In Egypt the Hebrews, for the most part, left off tent life, and lived in houses during their bondage ; but on their deliverance, and during their protracted sojourn in the wilderness, tent life was again resumed by the na- tion (Exod. xvi, 16 ; Josh, vii, 24). and continued for some time even after their settlement in the Holy Land (xxii, 8). Hence the phraseology of tent life remained among the people long after it had ceased to be their norinal condition (1 Kings xii, 16). Here we may observe that tent life is not peculiar to nomads only, for we find set- tled clans, occupied in agricultural pursuits, still dwell in tents, and such, probaiily, was the case in Palestine in all ages. The family of Heber the Kenite was appar- ently of this class (Judg. iv, 11-22), and even the pa- triarchs seem partly to have adopted that mode of life. Isaac not only " had possession of flocks and possession of herds," but also he " sowed in the land, and received in the same year a hundredfolil" (Gen. xxvi, 12). It was not until the return into Canaan from Egypt that the Hebrews became inhabitants of cities, and it may be remarked that the tradition of tent-usage survived for many years later in the tabernacle of Shiloh, which consisted, as many Arab tents still consist, of a walled enclosure covered with curtains (Mishna, Zebachim, xiv, 6 ; Stanley, Sin<ii ami I'idii^t. p. 233).
The Midianites, the Philistines, the Syrians, the de- scendants of Ham, the Hagarites, and Cushanites are mentioned in Scripture as living in tents. But the peo- ple most remarkable for this unsettled and wandering mode of life are the Arabs, who, from the time of Ish- mael to the present day, have continued the custom of dwelling in tents. Amid the revolutions which have transferred kingdoms from one possessor to another, these wandering tribes still dwell, unsubdued and wild as was their progenitor. This kind of dwelling is not, however, confined to the Arabs, but is used throughout the continent of Asia. In one of the tents shown in As- syrian sculptures a man is represented arranging a couch for sleeping on, in another persons are sitting conversing, and in others cooking utensils and the process of cooking are shown. In the smaller one (on next page), a man is watching a caldron on what appears to be a fire between some stones. Among tent-dwellers of the present day must be reckoned (1) the great Mongol and Tartar hordes of Central Asia, whose tent-dwellings are some- times of gigantic dimensions, and who exhibit more contrivance both in the dwellings themselves and in
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Assyrian Tents (Kdyuiijik sculptures). 1. Teut of Sen- nacherib before Lachish ; 2. Ordinary Teut.
their method of transporting them from place to place than is the case with the .\ral) races (Horace, Curm. iii, 24, 10; Marco Polo, Trav. [cd. Bohn]. p. 128, 13o, 211 ; Gib- bon, ch. xxvi [vol. iii, p. 298, ed. Smith]) ; (2) as above observed, the Bedawin Arab tribes, who inhabit tents which are probably constructed on the same plan as those wliich were the dwelling-i)laces of Abraham and of Jacob (Heb. xi, 9).
The first tents were undoubtedly covered with skins, of which there are traces in the Pentateuch (Exod. xxvi, 14) ; but nearly all the tents mentioned in Script- ure were doubtless of goats'-hair, spun and woven by the women (xxxv, 26; xxxvi, 14), such as are now, in Western Asia, used by all who dwell in tents. Tents of linen were, and still are, only used occasionally for holiday or travelling purposes by those who do not habitually live in them. Some modern tents are con- structed of most costly materials, and are very beautiful. Chardin mentions that a late king of Persia had one made which cost upwards of two millions sterling. It was called the " golden house." because gold glittered everywiiere about it (see Pict. Bible, note on Cant, v, 1). A tent or pavilion on a magnificent scale, constructed for Ptolemy Philatlclphus at Alexandria, is described by Athenieus (Exod. v, 196 sq.). This class of tents is furnished with Turkey carpets for the floor and cushions to recline npon, according to the wealth of the owner, though the inside arrangements vary among different clans and tribes. Those who are too poor to afford them- selves a pro])er tent merely hang a piece of cloth from a tree to give them shelter.
An Arab tent is called heit, "house;" its covering consists of stuff, about three (piarters of a 3'ard broad, made of black goats'-hair (Cant, i, 5; Shaw, Travels, p. 220), laid parallel with the tent's length. This is sufficient to resist the heaviest rain. Tiie tent-poles, called amiid, or columns, are usually nine in num- ber,placed in threegroups, but many tents have only one pole, others two or three. The ropes which hold the tent in its place are fastened, not to tlie tent -cover itself, but to loops consisting of a leath- ern thong tied to the ends of a stick, round which is twisted a ))iece of old cloth, which is itselfsewed to the tent -cover. The ends of the tent-ropes are
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fastened to short sticks or pins, called wed or wated, which are driven into the ground with a chahij, or mallet. Of the same kind was the "ir"^, nail (q. v.), and the r2j5'5, hammei- (q. v.), which Jael used (Judg. iv, 21). Hound the back and sides of the tents runs a piece of stuff removable at pleasure to admit air. The tent is divided into two apartments, separated by a carpet partition drawn across the middle of the tent and fastened to the three middle posts. The men's apartment is usual- ly on the right side on en- tering, and the women's on the left ; but this usage varies in different tribes, and in the Mesopotamian tribes the contrary is the rule. Of the three side posts on the men's side, the first and third are called yed (hand), and Tent-pin (or Hook) and Mai-