Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

CAMP

A temporary gathering or settlement, often situated near water (e.g., Exod. 15:27; Josh. 11:5). Temporary military settlements frequently encamped on plains or hills or near valleys (e.g., Judg. 6:33; 1 Sam. 17:2), and leaders often took up strategic positions at the edge or entrance of camps to safeguard the settlement (e.g., Exod. 32:26; 33:7; Num. 3:38; Judg. 7:13).

In the Pentateuch “camp” (usually Heb. maḥăneh) describes the manner in which the Israelites, organized by divisions and standards (Num. 1:52), journeyed across the desert from Egypt to Canaan. This desert camp included a tent of meeting, where Moses met with Yahweh (Exod. 33:7-8) and the Israelites brought sacrifices (Lev. 1:3). The tent may have been located outside the camp itself (Exod. 33:7) or in the center, surrounded by the Levites (Num. 1:53). Descriptions of the desert camp may be anachronistic; a festival assembly, perhaps the Feast of Booths, may have influenced the depiction of the camp.

Writings of the Second Temple period contain numerous references to military camps (e.g., Jdt. 6:11; 1 Macc. 2:32; 1QM 1:3; 1QH 2:25). In addition to military references, Qumran texts also use “camp” to describe a community separated from the world and living under specific rules of purity (e.g., CD 7:6; 9:11).

In the NT Jesus’ suffering outside the “gate” is compared to the high priest burning the bodies of sacrificed animals outside the “camp” (Gk. parembolḗ; Heb. 13:11-12); Christians should join Jesus “outside the camp” and share in his plight (v. 13). In Rev. 20:9 “camp” describes the gathering of God’s people.

Jack J. Garland, Jr.

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

CAMP

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)