Bed
“A couch or place for lying down, from a root meaning to stretch out”
Summary
The sleeping arrangements of biblical peoples, ranging from simple mats or cloaks spread on the ground to elaborate bedsteads of ivory and gold, with bedding often serving as a portable couch by day.
☩Simple Bedding
For the very poor, the 'bed' was often the bare ground or a simple mat, with the outer garment worn by day serving as covering at night. The law protected the poor man's right to this essential covering, prohibiting creditors from keeping it in pledge after sunset. Shepherds and travelers, like Jacob at Bethel, might use a stone for a pillow and lie upon the ground. A wadded quilt or thin mattress to be used with or without covering according to season became the standard bed for common people.
☩Hebrew Terms for Beds
Several Hebrew words describe sleeping arrangements. The mittah was the general term for a bed or couch, whether for sleeping, illness, or reclining at meals. The mishkab often carried connotations of the marriage bed. The eres denoted a more elaborate canopied bedstead, as in Og's famous iron bed measuring nine cubits by four. The bedstead was often simply the raised platform (divan) along the side of an Oriental room, though wealthy households had ornate frames of wood, iron, or ivory.
☩Beds in the Gospels
The portable nature of common beds is illustrated in Jesus' healing miracles where He commanded the paralytic to 'take up your bed and walk.' This 'bed' was a light pallet or mat that could be rolled up and carried, as the healed man did immediately. When the paralytic was lowered through the roof at Capernaum, his friends used such a portable couch. The whole family often slept together in one room on these simple beds, as implied in Jesus' parable of the friend at midnight.
☩Luxury and Ornamentation
The wealthy possessed elaborate beds with pillars supporting a canopy, frames inlaid with ivory, and coverings of fine linen and purple. Solomon's palanquin featured pillars of silver, a base of gold, and a seat of purple. The prophets condemned those who stretched themselves on beds of ivory in self-indulgent ease while ignoring the affliction of their nation. Beds were perfumed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon, and the bedroom was typically in the most private part of the house.
Related Verses98 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Bed," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. I (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Bed; Bedchamber; Bedstead," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. I (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.James Hastings (ed.), "Bed," in Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1906–1908).