Greek word · G4633

σκηνή

skēnē

tent

A tent, booth or hut, any temporary dwelling made of cloth, skins or branches. In Jewish Greek it is also the technical name of the wilderness Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary of Exodus 25–40, and by extension God's dwelling or sanctuary generally (BDAG s.v. σκηνή).

Appears 20 times in 20 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

σκηνή, -ῆς, ἡ

[in LXX chiefly for אֹהֶל, also for מִשְׁכָּן, סֻכָּה, etc. ;]

a tent, booth, tabernacle: Matthew 17:4, Mark 9:5, Luke 9:33, Hebrews 11:9; αἱ αἰώνιοι σ., Luke 16:9; of the Mosaic tabernacle, Hebrews 8:5 9:2-3, 6 9:8, 21; σ. τ. μαρτυρίου, Acts 7:44; of its heavenly prototype, Hebrews 8:2 9:11, Revelation 13:6 15:5 21:3; of the temple, Hebrews 13:10; ἡ σ. τοῦ Μολόχ, Acts 7:43 (LXX); metaphorically, ἡ σ. Δαυείδ Acts 15:16 (LXX).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Revelation 21:3

Range of meaning

A tent, booth or hut, any temporary dwelling made of cloth, skins or branches. In Jewish Greek it is also the technical name of the wilderness Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary of Exodus 25–40, and by extension God's dwelling or sanctuary generally (BDAG s.v. σκηνή).

Against the English

KJV, YLT and NASB say 'tabernacle', which preserves the link to Exodus but is now an obscure word. BSB and ESV say 'dwelling place', WEB says 'dwelling', NLT says 'home'. These are clear but lose the tent and the Tabernacle completely.

How it drifted

'Tabernacle' comes from Latin tabernaculum, 'tent, booth'. In modern English it mostly survives as a name for large church or assembly buildings, or for the cabinet that holds the consecrated bread in Catholic churches. Neither is a tent, so the English word now suggests something solid and permanent where the Greek suggested a tent pitched among the camp.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Old Testament (Septuagint, LXX) uses skēnē hundreds of times for the Tabernacle, rendering Hebrew mishkan ('dwelling') and ohel ('tent'). It is especially common in the phrase 'tent of witness' (skēnē tou martyriou) in Exodus and Numbers. Leviticus 26:11 (Hebrew) promises 'I will put my mishkan among you'; Ezekiel 37:27 promises 'my mishkan shall be with them'. The Greek letters s-k-n also sound like the Hebrew root sh-k-n ('to dwell'), behind mishkan and the later rabbinic term Shekhinah ('the Presence'). That echo was probably heard by bilingual readers, though the word Shekhinah itself is attested only after the New Testament.

From the study of Hebrews 8:5

Range of meaning

Tent, booth, hut. In the Greek Old Testament, the wilderness sanctuary ('tent of meeting', Hebrew mishkan / ʾohel moʿed).

Against the English

'Tabernacle' (from Latin tabernaculum, 'tent, hut') has become a specialised church word. 'Tent' gives the picture better.

How it drifted

English 'tabernacle' now suggests a large hall, a church building, or a liturgical box for the sacrament. The first readers pictured a portable tent of fabric and skins.

Used elsewhere in the period

Hebrews 8:2 'the true tent which the Lord pitched, not man'; 9:2–8, 11. Wisdom 9:8: the temple is 'a copy (μίμημα) of the holy tent which you prepared from the beginning.'

From the study of Hebrews 11:9

Range of meaning

Tent or booth: a temporary, movable shelter. In biblical Greek it is also the standard word for the wilderness Tabernacle (the "tent of meeting") and for the booths of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Against the English

BSB, WEB, NIV and ESV say "tents". KJV and YLT say "tabernacles", which to a modern reader suggests the sanctuary of worship or a church building, rather than ordinary nomadic housing.

How it drifted

In English, "tabernacle" became a purely religious word (the Mosaic sanctuary, a church name, a box for the Eucharist). It lost its ordinary sense of "tent".

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis repeatedly notes the patriarchs' tents (Gen 12:8; 13:3; 18:1; 25:27). Hebrews itself uses skēnē ten times for the Tabernacle, earthly and heavenly (8:2, 5; 9:2–21). Ancient readers knew tents as the housing of herders and travellers, the opposite of walled, founded cities.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 17:4 σκηνάς, tabernacles,

    Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If You wish, I will put up three shelters—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 9:5 σκηνάς, tabernacles

    Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

Luke · 2

  1. Luke 9:33 σκηνὰς tabernacles

    As Moses and Elijah were leaving, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

  2. Luke 16:9 σκηνάς.¶ dwellings.

    I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

    Here: 'Tents' are normally the most temporary of homes. 'Eternal tents' is a deliberate paradox. It also recalls God's tent-dwelling with Israel (the Tabernacle) and the Feast of Booths.

Acts · 3

  1. Acts 7:43 σκηνὴν tabernacle

    You have taken along the tabernacle of Molech and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’

    Here: An ordinary word for tent, used here for a portable shrine. It is the same word Stephen uses in the next verse for God's 'tent of witness,' so the false tent and the true tent stand side by side on purpose.

  2. Acts 7:44 σκηνὴ tabernacle

    Our fathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the wilderness. It was constructed exactly as God had directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.

    Here: A tent, a portable dwelling. It is the same word Stephen has just used in verse 43 for the "tent of Molech." The two tents are deliberately set side by side.

  3. Acts 15:16 σκηνὴν tabernacle

    ‘After this I will return and rebuild the fallen tent of David. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it,

    Here: 'Tent' or 'shelter'. It translates Amos's Hebrew sukkah, a booth or hut. Here it is a picture of David's royal house, shrunk to a flimsy shelter that has collapsed. It is not the wilderness Tabernacle.

Hebrews · 10

  1. Hebrews 8:2 σκηνῆς tabernacle

    and who ministers in the sanctuary and true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.

  2. Hebrews 8:5 σκηνήν· tabernacle;

    The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

    Here: The portable tent-sanctuary of the wilderness (Hebrew mishkan, 'dwelling'). Hebrews argues from this tent in the Torah, not from the Jerusalem temple.

  3. Hebrews 9:2 σκηνὴ A tabernacle

    A tabernacle was prepared. In its first room were the lampstand, the table, and the consecrated bread. This was called the Holy Place.

    Here: The wilderness tent-shrine of Exodus. Put first in the sentence for emphasis, it means a 'tent' here, specifically the outer of the two tent-rooms that Hebrews counts as 'first' and 'second' tents.

  4. Hebrews 9:3 σκηνὴ [was] a tabernacle

    Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place,

    Here: "Tent." Hebrews treats each of the two compartments of the one wilderness tabernacle as a "tent" of its own: the "first tent" (9:2, 6) and this second, inner tent. There is no verb in the Greek; "there was" is understood.

  5. Hebrews 9:6 σκηνὴν tabernacle

    When everything had been prepared in this way, the priests entered regularly into the first room to perform their sacred duties.

  6. Hebrews 9:8 σκηνῆς tabernacle

    By this arrangement the Holy Spirit was showing that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing.

    Here: A tent. Hebrews describes the portable wilderness sanctuary from the Greek Old Testament, divided into a 'first' tent (the Holy Place) and a 'second' (the Most Holy Place).

  7. Hebrews 9:11 σκηνῆς tabernacle

    But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands and is not a part of this creation.

    Here: The word the Greek Old Testament uses for the wilderness Tabernacle. Hebrews always argues from that tent (Exod 25–40), never from the Jerusalem temple. Here it means the heavenly counterpart to it.

  8. Hebrews 9:21 σκηνὴν tabernacle

    In the same way, he sprinkled with blood the tabernacle and all the vessels used in worship.

  9. Hebrews 11:9 σκηναῖς tents

    By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.

    Here: "Tents": movable homes with no foundations. This sets up the contrast with v. 10, "the city that has foundations".

  10. Hebrews 13:10 σκηνῇ tabernacle

    We have an altar from which those who serve at the tabernacle have no right to eat.

Revelation · 3

  1. Revelation 13:6 σκηνὴν tabernacle

    And the beast opened its mouth to speak blasphemies against God and to slander His name and His tabernacle—those who dwell in heaven.

    Here: God's dwelling, the heavenly sanctuary. Revelation 15:5 calls it 'the temple of the tent of witness in heaven'. The word recalls the wilderness tabernacle, where God lived among his people.

  2. Revelation 15:5 σκηνῆς tabernacle

    After this I looked, and the temple—the tabernacle of the Testimony—was opened in heaven.

    Here: The tent-shrine Israel carried through the wilderness, which English Bibles call the 'tabernacle'. The heavenly sanctuary is described with the wilderness tent in mind, not Solomon's or Herod's stone temple.

  3. Revelation 21:3 σκηνὴ tabernacle

    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.

    Here: Literally 'tent'. It is the regular Greek Bible word for the wilderness Tabernacle, the portable tent-sanctuary where God's presence lived among Israel. The holy dwelling that used to be screened off is now said to be with humans.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.