TENT
The term most commonly translated “tent” is “ohel,” which is often translated “tabernacle.” Other terms are “sukkah” (2 Sam. 11:11) and “kubbah,” which only occurs in Num. 25:8.
It was a portable shelter used by nomads, shepherds, and soldiers (Gen. 4:20; 25:27; Judges 8:11).
Often the tent was made of black cloth made of goats’ hair (Song 1:5). They were fixed to the ground by ropes attached to stakes (Ex. 35:18; Is. 54:2). The tent, round or elongated, could be divided into several rooms using curtains.
The term tent has, on some occasions, the general sense of dwelling place (Gen. 9:27; 1 Kings 8:66; 2 Kings 13:5; Jb. 8:22; Ps. 84:10 (lit. ” tents of wickedness”); Jer. 30:18; Lam. 2:4; Zech. 12:7; Mal. 2:12). Our very body is compared to a tent (2 Cor. 5:1-8).
The tents were made of many different materials, from skins and hair to linen for the little ones. Paul and Aquila were tentmakers (Acts 18:3).
Tarsus, the hometown of the apostle Paul, was known for the manufacture of tents, which were commonly made of sackcloth, a strong fabric of long goat hair from the province of Cilicia, and from which sacks were also made.