noun · feminine
skēnas
Strong’sG4633
a tent, tabernacle
stem skēn-20 times in the New Testamentin 6 of 27 books6 of 10 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
A tent, booth, or tabernacle 1234 — a temporary shelter, often made of cloth, that could serve as a dwelling or covering 23. In the Bible it is used of ordinary tents and booths people lived or stayed in, of the Mosaic tabernacle and its parts, of the heavenly tabernacle after which the earthly one was patterned, of the temple, and of a pagan shrine; it is also used figuratively of "eternal dwellings" and of the "tabernacle of David" 1.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
σκηνή, -ῆς, ἡ
[in LXX chiefly for אֹהֶל, also for מִשְׁכָּן, סֻכָּה, etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4633 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
Doric dialect σκᾱνά, ἡ (not in Refs 8th c.BC+.
I tent, booth, Refs 5th c.BC+; σκηνῆς ὕπαυλοςRefs 5th c.BC+; τὰς σ. καταλύειν, διαλύειν, strike camp, Refs 3rd c.BC+; but also σ. μάλα ἰσχυρῶν ξύλων hut, Refs 1st c.AD+; booth in the marketplace, Refs 5th c.BC+: plural, camp, Refs 5th c.BC+
I.2 σκηνὰς ἐς ἱεράς to the holy tabernacle, LXX+5th c.BC+
II stage-building as background for plays, Refs 5th c.BC+; τραγικὴ σ. a sort of πῆγμα, such as that from which the prologue of Refs 5th c.BC+
II.2 οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς σ. [ἥρωες] heroes represented on the stage, Refs 4th c.BC+; οἱ ἀπὸ σκηνῆς actors, players, opposed to χορός, Refs 4th c.BC+
II.3 τὸ ἐπὶ τῆς σκηνῆς μέρος that which is actually represented on the stage, Refs 4th c.BC+; τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς σκηνῆς (i.e. ᾄσματα), songs or odes sung by one of the actors standing on the stage (not by the chorus),Refs
II.4 metaphorically, stage-effect, acting, unreality, σκηνὴ πᾶς ὁ βίος 'all the world's a stage', Refs 2nd c.AD+; theatrical trick, deception, Refs 1st c.AD+
III tented cover, tilt of a wagon or carriage, Refs 5th c.BC+; also, bed-tester, Refs 4th c.BC+
III.b metaphorically, τὸν ὑπὸ (probably conjecture for ἐπὶ) σκηνῆς βίον the hidden life, Refs 2nd c.AD+
III.2 in large ships, state-cabin on the poop, Refs 3rd c.BC+
IV entertainment given in tents, banquet, Refs 5th c.BC+
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
Every form this word takes in Biblang, with the Greek it corresponds to and how often the New Testament uses it.
| Job in the sentence case | one singular | more than one plural |
|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | skēnas4×σκηνὴ | skēnais |
| object accusative | skēnan6×σκηνὴν | skēnain4×σκηνάς |
| direct address vocative | skēnar | skēnair |
| of, belonging to genitive | skēnau4×σκηνῆς | skēnaiu |
| to, for dative | skēna1×σκηνῇ | skēnai1×σκηναῖς |
Tinted cells are forms the New Testament never uses, so there is no Greek to show against them — but they are still correct Biblang, built from the slots below like any other.
Why these forms, and no others — the slots that make them
skēna is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Words built on the same stem
Other words sharing the exact same stem — not merely related in meaning.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
20 occurrences, every one of them listed
skēnas“tabernacle”subjectnominative singular4×
Acts 7:44Tas skēnas teu marturieu ate toi patroi nu …Our fathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in …
Hebrews 9:2skēnas gar kataskeuazita tas prōtas en ha …A tabernacle was prepared. In its first room …
Hebrews 9:3“tent”meta de tem deuterem katapetasmem skēnas tas legorōntas Hagieim Hagieiu,Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place,
Revelation 21:3… ek tou thronou legarōntau; Idou tas skēnas tou theou meta toiu anthrōpoiu, kai …… from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man …
skēnan“tabernacle”objectaccusative singular6×
Acts 7:43kai analabava tan skēnan tou Moloch kai tem astrem tou …You have taken along the tabernacle of Molech and the star of …
Acts 15:16Meta houteim anastrefami kai anoikodomami tan skēnan David tan piptarēntan kai teim kataskaptorēnteim …… will return and rebuild the fallen tent of David. Its ruins I will …
Hebrews 8:5… kathōs chrēmatizotē Mōusos mellarōntos epitelarō tan skēnan, Horasōr gar, fēatō, poiasi panteim kata …… he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make …
Hebrews 9:6“tent”… houtōs kataskeuazorēnteiu, eis men tan prōtan skēnan dia pantou eiseialō tois hierevois tain …… had been prepared in this way, the priests entered regularly into the first room to …
Hebrews 9:21kai tan skēnan de kai panteim teim skeveim tau …… way, he sprinkled with blood the tabernacle and all the vessels used in …
Revelation 13:6“dwelling”… blasfēmara tem onomem autou kai tan skēnan autou, toin en to ourano skēnarōntoin.… slander His name and His tabernacle — those who dwell in heaven.
skēnau“tabernacle”of, belonging togenitive singular4×
Hebrews 8:2teiu hagieiu leitourgos kai tau skēnau tau alēthinau, han pēgata tos kurios, …… ministers in the sanctuary and true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not …
Hebrews 9:8… teiu hagieiu hodan ēti tau prōtau skēnau echarōntau stasian,… disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing.
Hebrews 9:11… agatheiu dia tau megoterau kai teleioterau skēnau ouk cheiropoiētau, houtem atō ouk houtau …… through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands …
Revelation 15:5… horama, kai anoigita tos naos tau skēnau teu marturieu en to ourano,… I looked, and the temple — the tabernacle of the Testimony — was opened in …
skēna“tabernacle”to, fordative singular1×
Hebrews 13:10… esthiara ouk echalō exousian tois ta skēna latreuarōntois.… which those who serve at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
skēnain“shelters”objectaccusative plural4×
Matthew 17:4… arō; ei thelasō, poiami hōde treis skēnain, si henan kai Mōuso henan kai …… wish, I will put up three shelters— one for You, one for Moses …
Mark 9:5… nin hōde arō, kai poianeia treis skēnain, si henan kai Mōuso henan kai …… here. Let us put up three shelters— one for You, one for Moses …
Luke 9:33… atō nin hōde arō, kai poianeia skēnain treis, henan si kai henan Mōuso …… here. Let us put up three shelters— one for You, one for Moses …
Luke 16:9… eklipateia decheleia vin eis tain aiōniain skēnain.… they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.
skēnai“tents”to, fordative plural1×
Hebrews 11:9… gēan tau epangeliau hōs allotrian, en skēnai katoikarantos meta Isaak kai Iakōb toiu …… a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who …