Dwell

Tents were in primitive times the common dwellings of men. "Houses were afterwards built, the walls of which were frequently" "of mud (Job 24:16; Matt. 6:19, 20) or of sun-dried bricks." "God "dwells in light" (1 Tim. 6:16; 1 John 1:7), in heaven (Ps. "123:1), in his church (Ps. 9:11; 1 John 4:12). Christ dwelt on" earth in the days of his humiliation (John 1:14). He now dwells in the hearts of his people (Eph. 3:17-19). The Holy Spirit dwells in believers (1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Tim. 1:14). We are exhorted "to "let the word of God dwell in us richly" (Col. 3:16; Ps." 119:11). "Dwell deep occurs only in Jer. 49:8, and refers to the custom of "seeking refuge from impending danger, in retiring to the" "recesses of rocks and caverns, or to remote places in the" desert.

"The materials used in buildings were commonly bricks, sometimes" "also stones (Lev. 14:40, 42), which were held together by cement" (Jer. 43:9) or bitumen (Gen. 11:3). The exterior was usually whitewashed (Lev. 14:41; Ezek. 13:10; Matt. 23:27). The beams "were of sycamore (Isa. 9:10), or olive-wood, or cedar (1 Kings" 7:2; Isa. 9:10). "The form of Eastern dwellings differed in many respects from that of dwellings in Western lands. The larger houses were built in a quadrangle enclosing a court-yard (Luke 5:19; 2 Sam. 17:18; "Neh. 8:16) surrounded by galleries, which formed the" "guest-chamber or reception-room for visitors. The flat roof," "surrounded by a low parapet, was used for many domestic and" social purposes. It was reached by steps from the court. In "connection with it (2 Kings 23:12) was an upper room, used as a" "private chamber (2 Sam 18:33; Dan. 6:11), also as a bedroom (2" "Kings 23:12), a sleeping apartment for guests (2 Kings 4:10)," "and as a sick-chamber (1 Kings 17:19). The doors, sometimes of" "stone, swung on morticed pivots, and were generally fastened by" wooden bolts. The houses of the more wealthy had a doorkeeper or a female porter (John 18:16; Acts 12:13). The windows generally "opened into the courtyard, and were closed by a lattice (Judg." 5:28). The interior rooms were set apart for the female portion of the household. "The furniture of the room (2 Kings 4:10) consisted of a couch furnished with pillows (Amos 6:4; Ezek. 13:20); and besides "this, chairs, a table and lanterns or lamp-stands (2 Kings" 4:10).