מִשְׁכָּן139 H4908
Dwelling place or habitation; predominantly the Tabernacle, Israel's portable wilderness sanctuary.
Derived from the root shakan ('to dwell, settle'), mishkan is the premier term for the place where God's presence rests among his people. In its dominant Pentateuchal usage, it designates the portable wilderness sanctuary—the Tabernacle—described in meticulous detail across Exodus 25–40 and referenced throughout Numbers and Leviticus. Spanish 'tabernáculo,' French 'tabernacle,' and German 'Stiftshütte' all preserve this technical cultic sense. In poetic and prophetic texts, the word broadens to mean any dwelling or habitation—whether God's heavenly abode (Ps 26:8; 46:5), human settlements (Num 24:5, Balaam's oracle over Israel's tents), or even the dwellings of the wicked (Job 18:21; 21:28).
Senses
1. Tabernacle, sacred sanctuary — The Tabernacle—Israel's portable sanctuary and tent of meeting, the designated place of God's indwelling presence during the wilderness period and beyond. This sense accounts for 109 of 139 occurrences and dominates the Priestly source in Exodus through Numbers. Cross-lingual glosses are highly technical and consistent: Spanish 'el tabernáculo,' French 'le tabernacle,' German 'die Stiftshütte.' Key passages include the initial divine blueprint (Exod 25:9), the construction details (Exod 26:1–30), and the cloud covering the mishkan at Sinai (Num 9:15). 109×
AR["الـمَسكَنِ", "المَسكَنَ", "المَسكَنُ", "المَسكَنِ"]·ben["আবাস", "আবাসের", "সেই-আবাস", "সেই-আবাসের"]·DE["die-Stiftshuette"]·EN["the-tabernacle"]·FR["le-tabernacle"]·heb["ה-משכן"]·HI["निवास", "निवास-का", "निवास-के"]·ID["Kemah Suci", "Kemah-Suci", "Kemah-Suci-itu"]·IT["il-tabernacolo"]·jav["tarub", "tarub,", "tarub-punika", "tarub-punika,", "tarub-punika.", "tarub;"]·KO["그-성막", "그-성막을", "그-성막의", "그-성막이"]·PT["o-tabernáculo"]·RU["скинией", "скинии", "скинию", "скиния"]·ES["el-tabernáculo"]·SW["maskani", "vya-maskani", "wa-maskani", "ya-maskani", "za-maskani"]·TR["-meskeni", "-meskenin", "mesken", "meskeni", "meskenin", "meskenı"]·urd["مسکن", "مسکن-کا", "مسکن-کے"]
Exod 25:9, Exod 26:1, Exod 26:6, Exod 26:7, Exod 26:12, Exod 26:13, Exod 26:17, Exod 26:20, Exod 26:22, Exod 26:23, Exod 26:26, Exod 26:27 (+38 more)
2. dwelling place, habitation — A dwelling place, habitation, or abode in a broader sense—used of God's heavenly or temple dwelling in poetic contexts, or of human and communal habitations. Spanish shifts to 'morada(s),' German to 'Wohnung,' distinguishing this from the technical Tabernacle sense. Balaam's oracle admires Israel's 'dwelling places' (Num 24:5), the psalmist celebrates God's mishkan among his people (Ps 46:5; 26:8), and prophetic warnings target the habitations of enemies (Ezek 25:4) and the wicked. 30×
AR["إِلَى-مَسْكَنِهِ", "عَنْ-مَسْكَنِ", "مَساكِنَ", "مَساكِنُهُم", "مَساكِنِ", "مَسَاكِنَكَ", "مَسَاكِنُ", "مَسَاكِنُهَا", "مَسَاكِنِ", "مَسَاكِنِهِ", "مَسْكَنًا", "مَسْكَنَ", "مَسْكَنَ-", "مَسْكَنِ-", "مَسْكَنِي", "مِشْكِنُوت", "وَمَساكِنَهُ"]·ben["-আবাস-থেকে", "আমার-তাঁবু", "আমার-বাসস্থান", "আর-তার-বাসস্থান", "তাঁবু", "তাঁবু-", "তাঁবুসমূহের", "তাদের-তাঁবুর", "তার-বাসস্থানগুলোতে", "তোমার-বাসস্থান", "বাসস্থান", "বাসস্থানগুলি", "বাসস্থানগুলি-তাদের", "বাসস্থানসমূহ", "বাসস্থানে-তাঁর;"]·DE["Stiftshuette-von-", "Wohnung", "Wohnung-", "[ומשכנותיו]", "[משכנות]", "[משכנתיה]", "dein-Wohnungen", "der-Wohnung-", "ihr-Wohnung", "mein-Wohnung", "sein-Wohnung", "zu-Stiftshuette-von-"]·EN["and-its-dwellings", "are-the-dwellings-of", "dwelling-places", "dwelling-places-of", "dwellings-of", "from-dwelling-of", "her-dwellings", "his-dwelling-places", "his-dwellings", "my-dwelling", "my-dwelling-place", "tabernacle-of-", "the-dwelling-place-of-", "the-tabernacle-of", "their-dwelling-places", "to-tabernacle-of-", "your-dwellings"]·FR["[ממשכן]", "[משכני]", "de-mes-voisins", "de-tabernacle", "demeure", "des-demeures", "et-son-demeure-lui", "mon-demeure", "tabernacle", "tabernacle-de-", "tabernacles", "ton-dwellings", "à-tabernacle", "à-tabernacle-de-"]·heb["ו-משכנותיו", "ל-משכן", "ל-משכנותיו", "מ-משכן", "משכן", "משכן-", "משכנות", "משכנות-ם", "משכנותיה", "משכני", "משכנתיך"]·HI["उसके-डेरों-के", "उसके-निवास", "उसके-निवासों-में", "और-उसके-निवास", "को", "निवास", "निवास-के-", "निवास-तेरे", "निवास-से", "निवासों", "निवासों-उनके", "निवासों-को", "मेरा-निवास"]·ID["dan-tempat tinggalnya", "dari-kediaman", "ke-kediaman-kediaman-Nya", "kediaman", "kediaman-Ku", "kemah", "kemah-kemah", "tempat-kediaman-", "tempat-tempat-kediaman-Nya", "tempat-tempat-kediamanmu", "tempat-tempat-tinggal", "tempat-tempat-tinggalnya", "tempat-tinggal", "tempat-tinggal-Ku"]·IT["a-tabernacolo-di-", "dimora", "e-dimora-suo", "i-tabernacoli", "mio-dimora", "tabernacolo", "tabernacolo-di-", "tuo-dimore"]·jav["dhateng-papan-padunung-ipun", "lan-panggenan-ipun", "padaleman", "palenggahan", "panggenan-", "panggenan-panggenan-ipun", "panggenan-panggenanipun", "papan-dedalem", "papan-dedalem-Kula", "papan-manggèn-", "papan-padunung", "papan-panggenan-panjenengan", "papandalemipun", "pastuwan", "saking-padununganipun", "sami-pejah", "tabernakèl-Kawula", "tarub"]·KO["-거처들-의", "거주-에서", "거처-나의가", "거처-들을", "거처-를", "거처들-의", "거처들을-그녀의", "거처들이", "거처들이니라", "그-의-거처들", "그-의-처소들-에", "그들-의-거처들-이", "그리고-그것-의-거처들을", "나-의-거처", "나의-거주지를", "네-거처들-이여", "성막-의", "처소들-을"]·PT["a-habitação", "as-moradas-de", "da-habitação-de", "de-habitação-de", "de-suas-habitações", "e-suas-moradas", "em-suas-habitações", "habitação-de", "habitação-minha", "habitações", "minha-habitação", "moradas", "moradas-de", "o-tabernáculo", "suas-habitações", "tabernáculo-meu", "tabernáculos-do", "tuas-moradas"]·RU["в-обиталища-Его", "жилищ-своих", "жилища", "жилища-", "жилища-её", "жилища-их", "жилища-твои", "жилищами", "жилищах", "жилище", "жилище-Моё", "и-жилища-его", "обиталищ", "обиталища", "от-жилища", "от-жилища-"]·ES["a-moradas-de-él", "a-sus-moradas", "de-morada-de", "de-moradas-de-el", "las-moradas-de", "mi-morada", "mi-tabernáculo", "morada-de", "morada-de-", "moradas", "moradas-de", "moradas-de-ti", "sus-moradas", "tabernáculos-de", "y-sus-moradas"]·SW["kutoka-maskani-", "kutoka-maskani-ya-", "kwenye-makao-yake", "makao", "makao-ya", "makao-yake", "makao-yako", "makazi", "makazi-ya", "maskani-", "maskani-ya", "maskani-yangu", "maskani-zake", "maskani-zao", "na-makao-yake"]·TR["konutları", "konutların-senin", "konutlarına", "konutlarını-onun", "konutlarının", "konutu", "konutum", "konutumu", "konutundan", "konutunu-", "meskeninden-", "meskeninin-", "meskenler", "meskenleri", "meskenlerinin", "ve-konaklarını"]·urd["اور-اُس-کی-رہائش-گاہیں", "اُس-کے-مسکنوں-میں", "اُس-کے-مکانات", "اُن-کی-مسکن", "تیرے-مسکن", "خیموں-کے", "سے-مسکن", "لِ-اُس-کے-مسکنوں", "مسکن", "مسکن-اپنا", "مسکن-سے", "مسکن-میرا", "مسکنوں-پر", "مسکنوں-کو", "مسکنوں-کے", "میرے-مسکن"]
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
מִשְׁכָּן139 n.m. Ex 26:6 dwelling-place, ‘tabernacle’;—מ׳ Ex 25:9 +; cstr. מִשְׁכַּן 38:21 +, etc.; pl. cstr. מִשְׁכְּנֵי ψ 46:6 (𝔊 Bae Du מִשְׁכָּנוֹ, מִשְׁכַּן י׳); sf. מִשְׁכְּנֵיהֶם Ez 25:4 (משׁכנתיהם, ‖ טִירוֹתֵיהֶם), מִשְׁכָּנוֹת Hb 1:6 ψ 132:5; cstr. מִשְׁכְּנוֹת 87:2 +, etc.;— †1. dwelling-place: מִשְׁכַּן־קֹרַח דָּתָן וַאֲבִירָם Nu 16:24, 27 (P) [but here orig. מִשְׁכַּן י׳; v. Comm.];…