The number of tents that made up the encampment of Abraham must have been large, for in his warfare against the confederacy of kings that took Lot captive, it is stated that he used a band of three hundred eighteen trained soldiers born in his household (Gen. The Bible says that some of the sons of Ishmael lived in tent villages or encampments (Gen. His tent is generally larger than the others. By the side of the sheik's tent stands a long spear as an emblem of his authority (cf. If the Bedouin Arabs live together as a tribe or a clan, as they often do, or if more than one family dwell with each other, then their tents are not pitched in a promiscuous cluster, but more likely in a large circle to make it possible for at least some of their flocks to be protected inside the circle. Tent encampments and manner of setting up of tents 3:31), as a sign of humility (1Kings 21:27 2Kings 19:1), or as a sign of repentance (Dan. In Bible times sackcloth was worn as a sign of sorrow (Gen. The Apostle John compares darkness to this sackcloth: "the sun became black like sackcloth of hair" (Rev. It must be remembered that this Oriental sackcloth is not at all like the Occidental burlap, but is rather a material made of prickly, coarse goat's hair. The material that makes up the Bedouin tent is the same as the sackcloth of Bible days. The Song of Solomon refers to these black goat's hair tents thus: "I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar" (Cant 1:5). This goat's hair cloth that is used in making these tents is porous when it is dry, but becomes waterproof after the first rains have shrunk it together. He calls it beit sha'ar, i.e., "house of hair." It is made of coarse, heavy fabric, and serves to protect the family in winter from the cold winds in the summer the sides are usually lifted, and the tent serves as a sunshade. The Bedouin's home is his tent, which is made of black goat's hair. By such a study one can build the proper background for understanding the life and contributions of these men of the long ago. A study, therefore, of these tent structures of Bible lands of today will throw much light on how the men of early Bible times actually lived. Like the Jews of old, the Nomad or Bedouin Arabs of Palestine, and especially those of Trans-Jordan, have been living in tents for centuries, and their manner of life is strikingly like unto that of the early Bible characters. And after the temple was built at Jerusalem the people would make their pilgrimages there to celebrate the feasts of the Lord, and many thousands of them would sleep in tents on the mountains surrounding the city. When the tribes gathered together at such small places as Gilgal, and Shiloh, they undoubtedly brought their tents with them. Even at the time of the revolt of the ten tribes under Jeroboam and their separation from Judah, the cry went forth, "To your tents, O Israel" (1Kings 12:16). 11:11), indicating that many of the people at that time were tent- dwellers. In the days of David it was said to the King, "The ark and Israel and Judah, abide in tents" (2Sam. 24:2).įor many years after the entering of the Promised Land, Israel still lived in tents. And Balaam "lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes" (Num. Moses said of them, "The children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp" (Num. The Children of Israel lived in tents during their forty years in the wilderness. 26:17), and Jacob "Pitched his tent before the city of Shechem" (Gen. 12:8), that Isaac "pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar" (Gen. It was said of Abraham that he "pitched his tent" in the vicinity of Bethel (Gen. The patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived most of their lives in tents, in and around the land of Canaan. Following the Flood the Sacred Record says, "God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem" (Gen. The first reference in the Scriptures to tent life is concerning the man Jabal, of whom it is said, "he was the father of such as dwell in tents" (Gen. In the Bible, living in tents is of ancient origin. Excerpts from Manners and Customs of Bible Lands