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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadMcClintock Biblical Encyclopedia: Couch
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( éָöåּòִ , yatsu'd, something spread, Gen_49:4; “bed,” 1Ch_5:1; Job_17:13; Psa_63:6; Psa_132:3; îַùְׁëָּá , mishkab', something to lie upon, Job_7:13, elsewhere “bed;” òֶøֶùׂ , eres, something erected, Psa_6:6; Amo_3:12; Amo_6:4; “bed,” Job_7:13; Psa_41:3; Psa_132:3; Pro_7:16; Son_1:16; “bedstead,” Deu_3:11; êëéíßäéïí , a little bed, Luk_5:19; Luk_5:24; êñÜââáôïò , a pallet, Act_5:15, elsewhere “bed”). Feather-beds, as among us, are unknown in the East, as indeed generally in southern climates. The poor sleep on mats or wrapped in their overclothes (Exo_22:27; Deu_24:13; comp. Theocr. 18:19; Stobaei Serm. 72, p. 404: as to Rth_3:9; Eze_16:8, see Biel in the Miscell. Lips. Nov. v. 209 sq.), and, in the open air, sometimes have only a stone for a pillow (Arvieux, 3, 216; comp. Gen_9:21; Gen_9:23; Gen_28:11). The wealthy use bolsters or mattresses (Russel, Aleppo, 1:195), stuffed with wool or cotton. These are not laid upon a bedstead, but on a raised portion (divan, q.v.) along the side of the room, which by day serves for a seat (Harmar, 1:134; 2:71; Rosenmüller, Morgenl. 3, 211; 6:14; Lorent, Wander. p. 32). Whether the couches of the ancient Hebrews for the sick or sleeping, which are usually termed îַèָּä , mittah' (Gen_47:31; 1Sa_19:13 : 2Sa_4:7; 2Ki_1:4), îַùְׁëָּá , mishkab' (Exo_21:18; 2Sa_13:5; Son_3:1), òֶøֶùׂ , e'res (Job_7:13; Son_1:16; Pro_7:11; properly a bedstead, see Deu_3:11), were upon such a platform, is uncertain, as they appear to have been movable (1Sa_19:15), and were probably used in the daytime, like sofas, for sitting down and repose (1Sa_28:23; Eze_23:41; Amo_3:12; Amo_6:4; yet compare 2Ki_4:10). Costly carpets graced the houses of the rich (Pro_7:16 sq.; Eze_23:41; Amo_3:12); those who lay upon them covered themselves with similar tapestry, and placed a soft fur under their head (l Samuel 19:13). A canopy, or bed with a tester, is names in the Apocrypha (Jdt_16:23), and elsewhere a hanging bed or hammock ( îְìåּðָä , Isa_24:20), such as watchers in gardens used (Gesenius, Thes. Heb. p. 750; comp. Niebuhr, Beschr. p. 158). In the Mishna various kinds of beds or couches are referred to; e.g. the ãּ — øְâָּùׁ , dargash' (Nedar. 7:5). The couches ( êëßíç , êñÜââáôïò ) for the sick, named in the N.T. (Mat_9:6; Mar_2:4; Mar_6:55; Luk_5:18; Act_5:5, etc.) were movable (Becker, Charicl. 2:72). SEE BED.