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MISKAN AND 'OHEL MO'ED: ETYMOLOGY, LEXICAL
DEFINITIONS, AND
EXTRA-BIBLICAL USAGE1
RALPH E. HENDRIX
Miskan and 'ohel mo'ed are
names for the cultic dwelling place
of YHWH
described in Exod 25-40. This, the first
of three studies on
miskan and o'hel mo'ed, will consider the
etymologies of the terms,
their
lexical definitions, and parallel terms found in non-Semitic
languages. Particular attention will be given to their
usage in
Ugaritic and
their translation or interpretation in the LXX.
The
intention of
this paper is to form some notion of the basic meaning
of these
terms/phrases as a foundation for a second study which
focuses on
their usages as witnessed within the text of Exod 25-40.
A third
study will present the literary structure of Exod 25-40, which
these terms
help to form.
1. The Etymology and
Lexical Definition of Miskan.
Miskan is a nominal form of skn,
a verb which has the meaning
of
"self-submission" (once), "settle," "rest,"
"stop," "1ive in,"
"inhabit,"
"sojourn," "dwell" (in its qal form); "let/make to
live/dwell"
(in the piel); "settle, "let/make to live/dwell" (in the
hiphil).2 Its Assyrian cognate is sakanu
("set," "lay," "deposit") which
yields the
nominal form maskanu ("place," "dwelling place").3
1The author wishes to express
appreciation to J. Bjomar Storfjell, Richard M.
Davidson,
David Merling, and Randall W. Younker, members of the faculty of the
Seventh-day
Adventist Theological Seminary,
in
overseeing the preparation of this and related studies.
2W. L.
Testament (Grand Rapids, 1971), 369-370; F. Brown,
S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs,
eds., The
New Brown, Driver and Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old
Testament (BDB) (Grand Rapids, 1981), 1014-1016; L.
Koehler and W. Baumgartner,
eds., Lexicon
in Veteris Testimenti Libros (KB) (
Dictionary
of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English (New York, 1987), 391.
3BDB, 1014. See also A. L. Oppenheim and E. Reiner, eds.,
The Assyrian
213
214 RALPH E. HENDRIX:
The Hebrew noun miskan is generally
understood to mean
dwelling
place," the identity of which is determined by the context
in which the
term is found.4 In addition,
for
"home," "tomb," and "(central) sanctuary."5 J. O. Lewis suggests
that skn
is "rooted in the nomadic past of
'to pitch a
tent.'"6 He
distinguishes skn from ysb, noting that the
latter is
the normal term used for "dwelling in houses," from a basic
meaning
"to sit down."7
That is, skn refers to a nonsedentary
dwelling
place (Lewis suggests a tent) while ysb refers to a sedentary
dwelling
place (e.g., a house). Thus, one may
arrive at the
preliminary
conclusion that the verb skn refers generally to some
form of
nonsedentary dwelling, perhaps "camping" in modern
parlance,
and that the noun miskan therefore refers to the place of
that
activity: a nonsedentary
"dwelling-place," a "camp," or perhaps
a "camp
site." The emphasis of miskan
is therefore on the nature of
the camp--its
nonsedentary nature.
Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of
the University of Chicago,
volume 10, part I
(Chicago:
The Oriental Institute, 1977), 369-373, where the following basic definitions
for maskanu are given: "1. threshing
floor, empty lot, 2. small agricultural settlement,
3.
emplacement, (normal) location, site (of a building), base (of a statue), stand
(for a
pot), residence,
position, 4. tent, canopy; 5. fetter (for a slave), 6. pledge given as
security,
and 7. sanctuary (?)." Definition
#4 indicates a broader meaning than simply
"tent"
or "canopy" (372). An
appropriate interpretation may be "camp," as suggested
by at least
two of the seven examples given.
4BDB, 1015; J. J. Davis, Moses
and the Gods of
(Grand
Rapids: Baker Book House, 1986), 254.
5Holladay lists these primary
texts: Num 16:24; Isa 22:16; Lev 15:31;
and notes
the meaning
as "(central) sanctuary (74 of 130 times), tabernacle Exod 25:9"
(219).
6Lewis, 545.
7Ibid. Cf.
for people
"dwelling" was ysb, and was never used of YHWH except when referring
to His
"throne" or "to enthrone" (F. M. Cross, Jr., "The
Tabernacle," BA 110 [1947]:
67). M. Haran ("The Divine Presence in the
Israelite Cult and the Cultic Institutions,"
Bib 50 [1969]: 259) concurs with a
differentiated use of skn and ysb in the
deuteronomic
writings where skn speaks of "God's presence in a chosen
place," but
ysb refers to "his staying in
heaven." For various uses of these
two roots, see M. H.
Woudstra, The
Ark of the Covenant from Conquest to Kingship (
Presbyterian
and Reformed Pub.
MISKAN AND 'OHEL MO'ED 215
Especially important is the fact that no
particular object is
inherently
associated (etymologically) with the term, which may
apply either
to a living being or an inanimate object. The breadth of
the meaning
of miskan must be taken into account in determining its
use in
context. To understand the meaning of miskan, one must ask:
"Dwelling
place of what or of whom?"
The answer must be found in
the
context. In practice, the answer is
subject to interpretation
flavored by
theological and hermeneutical presuppositions.
As a case in point, considerable
discussion has been generated
concerning
how miskan relates to the dwelling place of YHWH as
described in
the biblical text. R. Friedman defines miskan as the
"inner
fabric" over which is the "outer fabric" (‘ohel), both
comprising a
"single structure."8
F. M. Cross defines skn "to
encamp"
or "to tent"; therefore, he suggests that miskan originally
meant
"tent" and later came to mean "the" tent par excellence.9 On
the basis of
Ras Shamra evidence, G. E. Wright defines miskan as
"tent-dwelling."10 G. H. Davies takes a broader view, defining
miskan as "tabernacle, dwelling,
dwelling-place, habitation, abode,
encampment";
however, he allows that the term may refer to the
"shrine
as a whole" (Exod 25:9) or "virtually the holy of holies"
(Exod 26:1).11
Here then is provided the
prevalent scope of
definition: as specific as the "inner fabric"
within the tent, yet as
broad as
"abode" or "encampment."
To add confusion, miskan is often
translated "tabernacle," which
in turn, is
derived from the Latin Vulgate's tabernaculum, meaning
8R. E. Friedman argues that the
Mosaic construction was just the right size to
fit into the
mo'ed) idea is clearly at odds with their
relationship described in Exod 26:7 (see
below, in
the main text).
9Cross, 65-66.
10G. E. Wright, "The
Significance of the
III: The
11G. H. Davies,
"Tabernacle," in IDB, 1962 ed., 4:498. The breadth of this
definition
is not justified in Exod 25-40.
Certainly Exod 26:1 is not only the "holy of
holies,"
as Davies suggests. The larger context
of which Exod 26:1 is a part (Exod
26:1-37;
especially v. 33) includes both haqqodes ("the holy") and qodes
haqodasim ("the
holy of holies"). In Exod 26:1, miskan refers to the
two-compartment unit
216 RALPH E. HENDRIX:
"tent."12 Since there is a completely different Hebrew
word for
"tent"
('ohel), this use of tabernaculum is problematic. Inappropriate
translation
conveys a notion of synonymity, not evident in the
Hebrew, but
adopted in modern theology. If the two terms are
identical,
the meaning of phrases like Exod 26:7, "tent over the
tabernacle"
(NIV), might remain obscure. However, as
the Hebrew
for that
verse is le 'ohel 'al hammiskan, "to/for [the] tent on/over the
dwelling
place," the distinction is apparent.
While it is certainly true
that the
furniture within the miskan suggests a habitation or a
dwelling,
the term itself is not synonymous with "tent."13
The trend of scholarly definition of miskan is correct;
however,
as a broad
term, it has often recieved too narrow a definition. Miskan
almost
always is automatically taken to mean "The dwelling of God"
or even
redefined as "sanctuary," "tabernacle," or
"temple," without
regard for
the actual terminology. It would be
safer to state that
miskan connotes a special type of habitation;
the term indicates the
presence of
the dweller while emphasizing the temporary nature of
the dwelling
place. In anthropological terms, this is a matter of
sedentary or
nonsedentary habitation.
If the dwelling place itself is
nonsedentary, the dweller may be
seen as
nonsedentary as well.14 This
choice of nonsedentary
terminology
may reflect the inculturalization of YHWH's commands
in Exod
25-40, since the people to whom YHWH uttered the
command to
build the miskan were, as the biblical record shows,
nonsedentary. A command to build a permanent, sedentary
dwelling
(such as the
later Solomonic hekal, "temple" or "palace") might
well
12See modern English
translations: JB, KJV,
13For a description of the
furniture in terms of a habitation, see F. B. Holbrook,
"The
Israelite Sanctuary," in The
Sanctuary and the Atonement, eds. A. V. Wallenkampf
and W. R.
Lesher (Washington DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1981),
23; Cf. V.
Hurowitz, "The Priestly Account of Building the Tabernacle," JAOS 105
(1985): 28; cf.
also
14Holbrook, 23. That the earthly dwelling is
"movable" does not mean the
spiritual
counterpart is also movable, much less does it describe the heavenly Dweller.
To draw
extended theological conclusions from the choice of terminology about the
nature of
the spiritual analogue may unfairly overlook the inculturalization of
YHWH's
commands in Exod 25-40. This choice of
terminology may indicate less
about YHWH's
heavenly mobility than about His mode of communication with finite
humans.
MISKAN AND 'OHEL MO'ED 217
have been
incomprehensible or even reprehensible, given the
circumstances
of the earlier period. The writer called
the dwelling
place by a
term which was immediately understandable within his
cultural
framework. Miskan, it seems, calls to mind a nonsedentary
type of
dwelling place: the "camp," not particularly a structure itself,
but a place
where an object or a being abides.
2. The Etymology and Lexical Definition of 'Ohel Mo'ed
The genitival construct 'ohel mo'ed
is often translated "tent of
meeting"
in modern versions.15 The
Hebrew word 'ohel means
"tent."16 Variations of the word are found in Aramaic ('ahala'),
Phoenician ('h1),
Ugaritic ('hl), and Egyptian ['(a)har(u)].17 The
Assyrian
cognate is alu.18 The
Vulgate translates both 'ohel and
miskan as tabernaculum (occasionally, tentorium),
obscuring the
discrete
meaning of the Hebrew terms.19
The term mo'ed is a
nominal form
of the verb y'd: "designate," "appear,"
"come,"
"gather,"
"summon," "reveal oneself."
Its basic meaning is
"appointed
time/place/ sign," "meeting place," "place of
assembly,"
or "to
meet by appointment."20
The word occurs in Ugaritic
(mo'idu)
and Egyptian (mw'd).21
15NIV, RSV, KJV = "tent of
the congregation".
l6Holladay, 5-6. Cf. KB, 17; Klien,9; BDB, 13-14; J. P. Lewis,
"'Ohel," Theological
Wordbook of the Old Testament, 1980 ed., 1:15;
17Klien disallows a connection
between the Hebrew 'hl and the Arabic 'hl (p. 9).
See Cross,
59-60; K. Koch, "'hl," TDOT, 1:123; Davies, 4:499.
18BDB, 13. Oppenheim and Reiner
indicate that alu had four basic meanings:
"1.
city; 2. city as a social organization; 3. village, manor, estate; 4. fort,
military strong
point"
(Assyrian Dictionary, volume 1, part I, 379). In each case, alu refers in some
respect to
either a sedentary dwelling or sedentary dweller (ibid., 379-390). This may
indicate a
sedentarized origin for the nonsedentary Hebrew 'ohel.
19Davies, 4:498.
20Ibid;
in Canaanite and Early Hebrew Literature, Harvard Semitic Monographs, no. 24
(Cambridge:
Harvard University Press, 1980), 174-175; BDB, 417; and Lewis, 1:15.
21MuIlen, 117, 129; J. A.
Wilson, "The Assembly of a
(1945): 245.
218 RALPH E. HENDRIX:
Combining the two words, the phrase 'ohel
mo'ed carries the
notion
"tent of the place of meeting/assembly/appointment," or
perhaps more
interpretively: "tent where YHWH reveals Himself."
Brichto
calls this the "Tent of Encounter" or "rendezvous."22 This
tent was the
place of appointed gathering, known more by the event
associated
with it (meeting, gathering, or assembly) than by its
physical
character (hides over a wooden frame).
In the YHWHistic
cult, it was
perceived to be the location of the ultimate cult event.
With 'ohel
ma'ed, the focus is on the event: "meeting/assembly/
appointment/revelation." This is quite distinct from miskan,
which
focuses on
the place rather than the event.
3. Parallel Terms in
Ugaritic Sources
The Ugaritic language provides a lexical
cross-reference for
Semitic-language
documents written in the Middle Bronze in
(IIC) /Late
Bronze I time frame.23 Useful
for this study are cognates
for miskan
and 'ohel mo'ed which appear in the Ugaritic corpus,
especially
instances in which the terms are found in close literary
formation.
22H. C. Brichto, "The
Worship of the Golden Calf: A literary Analysis of a Fable
on
Idolatry," HUCA 54 (1983): 23.
23For a brief account of the
discovery of the Ugaritic materials, see P. C. Craigie,
7-25; and A.
Curtis, Cities of the Biblical World:
Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 1985), 18-33. See H.
O. Thompson, Biblical Archaeology
(New York:
Paragon House Publishers, 1987), xxv. Stratum 1.3 at Ras Shamra (ca.
1365-1185
B.C.E.) is the latest occupation of Ugaritic civilization on a site
continually
occupied since Neolithic Stratum V.C, ca. 6500 B. C. E. (Curtis, 41). The
'Aqhat and
Keret epics, in which our words are found, are dated "between the
seventeenth
and
fifteenth centuries B.C" (Mullen, 2). See also J. Gray, The KRT Text in
the Literature
of Ras
Shamra: A Social Myth of Ancient
The Egyptian equivalent for 'ohel mo'ed
(mw'd) is also found in the Tale of
Wen-Amon
(ca. 1100 B.CB.), referring to a city "assembly," and in a document from
two
documents, see Cross, 65; R. J. Clifford, "The Tent of El and The
Israelite Tent of
Meeting,"
CBQ 33 (1971): 225; and H. Goedicke, The
Report of Wenamun (
The
MISKAN AND 'OHEL MO'ED 219
The verb form skn occurs sixteen
times in Ugaritic literature;
its noun
form (msknt) appears twice.24
The paucity of occurrences
of msknt
makes definition problematic. Both
occurrences of the noun
are plural
and both seem to refer to the multitudinous gods' private
"dwelling
places," not a meeting chamber or council place.25 The
Ugaritic
equivalent of mo'ed is limited to a single occurrence of the
phrase puhru
mo'idu meaning "the gathered assembly."26 An
equivalent
to the Hebrew phrase 'ohel mo'ed does not appear in
Ugaritic
texts.
The equivalent term for 'ohel
(Ugaritic, 'hl) does occur and is
especially
important for this study in that the term occurs in
association
with msknt in each of its two occurrences.27 Two lines
of the Keret
epic read:
ti'tayu 'iluma la-'ahalihum,
daru 'ili la-miskanatihum.28
Mullen provides the following
translation, noting the
association
of la-'ahalihum and la-miskanatihum:
The gods proceed to their tents
The assembly of 'El to their dwellings.29
24Por a list of occurrences of skn,
see R. E. Whitaker, A Concordance of the Ugaritic
Literature (Cambridge: Harvard University Press,
1971), 594. For the occurrences of
msknt see p. 436.
25This study follows the
numbering system of A. Herdner, Corpus des Tablettes
en Cuneiformes
Alphabitiques Descouvertes a Ras Shamra-Ugarit de 1929 a 1939 (CTA),
Mission de
Ras Shamra, 10, 2 vols. (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1963), quoted
in Curtis,
80, 82. The specific references are to
CTA 17.V.33 and CTA 15.111.19; cf.
Whitaker,
436. See also S. Segert, A Basic
Grammar of the Ugaritic Language: With
Selected
Texts and Glossary (Los
Angeles: University of California Press, 1984), 193; also
C. H.
Gordon, Ugaritic Manual (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1955),
327.
26Mullen, 117, 129 (CTA
2.1.14,15,16-17.20,31). Also Clifford,
224-225. See I.
AI-Yasin, The
Lexical Relation Between
(New York:
Shelton College, 1952), 75. For a note
on 'hl, see ibid., 37.
27Whitaker, 436, reads: tity. ilm.l ah1 hm. / dr il.l msknt hm
... The word 'hl [cf.
ahl] occurs in CTA 17.V.32; CTA 15.111.18;
CTA 19.1V.214; CTA 19.1V.222; CTA
19.IV.212;
ibid., 9. Msknt occurs in CTA
17.V.32 and CTA 15.10.19; ibid., 436.
28CT A 15.111.18-19.
29Ibid. Mullen states that
there is "here the parallelism of 'ahalihum and
miskanatum, thus equating the tent with the
tabernacle structure (note 42). The same
220 RALPH E. HENDRIX:
Here 'ahalihum
("their tents") is poetically associated with
miskanatihum (“their dwelling places"). However, there is no
equivalent
Ugaritic phrase for 'ohel mo'ed.
The lack of an exact
parallel
demands an interpretive step by the reader.
The terms are
associated
in the Ugaritic, but perhaps not in the same way as they
are in the
Hebrew. One would expect identical
phrases if the
Ugaritic and
the Hebrew were synonymous or identical.
In fact, the
narrative
speaks of a plural number of gods going to their plural
tents. This is quite unlike the context of Exod
25-40 (and of the
whole MT
which allows no plurality of true gods). In line 19, the
"assembly"
is going to a plural number of "dwellings." The tents are
not
"tents of assembly," or of "meeting," or of
"appointment," or of
"revelation." They are simply personal tents, private
tents, not a
community
tent.
The word msknt also appears in the
Ugaritic Aqhat epic:
h.tb'.ktr. l ahl,
h.hyn.tb'.l msknt30
H. Ginsberg
provides the following translation:
Kothar departs for/from his tent,
Hayyin departs for / from his tabernacle.31
Although "tabernacle" is a poor
translation for msknt (better
would be
"dwelling" or "dwelling place"), the terms 'hl and msknt
clearly
associate linguistically, in poetic parallelism. This parallelism,
however,
does not necessarily imply synonymity.
The absence of the
equivalent
for the Hebrew 'ohel mo'ed limits this passage's possibility
of clarifying
the Hebrew text. Thus, an in-depth
analysis of this
Ugaritic
text is unnecessary for the current study.
parallelism
is common in Hebrew literature (cf. Num 24:5; Isa 54:2; Jer 30:18; etc,
where 'ohel
and miskan are in parallel)."
Mullen accepts that the miskan "may be
equated
with" the 'ohel, a conclusion accepted without critical evaluation
(pp. 168-175,
passim) and
therefore misunderstands the term as used in the Hebrew text. Poetic
parallelism
should not be confused with synonymity, either in the Hebrew text or in
the Ugaritic
material, especially since there is a difference in actual terminology ('ohel
mo'ed compared with the Ugaritic 'hl)
and a perceived contextual connotative nuance.
30CTA 17.V.31-33; Whitaker,
436.
31H. L. Ginsberg,
"Ugaritic Myths, Epics, and Legends," in ANET, 151. See his
n. 19 for
the "for/from" alternative reading.
MISKAN AND 'OHEL MO'ED 221
Summarizing: the Ugaritic literature witnesses two
instances of
msknt, both times in close connection with 'hl. While clearly in
poetic
association, the words need not be synonymous. So, little
additional
definition from Ugaritic sources is added to the definition
of miskan
and 'ohel mo'ed already obtained from Hebrew (by way of
lexica and
word studies). No occurrence of
"tent of assembly" ('hl
m'd) is witnessed in Ugaritic materials
currently available. In short,
the Ugaritic
evidence shows a similarity in basic meaning between
the two
terms (that is, both are places to inhabit), but does not offer
additional
insight in regard to the nuance of their definitions.
The Ugaritic
language makes no clear distinction in meaning
between the
words msknt and 'hl, whereas the Hebrew clearly does.
The reason
for this may be related to cultural factors.
The texts
quoted above
are normally dated in the Middle Bronze III (IIC)/Late
Bronze I,
between the 17th and 15th centuries B.C., when
already an
urban center. The chapters in Exodus,
according to
traditional
views on the authorship of the book and the internal
chronology
of the book, deal with the late 15th century.
at the time
a pastoral and nonsedentary people who became
sedentarized
much later. Given these divergent
cultural conditions,
it is
possible that msknt and 'hl did not convey the
nonsedentary
/ sedentary differentiation simply because of cultural
constraints.32 Furthermore, it is possible that the miskan
and 'ohel
mo'ed phraseology typical of contemporary Late
Bronze Semitic
cultures may
have been redefined when adopted into the terminolo-
gy of the
YHWHistic religion. Terms commonly used
by
surrounding
peoples, who had a pantheon of gods, were
inadequate-without
redefinition-to convey the appropriate theo-
logical
meaning within the YHWH cult.
4. Parallel Terms in the
Septuagint
This work is concerned primarily with the
contextual use of
miskan and 'ohel mo'ed in Exod 25-40 of
the Hebrew. The way these
32"The reality of a period
of Israelite nonsedentary pastoralism is currently the
subject of
discussion within the archaeological community.
The issues are multiple
and complex,
but some scholars contend for some sort of nonsedentary pastoralism
(see I.
Finkelstein, The Archaeology of the Israelite Settlement (
Exploration
Society, 1988).
222 RALPH E. HENDRIX:
words are
translated in the LXX is surveyed in a search for further
information. Miskan is translated exclusively by skene,
while the
common
translation for 'ohel mo'ed is skene tou martyriou.33 Hence,
both miskan
and 'ohel (in the phrase 'ohel mo'ed) are translated by the
same word skene. W. Bauer defines skene as
"tent" or "booth."34 J.
Thayer
agrees with this definition--"tent" or "tabernacle"--and
adds
that skn
is used "chiefly for 'ohel [in the LXX and] often also for
miskan."35 Bauer notes the use of skene for both miskan
and 'ohel in
his
definition of he skene tou martyriou, "the tabernacle or Tent of
Meeting."36
Like the English and Latin translations,
the LXX shows little
differentiation
in its choice of terms for miskan and 'ohel mo'ed.37 As
a
significant or textual tradition, the LXX witnesses to an
understanding
of the Pentateuch which postdates its writings by
many
centuries. That both miskan and 'ohel
mo'ed are translated most
often by skene
may be attributed to several causes, one of which is
a diluted
perception of their connotational nuance.
That is, by the
time of the
LXX, the two terms had come to mean virtually the same
things;
5. Summary
and Conclusions
The noun miskan (derived from the
verb skn) means "dwelling,
place." It concerns a "place" or
"site" (similar to the modem word
"camp"),
and carries connotations of transience.
It should not be
33A. Rahlfs, Septuaginta
(Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1949).
34W. Bauer, A Greek-English
Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early
Christian
Literature, trans. W.
F. Arndt and F. W. Gingrich, 2d ed. rev. and aug. by F. W.
Gingrich and
F. W. Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), 754.
35J. H. Thayer, A Greek-English
Lexicon of the New Testament (
Book
Company, 1886), 577.
36Bauer, 754.
37The argument could be made
that miskan and 'ohel mo'ed are synonymous, and
therefore
the single Greek term is adequate for both.
The analysis of the use of these
terms in
Exod 25-40 clearly shows the terms to be similar but not synonymous (see
note 2,
above). For a more comprehensive view of
the occurrences of skene in Exod
25-40, see
G. Morrish, ed., A Concordance of the Septuagint (
Publishing
House, 1976), 222-223.
MISKAN AND 'OHEL MO'ED 223
limited to a
specific form of "dwelling" (particularly not the English
"tent"
or Latin tabernaculum), as this leads to confusion with 'ohel.
The phrase 'ohel
mo'ed is a genitival construct meaning "tent of
assembly"
or "encounter." It was the
name of the structure in which
the Divine
and human met, emphasizing the event rather than the
structure.
Parallel terms found in the Ugaritic
literature provide no
additional
information beyond that already known from the Hebrew.
In fact, the
Ugaritic literature offers only limited insight because the
word 'hl
does not appear in genitival construction with mo'ed or its
equivalent. Furthermore, the differentiation between the
nonsedentary
and sedentary meanings of the words in Hebrew
appears to
have been lost.38 As was
noted, the reason for this could
well have
been that
The LXX, by
translating both miskan and 'ohel by skene, obscures
the meaning
of the Hebrew terms. It would seem that
by the time
the LXX was
translated, the words were understood as synonyms.
Again, the
cultural setting of a sedentary and urban people would
have
assisted in eroding the differences. The
Vulgate, likewise, fails
to
distinguish between the two.
Two future articles on miskan and 'ohel
mo'ed will complete the
study of the
meaning of the words. The first will
deal with the usage
of the terms
in Exod 25-40. The second will present
an overview of
the literary
structure of those chapters. This
introductory study has
shown
scholarly insensitivity to the connotational nuance of the
words. The next two studies will reveal the pitfalls
resulting from
this insensitivity.
38This suggestion, made to the author by
David Merling, finds support in
Mullen
(170), who recognizes "that the deities were pictured as tent dwellers,
even
by the
highly urbanized culture of
misses the
significance of this for interpreting the Hebrew text (see Whitaker, 436).
The vital
point is that a nonsedentary (tent-dwelling) culture is being described by a
sedentary
(urbanized) writer, thus potentially giving rise to the blurred terminological
nuance
posited above.
This material is cited with gracious
permission from:
SDA Theological
Berrien Springs
http://www.andrews.edu/SEM/
Please report any errors to Ted
Hildebrandt at: