A portable shelter made of cloth or skins, used by shepherds (Isa 38:12), nomads, and soldiers. Dark in color (Song 1:5), tents were likely woven of goats’ hair (Exod 36:14) and required purification on occasion (Num 31:20). Large tents could be constructed piecemeal and fastened by clasping loops at the edges (Exod 36:15-18). Entrances could be covered by a screen (Exod 36:37) or be arranged by simply raising the side or a flap of the side. The anchorage to the ground was by pegs (Judg 4:21) or by a line tied to a large stable boulder when people camped on rock. Households might live in a single tent (Exod 33:8) or have a group of tents for individuals and servants (Gen 31:33) of the family. Tents could also be used to store or hide precious or forbidden material (Josh 7:21). Care was needed in selecting sites to pitch one’s tents (Deut 1:33), because unwise selection would bring hazards (Hos 9:6). Royal tents could be palatial (Dan 11:45), but life in tents could also symbolize the purer style of a nomadic past (Jer 35:6-10). The Bible also offers symbolic references to tents (Ps 15:1; Ps 19:4; Ps 27:5; Ps 104:2). A tent can be a metaphor for life (Prov 14:11; 2Cor 5:1; 2Cor 5:4; Heb 8:1-6).
