Lexicon

G4637 - skenoo

Strong's: G4637 · BLB lookup Pronunciation: skay-no'-o Part of speech: verb Root: from σκῆνος / σκηνή (skēnos / skēnē, "tent / tabernacle / booth") NT occurrences: 5 (one in John, four in Revelation)

Semantic range (Thayer / BDAG)

To fix one's tent, to encamp, to pitch a tent, the literal sense; nomadic dwelling.
To dwell, to reside, by extension; to occupy as a dwelling place.
(Theologically) to tabernacle, to dwell among / over, God's covenant presence, paralleling the OT Shekinah glory in the tabernacle and temple.

Theological force

The verb evokes the OT tabernacle (Hebrew אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ohel mo'ed, "tent of meeting"; Hebrew מִשְׁכָּן, mishkan, "dwelling place", note the Hebrew root š-k-n parallels the Greek sk-n phonetically and may be more than coincidence in John's choice of word). When John 1.14 says ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν, "the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us", the entire OT theology of God's covenant presence is being invoked:

The tabernacle of Exodus 25-40, where YHWH's kavod (glory) descended in cloud (Exodus 40:34-38).
The Solomonic temple, where the same glory filled the holy place (1 Kings 8:10-11).
The Ezekiel vision of the glory departing the temple (Ezekiel 10-11) and returning in the eschatological temple (Ezekiel 43:1-5).

In the incarnation, that glory takes on a body. Eskēnōsen en hēmin, "He pitched His tent among us." John's prologue continues: "we beheld His glory" (tēn doxan autou), the Shekinah now visible in the person of Christ. The verbal echo is deliberate: Hebrew shakan ("to dwell," from which shekinah derives) and Greek skēnoō share the consonants š-k-n. Whether John intended a bilingual pun or relied on Septuagintal usage, the theological identification stands.

In Revelation, skēnoō clusters around the eschatological consummation: God will dwell with His people (Revelation 7:15, 21:3), the tabernacle motif comes to its terminus when "the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell (skēnōsei) among them."

Notable verses

John 1.14, ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν, "He tabernacled among us" (the incarnation as Shekinah)
Revelation 7:15, "He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle (skēnōsei) over them"
Revelation 12:12, "Rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell (skēnountes) in them"
Revelation 13:6, "to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who tabernacle (skēnountas) in heaven"
Revelation 21:3, "the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell (skēnōsei) among them"

OT background, the Shekinah

While the Hebrew noun Shekinah is post-biblical (rabbinic / Targumic), the verbal root šākhan (H7931, "to dwell") and the related noun mishkan (H4908, "tabernacle / dwelling place") are pervasive in the Pentateuch:

Exodus 25:8, "let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell (shakhanti) among them"
Exodus 29:45, "I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God"
Exodus 40:34-38, the cloud and glory filling the tabernacle
Numbers 35:34, "I, the LORD, am dwelling among the sons of Israel"
1 Kings 8:10-13, the glory filling Solomon's temple at dedication
Ezekiel 43:7, eschatological promise: "I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever"

Patristic / scholarly note

Justin Martyr (Dialogue with Trypho 50-63, c. AD 160) develops the connection between the OT theophanies / kavod-cloud and the incarnate Christ. Cyril of Alexandria (Commentary on John, c. AD 425) takes eskēnōsen as the lexical bridge between OT temple-presence and the incarnation. Modern scholarship (Andreas Köstenberger, John in the BECNT series; D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John) confirms the Shekinah reading: the verb is too unusual and the immediate context "we beheld His glory" too freighted to be coincidental.

The temporal coloring of the verb, eskēnōsed in the aorist, captures the historic-particular fact: the Word pitched His tent at a definite point in history, in a specific place (Bethlehem, Galilee, Jerusalem). The incarnation is not an abstract truth but a datable event.

Verses in this codex

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