σκήνωμα

From the study of 2 Peter 1:14

Range of meaning

A tent, booth or dwelling place, often one that is temporary or portable. In the Greek Old Testament it is a common word for tents and dwellings (Israel's tents, and the dwelling of God). By extension it was used for the body as the soul's or person's temporary home.

Against the English

KJV's 'tabernacle' keeps the old Latin-derived word for 'tent'. A modern reader tends to hear a sacred building, either the Mosaic sanctuary or a church hall. BSB/WEB 'tent' is accurate. Some modern versions simply put 'body', which gets the referent right but loses the picture.

How it drifted

In 1611 'tabernacle' could still mean an ordinary tent or dwelling (from Latin tabernaculum, 'tent, hut'). Since then English has narrowed it to worship spaces.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the NT, σκήνωμα occurs only in Acts 7:46 (a dwelling for God) and in 2 Pet 1:13–14. The related word σκῆνος is used for the body in 2 Cor 5:1, 4 ('the earthly tent we live in') and in Wisdom 9:15 ('the earthly tent weighs down the thoughtful mind'). Isaiah 38:12 pictures death as a shepherd's tent being pulled up and taken away. The Epistle to Diognetus 6.8 says the immortal soul 'dwells in a mortal tent (σκήνωμα)'. The image was shared by Jewish and Greek writers alike.

From the study of 2 Peter 1:13

Range of meaning

A tent or dwelling, especially one that can be moved or is only temporary. It can also mean a dwelling in general, including God's dwelling place. As a figure of speech it means the body as the temporary home of the self.

Against the English

KJV and YLT say "tabernacle", WEB says "tent", BSB and NIV say "the tent of my body". ESV just says "body" (with "tent" in the footnote), and NASB has "earthly dwelling". "Body" gives the meaning but drops the picture. "Tabernacle" keeps an old word that now makes most readers think of Moses' sanctuary or a church building.

How it drifted

The KJV took "tabernacle" from the Latin Vulgate's tabernaculum, which in Latin simply meant "tent". In English the word narrowed to Israel's portable sanctuary, and later to church buildings and revival halls. So the ordinary picture of a camping tent that will soon be struck has been lost.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) it is used for tents and dwellings, including God's dwelling: Ps 131:5 LXX, "a dwelling for the God of Jacob", which is quoted in Acts 7:46. Using a tent as a picture of the body was common in Greek and Jewish thought. Wisdom of Solomon 9:15 says "the earthly tent (skēnos) weighs down the mind". Paul speaks of "the earthly house of this tent" being taken down (2 Cor 5:1, 4). In Isa 38:12 LXX the dying Hezekiah compares his life to a tent being taken down.

From the study of Acts 7:46

Range of meaning

A tent or encampment, then any dwelling place. Being built on skēnē ('tent'), it tends to suggest a home that is temporary or can be moved. In Greek it was also used for the body as the soul's 'tent' (2 Peter 1:13–14).

Against the English

The KJV and YLT say 'tabernacle'. Today that sounds like a technical name for the Mosaic tent, or a church building. The WEB says 'habitation' and the BSB 'dwelling place'. Those are accurate, but they lose the tent sound that the Greek keeps.

How it drifted

English 'tabernacle' became a specialist religious word. In 1611 it still meant simply a tent or booth.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Old Testament uses skēnōma for Israel's tents (e.g. 1 Kings 8:66; Psalm 77:55 LXX) and for God's dwelling. In Psalm 131:5 LXX (132:5 in English Bibles) it translates the Hebrew miškānôt, 'dwellings', the same root as miškān, the tabernacle. The Greek Psalm reads: 'until I find a place for the Lord, a skēnōma for the God of Jacob.'