Original Word: בּיִת
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: bayith
Pronunciation: bah'-yith
Phonetic Spelling: (bah-yith)
NASB: house, temple, houses, hall, residence, treasury
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) corresponding to H1004 (בַּיִת - house)]

1. house

house

(Aramaic) corresponding to bayith -- house.

see HEBREW bayith

Word Origin
(Aramaic) corresponding to bayith
Definition
a house
NASB Translation
archives* (1), hall (1), house (30), houses (2), residence (1), temple (7), treasury (1).

Semantic Scope

בּיִת (Strong’s Hebrew 1005) encompasses far more than four walls and a roof. Within its forty-plus occurrences the word ranges from a literal residence to the collected members of a household, from a ruling dynasty to the very Temple of the LORD, and even to the interior of objects and cities. Each usage enriches the Old Testament’s revelation of covenant life, human community, and divine presence.

House as Physical Dwelling

The most immediate sense is a concrete dwelling place. When the angel summoned Noah, the instruction was clear: “Enter the ark, you and all your household” (Genesis 7:1). Deliverance involved an entire בּיִת, underscoring that salvation in Scripture regularly addresses families, not only individuals. In Genesis 19 the messengers “pulled Lot into the house” before judgment fell on Sodom (Genesis 19:10). The house functioned as a barrier of mercy, a motif that returns in the Passover narrative where the blood-marked houses shield Israel from the destroyer (Exodus 12:13, though that verse employs the cognate 1004 form).

Household as Family Unit

בּיִת frequently designates the persons who live within a house, whether relatives or servants. Abram armed the “318 trained men born in his household” when he rescued Lot (Genesis 14:14). Centuries later Joshua declared, “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). In both texts the term binds together people who share covenantal identity and destiny. Proverbs 3:33 contrasts two kinds of houses—“The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the dwelling of the righteous”—showing that a household inherits either judgment or blessing according to its relationship with God.

House as Lineage or Dynasty

בּיִת also speaks of an enduring lineage. To David God promised, “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before Me” (2 Samuel 7:16). Here בּיִת means a royal dynasty that culminates in Messiah. The same sense appears negatively in prophecies against Eli’s priestly house (1 Samuel 2:30–33) and Ahab’s royal house (2 Kings 9:7). The term thus anchors God’s covenant dealings across generations, whether to build up or to tear down.

House of the LORD: The Temple

Roughly one-fourth of the occurrences refer to the sanctuary. Solomon “constructed the house for the Name of the LORD” (1 Kings 8:20). Psalm 23:6 celebrates unbroken fellowship: “I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” This “house” is not merely Israel’s architectural centerpiece; it is the earthly locus of divine glory, sacrifice, worship, and instruction. When Nebuchadnezzar plundered “the house of the LORD” (Jeremiah 52:13), it signaled covenant breach; conversely, the post-exilic reconstruction—“The elders of the Jews continued building and prospering… and they finished building according to the command of the God of Israel” (Ezra 6:14)—testified to renewed favor.

House in Covenant and Salvation

בּיִת becomes a covenant marker whenever God binds His promises to households. Rahab was told, “Gather to you into the house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s family” (Joshua 2:18). Everyone inside would be spared. The pattern reappears in the New Testament when Cornelius and the Philippian jailer believe, and their houses are saved (Acts 10:2; Acts 16:31). Old and New Testaments agree: God’s grace is designed to overflow the threshold of individual hearts into entire homes.

Prophetic Imagery of House

Prophets employ בּיִת figuratively to expose spiritual realities. Haggai rebukes the returned exiles, “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies in ruins?” (Haggai 1:4). The comfort of private homes contrasted with the neglected Temple revealed skewed priorities. Conversely, Micah envisions eschatological peace: “Many nations will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob’” (Micah 4:2). The prophetic house draws the nations, prefiguring the church as a “spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5).

Practical and Pastoral Applications

1. Domestic stewardship: Scripture treats the home as a mini-sanctuary where worship, instruction, and hospitality should flourish (Deuteronomy 6:7; Romans 12:13).
2. Family discipleship: God often blesses or judges households corporately; therefore parents are responsible to lead their homes in covenant faithfulness (Ephesians 6:4).
3. Ecclesial identity: Believers today are being “built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22). The material Temple pointed forward to the living church.
4. Eschatological hope: The final vision is of “the Father’s house” with many rooms (John 14:2). Every occurrence of בּיִת in time prepares hearts for that eternal habitation.

Thus בּיִת (Strong’s 1005) weaves through Scripture as a thread linking family, nation, worship, and eternity—a reminder that the God of the Bible delights to dwell with His people and to gather them, household by household, into His everlasting home.

בְּבֵ֣ית בְּבֵ֥ית בְּבֵ֨ית בְּבֵיתִ֔י בֵ֥ית בֵּ֖ית בֵּ֣ית בֵּ֥ית בֵּית־ בֵית־ בַּיְתֵ֔הּ בַּיְתָ֣א בַּיְתָ֣ה בַּיְתָ֤א בַּיְתָא֙ בַיְתֵ֜הּ בבית בביתי בית בית־ ביתא ביתה וּבֵ֥ית וּבַיְתֵ֖הּ וּבַיְתֵ֛הּ וּבַיְתָ֤ה וּבָתֵּיכ֖וֹן ובית וביתה ובתיכון לְבֵ֖ית לְבֵ֣ית לְבֵ֥ית לְבֵית֙ לְבַיְתֵ֔הּ לְבַיְתֵ֣הּ לבית לביתה bay·ṯā bay·ṯāh bay·ṯêh ḇay·ṯêh bayTa bayṯā bayTah bayṯāh bayTeh bayṯêh ḇayṯêh bə·ḇê·ṯî bə·ḇêṯ bəḇêṯ bəḇêṯî beit bêṯ ḇêṯ bêṯ- ḇêṯ- beVeit beveiTi lə·ḇay·ṯêh lə·ḇêṯ ləḇayṯêh ləḇêṯ levayTeh leVeit ū·ḇāt·tê·ḵō·wn ū·ḇay·ṯāh ū·ḇay·ṯêh ū·ḇêṯ ūḇāttêḵōwn ūḇayṯāh ūḇayṯêh ūḇêṯ uvatteiChon uvayTah uvayTeh uVeit vayTeh veitInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts