(=;
LXX Set\i! rj Kapdig., Vlllg. corde pavi(lo),
a phrase which has now quite a (iillerent meaning. The modern meaning is found in Eph 4*^ ((Cair\ayx- to%). In Gn 29" we read tliat ' Leah was tender eyed ' (WZI nx^ 'i"jy ; LXX ol Si dipeaX/iol Atias aaSfveU, Vulg. scd Lia lljipis erat orculis), wliere the Heb. as well as the Eng. probably means that Leah's eyes were weak (not 'bleared' as Vulg.), and 80, as Dillmann and others suggest, 'without brightness or brillinnry of lustre.' See Leah. The Heb. word D";-"; raUftmhn (in this sense alwaj^a plu.) is translated occasionally in AV 'tender mercies' (Ts ^o" 40" 51' 69" 77* 79» 103' 119"- '" 145', Pr 12"'). The sing, 'tender mercy' occurs in NT, Lk 1™ (airXinca), Ja 5" 'The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy' {olxTtp/iuv, RV ' merciful ').
The verb 'to tender' in the sense of 'care for' occurs in 2 Mac 4- ' Thus was he bold to call him a traitor, that had deserved well of the city, and tendered his own nation ' {rin K-qSeiibva tCiv inoeBowi'). Cf. Cr.anmer, Works, i. 130, ' But to be plain what I think of the Bishop of Winchester, I cannot persuade with my self tliat he so much tendereth the king's cause as he doth his own ' ; Latimer, Sermnns, 96, ' How God tendreth and rcgardes the cause of the widdow and the poore.' The verb in this sense is a direct derivative from the adj. (which is from Lat. tener, through Fr. tendre), not the s.ame as the verb to tender (fr. Lat. tcndcre, through Fr. tendre), meaning to protfer, show. J. HASTINGS.
TENT. — S.-K (oTitoj, (j-Kiji'i)) is tlie word commonly used for 'tent' ; AV often ' tabernacle,' but RV con- sistently ' tent.' [JvP (<^'"!''^) ' habitation,' is usu- ally rendered 'tabernacle,' only once (Ca 1*) 'tent.' For distinction between Sr'K and [ryo see art. Tabernacle, .ip = ' booth ' made by interweaving leaves and brandies; once (2 S 11") AV 'tent' (RV 'booth,' LXX oKyi,) and AVm (1 K 20'-- '« RVm ' hut '). Accordin" to the Rabbis, a booth becomes a tent if a bit of cloth is spread over it to protect it from the sun, or stretched under the roof to prevent leaves and twigs from falling on the fable (Succah i. 3). n;;; (Ka/uvoi) from [djb] ' to hollow out,' is once in AV tr. ' tent ' (Nu 25' RV 'pavilion,' marg. 'alcove'; cf. Arab. Icubbah 'a h'.rge vaulted tent,' also 'dome,' 'vault,' whence, with the art., throu''h the Spanish, ' alcove,' orig. a vaulted recess). 1 rom i;n (jrapt/ijSdXXu) ' to en- camp,' AV ' to abide in teiits ' (Nu 9»"- *', Ezr 8"), comes ri^u^ ' camp ' (LXX drelx'i"'05)> tr. by AV 'tents' in Nu 13" etc.; in each case RV cor- rects.
We may safely take the modem tent as closely resembling that of ancient times. No simpler dwelling can well be iiiuigined. The tent-cover is rough, strong cloth of dark goats' hair. It is commonly supported by nine poles arranged in rows of three ; the middle row lengthwise, is somewhat higher, measuring from 6 to 7 ft. : the roof therefore slopes to front and back. The cover is stretched, and the tent held in position by means of long cords fastened to the cloth, and attached to pms firmly driven into the ground. \ curtain of the same m.aterial, but rather lighter, is hung round the more exposed side of the tent, to shelter from sun and wind. A similar curtain, drawn across the middle, fixed on the tent-poles, divides the tciit, the one end forming the men's ap.irtinent, the other that of the women (Tin, cf. Arab, khit/r). Very seldom, and that only in cases of considerable wealth, the women have a tent to themselves.
The making, pitching, striking, packing, and unpacking of the t«nt8 is all women's work. They ■pin tho hair yam, twist the cords, and weave the
cloth in long narrow strips, with very primitive appliances. To form roof or curtain, these strips are sewn together to the required breadth. The greatest care is taken with the roof. When it has been used for a little, and is somewhat shrunken, it becomes quite water])rouf, and will turn the heaviest rain. Sometimes cloth for the roof is bought by way of barter, from such villages as Khabab, in el-Lejd, or Judeideh, overlooking Merj A'yiln, which are famous for their hair manufac- tures. To excel in skilful driving home of the tent-pegs is an immemorial ambition among Arab women.
The furniture of this ' house ' or ' house of hair ' {bait, bait sha'r, or, less frequently, bait tunhar) is extremely simple. In a few tents of the rich may be fount! cushions and mattresses covered with coloured silk ; but for the most part a couple of coarse straw mats serve the purposes of chairs and table by day, and bed by ni^ht. A circle of thin leather, about 2 ft. in diuiiictur, drawn into a sort of bag by means of a thong passed tlirough holes round the edge, contains the thin loaves baked in the desert, and is spread flat on the ground at meal- time. The lamp (anciently of clay) or lantern is now generally of tin, made by Jewish travelling tinkers, from empty petroleum cans. Clay ware is too brittle to be of much use. Usually each tent has a metal plate, flat or convex, for baking ; a few pots or pans for cooking, tlie food being eaten from the dish in which it is cooked ; perhaps a hand-mill ; and if the owner make any pretensions to dignity, mortar and pestle ; and the necessary utensils tor roasting the beans and making coll'ee. The fireplace may lie a few stones set loosely to- gether, or a hole in the ground just at the edge of the tent. Goat-skins, half tanned, with the liaii outward, are made into bags, which hold grain, water, butter-milk, and other liquids; and when swung on a tripod serve to churn butter. The butter is always melted at once, and is carried about in these skins. The saddles of horse and camel, with corresponding saddle-bags of rough hair cloth, complete the tent furniture. Most things are crowded together in the women's apart- ment ; that of the men is always free for the re- ception and entertainment of guests.