King James Bible Dictionary

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; Matthew 6:19, 20) or of sun-dried bricks.

God "dwells in light" (1 Timothy 6:16; 1 John 1:7), in heaven (Psalms 123:1), in his church (Psalms 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 (Ephesians 3:17-19). The Holy Spirit dwells in believers (1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Timothy 1:14). We are exhorted to "let the word of God dwell in us richly" (Colossians 3:16; Psalms 119:11).

Dwell deep occurs only in Jeremiah 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.

DWELL, verb intransitive preterit tense dwelled, usually contracted into dwelt. [See Dally.]

1. To abide as a permanent resident, or to inhabit for a time; to live in a place; to have a habitation for some time or permanence.

God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem. Genesis 9:27.

DWELL imports a residence of some continuance. We use abide for the resting of a night or an hour; but we never say, he dwelt in a place a day or a night. dwell may signify a residence for life or for a much shorter period, but not for a day. In scripture, it denotes a residence of seven days during the feast of tabernacles.

Ye shall dwell in booths seven days. Leviticus 23:42.

The word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. John 1:38.

2. To be in any state or condition; to continue.

To dwell in doubtful joy.

3. To continue; to be fixed in attention; to hang upon with fondness.

The attentive queen dwelt on his accents.

They stand at a distance, dwelling on his looks and language, fixed in amazement.

4. To continue long; as, to dwell on a subject, in speaking, debate or writing; to dwell on a note in music.

DWELL, as a verb transitive, is not used. We who dwell this wild, in Milton, is not a legitimate phrase.

DWELL'ER, noun An inhabitant; a resident of some continuance in a place.

DWELL'ING, participle present tense Inhabiting; residing; sojourning; continuing with fixed attention.

DWELL'ING, noun Habitation; place of residence; abode.

Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons. Jeremiah 49:33.

1. Continuance; residence; state of life.

Thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. Daniel 4:25.

DWELL'ING-HOUSE, noun The house in which one lives.

DWELL'ING-PLACE, noun The place of residence.

The materials used in buildings were commonly bricks, sometimes also stones (Leviticus 14:40, 42), which were held together by cement (Jeremiah 43:9) or bitumen (Genesis 11:3). The exterior was usually whitewashed (Leviticus 14:41; Ezekiel 13:10; Matthew 23:27). The beams were of sycamore (Isaiah 9:10), or olive-wood, or cedar (1 Kings 7:2; Isaiah 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 Samuel 17:18; Nehemiah 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 Samuel 18:33; Daniel 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 (Judges 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; Ezekiel 13:20); and besides this, chairs, a table and lanterns or lamp-stands (2 Kings 4:10).