Bible Dictionary
Habitation
Habitation means a dwelling place or place of residence. Scripture also uses the idea figuratively of God as the secure dwelling of His people and of His presence among them.
Definition
Habitation means a place of sojourning or dwelling. The term may refer to an ordinary residence, a tabernacle, a house, a fold, or a foundation, depending on the underlying Hebrew or Greek word and the context.
Biblical Usage
Scripture speaks of God as the habitation of His people, who find rest and safety in Him. God’s throne is founded on justice and judgment; He inhabits eternity and dwells among the praises of Israel.
Historical Background
The English word represents numerous Hebrew and Greek terms. Some passages translated “habitation” in older versions are rendered more specifically in later versions as dwelling, fold, foundation, tabernacle, or house.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
God is the habitation of his people, who find rest and safety in him (Ps. 71:3; 91:9). Justice and judgment are the habitation of God’s throne (Ps. 89:14, Heb. mekhon, “foundation”), because all his acts are founded on justice and judgment. (See Ps. 132:5, 13; Eph. 2:22, of Canaan, Jerusalem, and the temple as God’s habitation.) God inhabits eternity (Isa. 57:15), i.e., dwells not only among men, but in eternity, where time is unknown; and “the praises of Israel” (Ps. 22:3), i.e., he dwells among those praises and is continually surrounded by them.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>hab-i-ta'-shun: Properly a place of sojourn or dwelling. The term in the King James Version representing some 16 Hebrew words (moshabh, ma`-on, mishkan, naweh, etc.), and 5 Greek words, is variously changed in certain passages in the Revised Version (British and American), as Ge 49:5, "swords"; Le 13:46 "dwelling"; Job 5:24; Jer 25:30 b,37, "fold"; Ps 89:14; 97:2, etc., "foundation"; Ps 132:5, "tabernacle"; Lu 16:9, "tabernacles," etc. Conversely, "habitation" appears in the Revised Version (British and American) for the King James Version "dwelling place" in 2Ch 30:27; Ps 79:7, "house"; Ps 83:12; 2Co 5:2, "tabernacle," Ac 7:46, etc.</p><p>See HOUSE.</p><p>James Orr</p>