Bible Encyclopedias
Canopy

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

kan´ō̇ -pi ( חפה , ḥuppāh , from a root meaning "to enclose" or "cover"): Isaiah 4:5 the King James Version has "defence," the English Revised Version "canopy," the American Standard Revised Version "covering," the last being best, though "canopy" has much in its favor. In Psalm 19:5 (Hebrews 19:6) ḥuppāh is used of the bridegroom's chamber and in Joel 2:16 of the bride's. Among the Hebrews the ḥuppāh was originally the chamber in which the bride awaited the groom for the marital union. In Judith 10:21; 13:9, 15; 16:19 the word canopy occurs as the English equivalent of the Greek κωνωπεῖον , kōnōpeı́on , which was primarily a mosquito-net and then a canopy over a bed, whether for useful or for decorative purposes.