Biblical Lexicon

אֹ֫הֶל343 H0168

N-mpc | 2ms | 349× in 2 senses

Tent; a portable dwelling of cloth or skins, used for nomadic habitation, worship (the Tabernacle), and military encampment.

One of the most evocative words in the Hebrew Bible, ohel conjures the entire world of patriarchal and wilderness life. From Jabal, the 'father of tent-dwellers' (Gen 4:20), through the elaborate Tent of Meeting where God's presence dwelt among Israel, to the romantic imagery of the beloved's dark tents in Song of Songs 1:5, this word appears nearly 350 times. Every major target language renders it with a single core equivalent -- Arabic khayma, Spanish tienda, German Zelt, French tente -- underscoring its stable, concrete meaning across cultures.

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Senses

1. [split] tent, portable dwelling — A portable shelter of cloth, skins, or curtains serving as a dwelling place. This encompasses nomadic tents (Gen 4:20; 25:27), military encampments, the tabernacle/Tent of Meeting (Exod 28:43; 29:4), and metaphorical uses for one's household or life. Target languages are strikingly uniform: Arabic khayma, French tente, German Zelt, Spanish tienda -- all pointing to a single concrete referent with contextual extensions to sacred and figurative domains. 0×

PROPERTIES_RELATIONS › Nature, Class, Example › Geography and Space

AR["خَيمَةَ", "خَيمَةِ", "خَيمَةِ-", "خَيْمَةِ"]·ben["তাঁবু", "তাঁবুতে", "তাঁবুর"]·DE["Zelt-der"]·EN["tent-of"]·FR["tente-de"]·heb["אוהל"]·HI["तंबू", "तम्बू", "तम्बू-"]·ID["Kemah"]·IT["tenda-di"]·jav["Tarub", "Tarub-", "tarub", "tènda"]·KO["장막", "천막", "천막-", "천막을", "천막의"]·PT["tenda-de", "tenda-de-", "óhel"]·RU["шатра", "шатра-", "шатром", "шатру", "шатёр"]·ES["la-tienda-de", "tienda-de", "tienda-de-"]·SW["hema", "wa-hema", "wa-hema-", "ya-hema"]·TR["çadır", "çadıra", "çadırı", "çadırın"]·urd["خیمہ", "خیمے", "خیمے-"]

Exod 28:43, Exod 29:4, Exod 29:10, Exod 29:11, Exod 29:30, Exod 29:32, Exod 29:42, Exod 29:44, Exod 30:16, Exod 30:18, Exod 30:20, Exod 30:26 (+38 more)

1. Tabernacle / Tent of Meeting (sacred) — Split from sense 80317. Criteria: The sacred Tabernacle, the 'ohel mo'ed' (Tent of Meeting), God's dwelling place among Israel (Exod 28:43, 29:4). Distinct theological and ritual significance. 201×

Exod 28:43, Exod 29:4, Exod 29:10, Exod 29:11, Exod 29:30, Exod 29:32, Exod 29:42, Exod 29:44, Exod 30:16, Exod 30:18, Exod 30:20, Exod 30:26 (+38 more)

2. sense 2 — A single disputed occurrence in 1 Kings 7:45 where the text refers to temple furnishings, and some English versions read 'these vessels.' The multilingual glosses fragment here -- Spanish renders 'utensilios' (utensils), while others give demonstrative pronouns -- suggesting a possible textual or parsing difficulty rather than a genuine second sense of ohel. Most scholars treat this as a scribal or cataloguing anomaly. 1×

RELIGIOUS_LIFE › Religious Activities › Prophets and Prophecy

AR["هَذِهِ"]·ben["[কেতীব]"]·DE["[the-these]"]·EN["[the-these]"]·FR["[the-these]"]·heb["ה-אהל"]·HI["ये"]·ID["[ini]"]·IT["[the-these]"]·jav["[punika]"]·KO["[이것들의]"]·PT["[estes]"]·RU["[эти]"]·ES["[los-utensilios]"]·SW["nyumba-ya"]·TR["[bunlar]"]·urd["[یہ]"]

1 Kgs 7:45

2. tent (ordinary dwelling) — Split from sense 80317. Criteria: Nomadic or domestic tents used for habitation, military encampments, personal shelter (Gen 4:20, 25:27). 147×

AR["الخَيمَةَ", "الخَيمَةِ", "الـ-خَيْمَة", "الْ-خَيْمَةِ", "الْخَيْمَةِ", "خَيْمَةً", "خَيْمَةٍ", "خَيْمَةُ", "خَيْمَةِ", "فِي-خَيْمَةِ"]·ben["-তাঁবু", "-তাঁবুর", "তাঁবু", "তাঁবুতে", "তাঁবুর", "প্রথমে", "সেই-তাঁবু", "সেই-তাঁবুর"]·DE["-der-Zelt-von", "Zelt", "der-Zelt", "des-Zeltes", "ein-Zelt", "in-das-Zelt"]·EN["-the-tent-of", "a-tent", "in-tent-of", "tent", "tent-of", "the-tent"]·FR["-le-tente-de", "dans-tente-de", "la-tente", "le-tente", "tente"]·heb["אוהל", "ב-אוהל", "ה-אוהל"]·HI["ओहेल", "तंबू", "तम्बु-के", "तम्बू", "तम्बू-की", "तम्बू-के", "तम्बू-में"]·ID["-kemah", "ke-dalam-kemah", "kemah", "kemah-itu"]·IT["-il-tenda-di", "il-tenda", "in-tenda-di", "la-tenda", "tenda"]·jav["Kémah", "ing-kémah", "kemah", "kémah", "kémah-punika", "tarub"]·KO["그-장막", "그-장막-의", "그-장막을", "그-장막의", "에서-장막", "장막", "장막-", "장막-을", "장막까지", "장막의", "장막이", "천막을-"]·PT["a-tenda", "em-tenda-de", "tenda", "tenda-de"]·RU["-шатёр", "в-шатёр", "шатер", "шатра", "шатру", "шатёр"]·ES["en-tienda-de", "la-tienda", "la-tienda,", "tienda", "tienda-de"]·SW["hema", "hema-la", "hema-ya", "katika-hema-la"]·TR["-çadırı", "-çadırın", "-çadırına", "cadir", "de-çadırın", "ve-vurdu-onu", "çadır", "çadıra", "çadırı", "çadırın", "çadırına"]·urd["خیما", "خیمہ", "خیمے", "خیمے-میں", "خیمے-کا", "خیمے-کے"]

Gen 18:1, Gen 18:2, Gen 18:9, Gen 18:10, Gen 31:25, Gen 31:33, Gen 31:33, Gen 31:34, Gen 33:19, Gen 35:21, Exod 16:16, Num 19:14 (+38 more)

BDB / Lexicon Reference

אֹ֫הֶל343 n.m. Gn 13:3 tent (cf. Assyrian âlu, supr., Arabic أَهْلٌ, fellow-dwellers, family, Sab. אהל DHMZMG 1883, 341 al., also in n.pr. Sab. & Ph. v. אהליאב)—abs. א׳ Gn 4:20 +; cstr. id. Ex 28:43 +; אֹ֫הֱלָה (ה loc.) Gn 18:6 +; sf. אָהֳלִי Jb 29:4 +; אָֽהָלְךָ ψ 61:5; אָֽהֳלֹה Gn 9:21 + 3 times (v. DrSm xxxv); pl. אֹהָלִים Gn 13:5 + (Ges§ 23.3); בָֽאֳהָלִים Ju 8:11 +; cstr. אָהֳלֵי Nu 16:26 +;…