(Heb. mittah), for rest at night (
Exodus 8:3 ;
1 Samuel 19:13 1 Samuel 19:15 1 Samuel 19:16 , etc.); during sickness (
Genesis 47:31 ;
48:2 ;
49:33 , etc.); as a sofa for rest (
1 Samuel 28:23 ;
Amos 3:12 ). Another Hebrew word (er'es) so rendered denotes a canopied bed, or a bed with curtains (
Deuteronomy 3:11 ;
Psalms 132:3 ), for sickness (
Psalms 6:6 ;
41:3 ).
In the New Testament it denotes sometimes a litter with a coverlet ( Matthew 9:2 Matthew 9:6 ; Luke 5:18 ; Acts 5:15 ).
The Jewish bedstead was frequently merely the divan or platform along the sides of the house, sometimes a very slight portable frame, sometimes only a mat or one or more quilts. The only material for bed-clothes is mentioned in 1 Samuel 19:13 . Sleeping in the open air was not uncommon, the sleeper wrapping himself in his outer garment ( Exodus 22:26 Exodus 22:27 ; Deuteronomy 24:12 Deuteronomy 24:13 ).
These dictionary topics are from
M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition,
published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain, copy freely.