יְרִיעָה54 H3407
A curtain or cloth panel, especially of the tabernacle or a tent; by extension, the dwelling itself.
The standard Hebrew word for the cloth panels that formed the walls of the tabernacle and of ordinary tents. In the detailed instructions of Exodus 26 and 36, the word appears dozens of times as Israel's artisans stitch together the portable sanctuary. Outside the tabernacle texts, the curtains of a tent become a poignant image of fragile shelter -- Jeremiah's 'my curtains are destroyed' (Jer 4:20, 10:20) mourns devastation, while Isaiah 54:2 ('enlarge the place of your tent, stretch out your curtains') promises joyful expansion. The psalmist lifts the image highest: God 'stretches out the heavens like a curtain' (Ps 104:2).
Senses
1. curtain, tent panel — A curtain or panel of cloth, particularly the woven strips forming the tabernacle walls or a tent covering. This accounts for nearly all occurrences (53x). The tabernacle instructions in Exodus 26 alone use it over 30 times. Spanish 'la cortina,' French 'le rideau,' and German 'der Vorhang' all render the textile sense. Beyond the tabernacle, the word appears in figurative contexts: Ps 104:2 compares the heavens to a curtain; Isa 54:2 uses expanding curtains as a metaphor for Jerusalem's restoration; Song 1:5 likens beauty to the curtains of Solomon. 53×
AR["السِّتارَةَ","السِّتارَةِ","الشُقَّةُ","الشُقَّةِ"]·ben["পর্দার","সেই-পর্দার"]·DE["der-Vorhang"]·EN["the-curtain"]·FR["le-rideau"]·heb["ה-יריעה"]·HI["परदा","परदे-की","परदे-के"]·ID["tenda"]·IT["la-cortina"]·jav["gèbèr","kain-gantungan"]·KO["그-휘장","그-휘장을","그-휘장의"]·PT["a-cortina"]·RU["покрывала","полотнища","полотнище"]·ES["la-cortina"]·SW["pazia","wa-pazia","ya-pazia"]·TR["-örtü","-örtünün","perdenin"]·urd["پردہ","پردے-کی","پردے-کے"]
2. tent, dwelling — By metonymy, the tent or dwelling formed by curtains, referring to the habitation itself rather than its fabric. In 2 Sam 7:2, David says the ark of God 'dwells within curtains,' meaning within a tent-dwelling. Here the material (curtains) stands for the whole structure. Spanish 'la tienda' ('the tent') correctly interprets the metonymy. The theological weight is significant: David's discomfort that God's ark sits in mere curtains while he lives in a cedar house drives the entire narrative of temple-building. 1×
AR["الخَيمَةِ"]·ben["তাঁবুর"]·DE["der-curtain"]·EN["the-curtain"]·FR["le-curtain"]·heb["ה-יריעה"]·HI["तम्बू-के"]·ID["tirai"]·IT["il-curtain"]·jav["tarub"]·KO["그-장막"]·PT["a-cortina"]·RU["-шатра"]·ES["la-tienda"]·SW["mapazia"]·TR["çadırın"]·urd["پردے-کے۔"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
יְרִיעָה54 n.f. curtain (𝔗 יְרִיעֲתָא, Syriac ܝܳܪܺܝܥܬܳܐ )—abs. יְרִיעָה Ex 26:2 + 24 times; pl. abs. יְרִיעֹת Ex 26:1 + 17 times; יְרִיעוֹת 1 Ch 17:1; cstr. יְרִיעֹת Ex 26:7 + 4 times; יְרִיעוֹת Hb 3:7 + 2 times; sf. יְרִיעֹתָ֑י Je 4:20; 10:20; יְרִיעוֹתֵיהֶם Je 49:29;—curtain, of tabern. Ex 26:1, 2(×3), 8(×2) + 38 times Ex 26 and 36; Nu 4:25 (all P); 2 S 7:2 = 1 Ch 17:1;—in gen. (2) curtains Je…