σκῆνος (skēnos)
skēnos
tent
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The Greek word skēnos simply means "tent" or "tabernacle," referring to a temporary shelter made of fabric or skins. In the New Testament, it appears only twice, both in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. Here, Paul uses the term metaphorically to describe the human body as a temporary dwelling place for the soul.
This imagery highlights the transient nature of physical life. Just as a tent is easily struck and moved, the body is subject to decay and death. Paul contrasts this fragile "earthly tent" with an eternal, heavenly building provided by God (2 Corinthians 5:1-4). The word underscores the Christian hope that while our physical homes are temporary, we await a permanent, glorified existence.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word skēnos reminds us that our current physical lives are temporary shelters. Paul uses this image of a tent to describe the human body, highlighting its fragility and transient nature. Just as a traveler pitches a tent for a short stay, we inhabit these bodies until they are dissolved.
Yet this truth is not meant to cause despair but to lift our eyes toward eternity. We are promised a permanent dwelling from God, a house not made with hands. This hope anchors us when we feel burdened by the limitations of our mortal frame, knowing that what is perishable will be swallowed up by life.
When you feel weak or tired, remember that this season is passing. Your true home is being prepared for you in heaven. Rest in the assurance that your earthly struggles are temporary, but the life to come is eternal and secure.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- tent2×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- σκήνους1×
- σκήνει1×
Key Verses
-
II Corinthians 5:1
For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.
This verse establishes the core metaphor by contrasting the dissolvable earthly tent with an eternal heavenly building provided directly by God.
-
II Corinthians 5:4
For indeed we who are in this tent do groan, being burdened, not that we desire to be unclothed, but that we desire to be clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
Here Paul describes the present experience of living in this temporary body as a burdened groaning, driven by the desire to be clothed with immortality.