesis 6:16, God instructs Noah, "You are to make a roof for the ark, finish the ark to within a cubit from the top, and put a door in the side of the ark." The window, or "tzohar" in Hebrew, was likely an opening for light and ventilation, symbolizing hope and divine provision during the flood.
In the account of Rahab in
Joshua 2:15, the window serves as a means of escape and salvation. Rahab helps the Israelite spies escape from Jericho by letting them down through a window with a rope. This act of faith and protection is later commended in the New Testament (
Hebrews 11:31).
Windows also appear in the context of judgment and divine intervention. In
2 Kings 9:30-33, Jezebel looks out of a window before her death, symbolizing her defiance and the impending judgment upon her. The window becomes a place of transition from life to death, reflecting the consequences of her actions.
New Testament ReferencesIn the New Testament, windows are mentioned in the context of the early Christian community. In
Acts 20:9, a young man named Eutychus falls asleep and tumbles out of a third-story window during Paul's lengthy sermon. This incident highlights the human frailty and the miraculous power of God, as Paul later revives Eutychus.
Symbolic SignificanceWindows in the Bible often symbolize revelation, insight, and the presence of God. They are openings that allow light to enter, representing spiritual illumination and divine truth. In the
Song of Solomon 2:9, the beloved is described as looking through the windows, symbolizing the anticipation and longing for communion with God.
In prophetic literature, windows can also signify the outpouring of blessings or judgment.
Malachi 3:10 uses the imagery of windows to describe God's promise of abundant blessings for those who are faithful: "Test Me in this," says the LORD of Hosts. "See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure."
Cultural and Architectural ContextIn ancient Near Eastern architecture, windows were typically small and placed high on the walls for security and privacy. They were often covered with lattice or shutters to control light and airflow. The design and placement of windows reflected the practical needs of the household while also serving as a metaphor for spiritual truths.
Overall, windows in the Bible are multifaceted symbols that convey themes of hope, revelation, judgment, and divine interaction with humanity. They provide a glimpse into the physical and spiritual realities of biblical times, offering lessons that continue to resonate with believers today.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
WindowThe window of an Oriental house consists generally of an aperture closed in with lattice-work. (Judges 5:28;Proverbs 7:6) Authorized Version "casement;" (Ecclesiastes 12:3) Authorized Version "window;" (Solomon 2:9;Hosea 13:3) Authorized Version "chimney." Glass has been introduced into Egypt in modern times as a protection against the cold of winter, but lattice-work is still the usual, and with the poor the only, contrivance for closing the window. The windows generally look into the inner court of the house, but in every house one or more look into the street. In Egypt these outer windows generally project over the doorway. [HOUSE]
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Properly only an opening in a house for the admission of light and air, covered with lattice-work, which might be opened or closed (
2 Kings 1:2;
Acts 20:9). The spies in Jericho and Paul at Damascus were let down from the windows of houses abutting on the town wall (
Joshua 2:15;
2 Corinthians 11:33). The clouds are metaphorically called the "windows of heaven" (
Genesis 7:11;
Malachi 3:10). The word thus rendered in Isaiah 54:12 ought rather to be rendered "battlements" (LXX., "bulwarks;" R.V., "pinnacles"), or as Gesenius renders it, "notched battlements, i.e., suns or rays of the sun"= having a radiated appearance like the sun.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) An opening in the wall of a building for the admission of light and air, usually closed by casements or sashes containing some transparent material, as glass, and capable of being opened and shut at pleasure.
2. (n.) The shutter, casement, sash with its fittings, or other framework, which closes a window opening.
3. (n.) A figure formed of lines crossing each other.
4. (v. t.) To furnish with windows.
5. (v. t.) To place at or in a window.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
WINDOWwin'-do.
SeeHOUSE, II, 1, (9).
Greek
2376. thuris -- awindow... a
window. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: thuris Phonetic Spelling:
(thoo-rece') Short Definition: a
window-sill Definition: a small opening
...Strong's Hebrew
2474. challon -- awindow... challon. 2475 . a
window. Transliteration: challon Phonetic Spelling: (khal-lone')
Short Definition: windows.
...window. A
window (as perforated) --
window.
...699. arubbah -- a lattice,window, sluice
... 698, 699. arubbah. 700 . a lattice,window, sluice. Transliteration: arubbah
Phonetic Spelling: (ar-oob-baw') Short Definition: windows.... chimney,window....
3551. kav --window
kav or kavvah. 3550, 3551. kav or kavvah. 3552 .window. Transliteration: kav
or kavvah Phonetic Spelling: (kav) Short Definition: windows....window....
4237. mechezah -- light, place of seeing, awindow
... 4236, 4237. mechezah. 4238 . light, place of seeing, awindow. Transliteration:
mechezah Phonetic Spelling: (mekh-ez-aw') Short Definition:window....
822. eshnab -- awindow lattice
... 821, 822. eshnab. 823 . awindow lattice. Transliteration: eshnab Phonetic
Spelling: (esh-nawb') Short Definition: lattice. Word...
6672. tsohar -- midday, noon
... midday, noondaywindow From tsahar; a light (ieWindow): dual double light, ie Noon --
midday, noon(-day, -tide),window. see HEBREW tsahar. 6671, 6672....
8121. shemesh -- sun
... east sideward, sun rising, westward,window. From an unused root meaning to
be brilliant; the sun; by implication, the east; figuratively...
6672b. tsohar -- probably roof
... probably roof. Transliteration: tsohar Short Definition:window. Word Origin from
the same as tsohar Definition probably roof NASB Word Usagewindow (1)....
8261. shaquph -- frame, casing
... light,window. Passive participle of shaqaph; an embrasure or opening (compare
sheqeph) with bevelled jam -- light,window. see HEBREW shaqaph....
8260. sheqeph -- framework, casing (of doors)
...window. From shaqaph; a loophole (for looking out), to admit light and air --window.
see HEBREW shaqaph. 8259, 8260. sheqeph. 8261 . Strong's Numbers.
Library
The Next Night Diamond was Seated by his OpenWindow...
... Chapter 37 The next night Diamond was seated by his openwindow?... He rose, and looking
out of thewindow saw something white against his beech-tree....
Whether Intention of the End is the Same Act as the Volition of...
... xi, 6) that "the will to see thewindow, has for its end the seeing of thewindow;
and is another act from the will to see, through thewindow, the passersby...
That Diamond had Fallen Fast Asleep is Very Evident from the...
... For he thought he heard a sound as of whispering up in the greatwindow.... "I think
I saw him a while ago up in the gallery, under the Nicodemuswindow....
Of what Kind we are to Reckon the Rest (Requies), and End (Finis)...
... Just as, if any one wished to see the scar, that from thence he might learn that
there had been a wound; or wished to see thewindow, that through thewindow...
Acts of Paul and Thecla.
... of the church in the house of Onesiphorus, a certain virgin Thecla, the daughter
of Theocleia, betrothed to a man named Thamyris, sitting at thewindow close by...
The First-Born
... The outer chamber had awindow opening on the streets of Tanis, the inner
looked into the palace courtyard. Masanath wrapped a woolen...
I have Been Asked to Tell You About the Back of the North Wind. .....
... "What do you mean, little boy"-closing up mywindow?". "Whatwindow?"
asked Diamond.... It isn'tawindow; it's a hole in my bed."....
Also this Holy Hermit, Richard, Out of the Abundance of his...
... And as he sat by thewindow of her dwelling and they were eating together, it befell
at the end of the meal that the recluse desired to sleep; and so...
The Recall to Religion in the Hymns of Charles Wesley
... a rather long delay you were admitted: not, as you at first expected, to the house,
but to a short cloister open on one side and leading to a frenchwindow....
The Dream of St. Ursula
... These flower-pots stand on a shelf which runs all round the room and beneath the
window, at about the height of the elbow, and serves to put things on anywhere...
Thesaurus
Window (24 Occurrences)... 2. (n.) The shutter, casement, sash with its fittings, or other framework, which
closes a
window opening.
... 5. (vt) To place at or in a
window. Int.
...Window-frames (1 Occurrence)
Window-frames.Window,Window-frames. Windows . Multi-Version
ConcordanceWindow-frames (1 Occurrence). 1 Kings 7:4...
Lattice (6 Occurrences)
... (2.) Hebrews harakim, the network or lattice of awindow (Cant. 2:9). (3.)
Hebrews sebakhah, the latticed balustrade before awindow...
Tiers (2 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Tiers (2 Occurrences). 1 Kings 7:4 There were beams in
three rows, andwindow was over againstwindow in three ranks. (See RSV)....
Eutychus (1 Occurrence)
... Fortunate, (Acts 20:9-12), a young man of Troas who fell through drowsiness from
the openwindow of the third floor of the house where Paul was preaching, and...
Beams (28 Occurrences)
... (WEB KJV ASV WBS NIV). 1 Kings 7:4 There were beams in three rows, andwindow
was over againstwindow in three ranks. (WEB JPS ASV DBY)....
Artistic (14 Occurrences)
... lattice work. (See NAS). 1 Kings 7:4 There were beams in three rows, and
window was over againstwindow in three ranks. (See NAS). 1...
Ranks (34 Occurrences)
... NAS). 1 Kings 7:4 There were beams in three rows, andwindow was over against
window in three ranks. (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS)....
Lines (42 Occurrences)
... supports on the pillars. (BBE). 1 Kings 7:4 There were three lines of
window-frames,window facingwindow in every line. (BBE). 1 Kings 7...
Light (2869 Occurrences)
... 5. (n.) The medium through which light is admitted, as awindow, orwindow pane;
a skylight; in architecture, one of the compartments of awindow made by a...
Resources
Does the Bible teach mortal and venial sin? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the significance of a scarlet thread? | GotQuestions.orgWho was Eutychus in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgWindow: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
Bible Dictionary •
Bible Encyclopedia •
Topical Bible •
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