H4296 H4296
Bed, couch — furniture for sleeping or reclining; rarely a funeral bier or royal litter
The noun מִטָּה is the Hebrew Bible's everyday word for a bed or couch — the place where one sleeps, falls ill, mourns, or plots. Jacob worships at the head of his bed (Gen 47:31), David's enemies are slain on their beds (2 Sam 4:7), and Amos denounces the ivory-inlaid couches of Samaria's elite (Amos 6:4). Two specialized uses expand its range: the bier on which Abner's body is carried (2 Sam 3:31) and Solomon's royal litter or palanquin (Song 3:7). Spanish distinguishes cama ('bed') from féretro ('bier') and lecho ('couch'), tracing the word's semantic edges.
Senses
1. bed, couch for reclining — The ordinary bed or couch used for sleeping, resting, reclining during illness, or lounging. This covers the vast majority of occurrences — from Jacob's deathbed (Gen 47:31; 48:2; 49:33) to Elisha's guest room furnishings (2 Kgs 4:10, 21, 32) to the luxurious ivory couches condemned by Amos (Amos 6:4). The multilingual evidence is uniform: Spanish cama, French lit, German Bett — all basic sleeping furniture. Psalms 6:7 ('I drench my bed with tears') captures the intimate, private dimension of this most personal piece of furniture. 27×
AR["أَسِرَّةِ","السَريرِ","السَّرِيرِ","الـ-سَّرِيرِ","الْأَرِيكَةِ","الْفِرَاشُ","سَريرِهِ","سَرِيرًا","سَرِيرٍ","سَرِيرِهِ","فِي-الـ-سَّرِيرِ","وَ-في-دِمَشْقَ"]·ben["-শয্যার","তার-বিছানা","তার-বিছানায়","তার-বিছানায়।","বিছানা","বিছানায়","বিছানার","শয্যাসমূহে"]·DE["Stamm","[המטה]","[מטה]","[מטות]","[מטתו]","auf-der-bed","das-Bett","der-bed","des-Bettes","ein-bed","sein-bed"]·EN["a-bed","bed","beds-of-","his-bed","on-the-bed","the-bed","the-couch"]·FR["[המטה]","[מטות]","le-lit","lit","son-lit","son-litière-lui","sur-le-lit","un-lit"]·heb["ב-ה-מיטה","ה-מטה","ה-מיטה","מיטה","מיטוֹת","מיטת-ו","מיטתו"]·HI["अपनी-चारपाई","उसकी-पलंग","पलंग","पलंग-के","पलंगों","बिछौना","बिछौना-अपने","बिछौने","बिछौने-उस-के","बिछौने-के","बिस्तर","बिस्तर-के","बिस्तर-पर","बिस्तर-पर।"]·ID["-tempat-tidur","Tempat-tidur","di-tempat-tidur","tempat-tidur","tempat-tidur-nya","tempat-tidurnya"]·IT["[מטה]","[מטות]","il-bed","il-letto","letto","letto-suo","su-il-letto","suo-letto","un-letto"]·jav["-pasarean","Pasaréan","amben","dipan","gading","mawi-pasarean","papan-tilem","pasaréan","pasaréanipun","pati-sarénipun","patilèmanipun","patulèman","paturan","paturonipun","tilem"]·KO["그-침대","그-침대에","그-침대의","그-침상","그의-충상","그의-침대","침대","침대-자기-의","침상들","침상에","침상의"]·PT["a-cama","cama","cama-sua","camas-de","na-cama","o-divã","sua-cama"]·RU["-кровати-его","-ложе","-постели","-постель","кровати","кровать","ложа","ложах","ложе","на-кровати","постели-своей","славном"]·ES["La-cama","cama","cama-suya","camas-de","el-lecho","en-la-cama","la-cama","lecho","su-cama","una-cama"]·SW["-kitanda","akakufa","kitanda","kitanda-chake","kitandani","vitanda-vya"]·TR["-yatakta","-yatağa","-yatağın","sedirin-","yatagi","yatak","yatakla","yatakların","yatakta","yatakın","yatağa","yatağın","yatağının"]·urd["-سے-بستر","اُس-کے-پلنگ","اپنے-بستر","اپنے-بسترے","بستر","بستر-اپنے","بستر-پر","تخت","پلنگ","پلنگ-کے","چارپائی-کے","چارپائیوں"]
Gen 47:31, Gen 48:2, Gen 49:33, Exod 8:3, 1 Sam 19:13, 1 Sam 19:15, 1 Sam 19:16, 1 Sam 28:23, 2 Sam 4:7, 1 Kgs 17:19, 1 Kgs 21:4, 2 Kgs 1:4 (+15 more)
2. funeral bier — A funeral bier — a portable frame for carrying a corpse to burial. Only one clear occurrence: David commands Joab and all the people to walk behind Abner's מִטָּה (2 Sam 3:31). Spanish féretro ('coffin/bier') and French bier clearly distinguish this funerary transport from the sleeping bed, even though the underlying Hebrew noun is identical. The semantic extension is natural: the dead person's final 'resting place' carried in procession. 1×
AR["الْنَعْشِ"]·ben["খাটিয়ার"]·DE["der-bier"]·EN["the-bier"]·FR["le-bier"]·heb["ה-מיטה"]·HI["अर्थी-के"]·ID["usungan"]·IT["il-bier"]·jav["papan-tilem"]·KO["관의"]·PT["a-maca"]·RU["носилками"]·ES["el-féretro"]·SW["kitanda"]·TR["tabutun"]·urd["چارپائی-کے۔"]
3. litter, portable sedan — A royal litter or portable sedan chair — a bed-like conveyance carried by attendants for a living person of high status. Song of Solomon 3:7 describes Solomon's מִטָּה surrounded by sixty warriors, clearly not a sleeping bed but an elaborate palanquin for ceremonial travel. Spanish lecho ('couch') and French litière ('litter') capture the sense of luxurious portable transport, connecting the basic idea of 'reclining furniture' to royal processional pageantry. 1×
AR["مِطَّتُو"]·ben["তাঁর-পালকি"]·DE["[מטתו]"]·EN["his-bed"]·FR["la-litière"]·heb["מיטתו"]·HI["उसकी-पालकी"]·ID["usungannya"]·IT["letto-suo"]·jav["pasaréanipun"]·KO["그-가마-가"]·PT["seu-leito"]·RU["ложе-его"]·ES["su-lecho"]·SW["machela-yake"]·TR["yatagi"]·urd["پالکی"]
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
† מִטָּה n.f. couch, bed (place of reclining; מטותם Ecclus 48:6);—abs. מִטָּה Am 3:12 + 14 times; cstr. מִטַּת 2 K 4:21; sf. מִטָּתִי ψ 6:7, מִטָּתֶ֑ךָ Ex 7:28, מִטָּתוֹ 2 S 4:7 + 6 times; pl. מִטּוֹת abs. 2 K 11:2; 2 Ch 22:11, cstr. Am 6:4 Est 1:6;—couch, bed, common article of furniture 2 K 4:10, cf. v 21, 32 1 K 17:19, for repose, especially at night, or in illness Gn 47:31 (J; רֹאשׁ הַמּ׳),…