To dwell
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Skenoo means to dwell, tabernacle, or pitch one's tent, and in the New Testament it carries unusual theological weight because John and Revelation use it for divine presence. John 1:14 says the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.
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Full entry for σκηνόω (G4637) · Open the biblical lexicon
Skenoo means to dwell, tabernacle, or pitch one's tent, and in the New Testament it carries unusual theological weight because John and Revelation use it for divine presence. John 1:14 says the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include dwell (2), He will dwell (1), made His dwelling (1), will spread His tabernacle (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at John 1:14. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (4), John (1).
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
Skenoo means to dwell, tabernacle, or pitch one's tent, and in the New Testament it carries unusual theological weight because John and Revelation use it for divine presence. John 1:14 says the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. Revelation speaks of God's sheltering presence over His servants and the final dwelling of God with humanity. The word should not be reduced to residence, nor overloaded with every possible tabernacle detail.
Its pastoral force is presence made near, visible, protective, and finally consummated. In John, the eternal Word truly enters human life and reveals glory full of grace and truth. In Revelation, God's dwelling answers the longing for His presence with His people.
Skenoo is rare in the New Testament and appears in passages where dwelling language carries tabernacle and divine-presence resonance. The selected witnesses move from the Word dwelling among us to God's final dwelling with His people.
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John uses the verb when the Word becomes flesh and dwells among us. The surrounding sentence ties dwelling to visible glory, grace, and truth.
For this reason, they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and the One seated on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.
The One seated on the throne spreads His tabernacle over His servants. Dwelling language becomes sheltering presence.
Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea; with great fury the devil has come down to you, knowing he has only a short time.”
Heaven and those who dwell there are called to rejoice while earth faces the devil's fury. The word marks heavenly dwelling in contrast with earthly woe.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.
The final voice announces God's dwelling place with man and His dwelling with them. The word reaches its consummate hope.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. To dwell as in a tabernacle; emphasizes God's temporary yet relational presence among his people.
To dwell as in a tabernacle; emphasizes God's temporary yet relational presence among his people.
(σκηνή), [in LXX chiefly for שָׁכַן ;] to have one's tabernacle, to dwell (in π. of temporary dwelling, see MM, Exp., xxii): before ἐπί, with accusative of person(s), Rev.7:15; before ἐν, with dative of person(s), Jhn.1:14; id. with dative loc., Rev.12:12 13:6; before μετά, with genitive of person(s), Rev.21:3 (cf. ἐπι-, κατα-σκηνόω).
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
5 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I dwell as in a tent, encamp
Read verseI dwell as in a tent, encamp
Read verseI dwell as in a tent, encamp
Read verseI dwell as in a tent, encamp
Read verseI dwell as in a tent, encamp
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
How this verb appears across 5 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
σκηνόω is built from this root:
Connects incarnation to Old Testament dwelling presence. Wuest translation notes and Mounce lexical framing are useful for explaining tabernacle imagery. John 1:1-18
Skenoo helps readers see that biblical presence is not vague religious atmosphere. In John 1:14, the Word becomes flesh and dwells among us; glory is seen in the Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. That is not a temporary costume or symbolic visit. It is the incarnation of the eternal Word. Revelation then stretches the same dwelling language toward shelter and final communion: God spreads His presence over His servants and at last dwells with His people.
The word invites worship because God comes near, yet it also requires restraint. Teachers should preach the passage's stated glory and hope, not every imagined tabernacle connection.
John.1.14
The verb is related to tent or tabernacle language. That resonance matters, especially in John and Revelation, but the exact theological claim must come from the sentence and canonical setting.
The tabernacle and temple trained Israel to think of God's holy presence among His people. John announces the decisive personal dwelling of the Word made flesh, and Revelation announces the final dwelling of God with redeemed humanity in the new creation.
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