Enter thy Closet
(Tamieon – A bedchamber or bed closet)

Matthew 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, (Tamieon) and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Recently I read an article that categorically stated that the word “Tameion” did not mean “chamber” but it instead meant “a pantry” or “a storage closet” and then the writer spun off from that an entire article about the prayer closet being a pantry.

So with some mild skepticism as to this writer’s knowledge of Greek and the implications in the article that we simple pray “to get” from this pantry I felt somewhat compelled to examine these claims a little further.

The first things that the Lord brought to my attention is that only the wealthy of Christ’s day had multiple rooms and closets in their houses. And that unlike today Christ preached to the poor.

When I was a small child and we visited relatives in West and East Germany. These people had a piece of furniture that was called a bed closet. It looked like a large dresser or bureau on the front band two sets of drawers below the knee that were used to store bedsheets, pillowcases blankets and quilts and this peice of furnature then had a large set of doors. When opened there was a made up bed inside. And you climbed into this bed closet and actually shut the door behind you. And it was fairly dark inside – there were air vents in the design that let in a minimum amount of light. This bed closet also by design was also somewhat soundproof from the rest of the room/house outside of it, so people in the house could be up and about cooking and cleaning and you could sleep in peace, and also the reverse was true also so that a husband and wife in a bed closet could have sex and engage in sexual talk while doing so with a level of soundproofing as well. This piece of furniture is a modern embodiment of the Greek word Tamieon.

Genesis 43:30 And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his (bed) chamber, (Tameion) and wept there.

Exodus 8:3 And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, (Tamieia) and upon thy bed

Deuteronomy 28:8 The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses (Tameiois Bed-Chambers -- in individual houses) and in all that thou settest thine hand unto. (To do Therein.)

In this verse the word “Tameiois” is mistranslated, this should be translated here as: Deuteronomy 28:8 The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy bed chamber, and in all that thou settest thine hand to do Therein.

(This blessing of the bedchamber or womb is repeated in several places in the law of Moses.)

We also know “Tameiois” is to be translated as “Bed Chamber” here, because Solomon quotes from this same passage in Ecclesiastes.

Ecclesiastes 11:6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not (Greek A-Phies) thine hand (From thy wife): for thou knowest not whither shall prosper, (Be blessed by God) either this or that, or whether they both shall alike (shall) be good. (Blessed)

In the evening Solomon speaks here of: “All that thou settest thy hand to do in the evening -- in thy bedchamber.”

This is also a spoken of David in Psalms

Psalm 128:1-4 Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: (Running over the wall as Joseph) thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.
Solomon declares that when David his father spoke these things that “The eating of the labor or thine hands and the bliss” was in large part to a man’s labor of his hands in the night to build his household upon the marital bed.

Proverbs 24:27 Prepare thy work without, and (by day) make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards (In the evening) build thine house(hold).

The passage all of these scripture verses are cited from is from Genesis.2 concerning the curse in which man is to till the land for food and the woman is to have multiplied pain in childbirth. And in this we see that the multiplied pain is not only the pain of birth but God’s demand for multiple births of each woman as part of their atonement

Judges 3:24 When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour were locked, they said, Surely he covereth his feet (Hebrew euphemism for having sex) in his summer (bed) chamber.(Tameio)

Judges 15:1 But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his (Betrothed) wife with a kid (Young goat for a dowry); and he said, I will go in to my wife into the (bed) chamber (Tameion) But her father would not suffer him to go in.

Judges 16:9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the (bed) chamber.(Tameio)

Judges 16:12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the (bed) chamber. (Tameiou)

2 Samuel 13:10 And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat into the (bed) chamber,(Tamieion)

1 Kings 1:15 And Bathsheba went in unto the king into the (Bed) chamber: (Tameion) and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king.

1 Kings 20:30 But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Benhadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.(Septuagint adds:into a (bed) closet. Tamieion)

1 Kings 22:25 And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner (bed) chamber to hide thyself.(in it)
(Septuagint reads Thou shalt go onto a Tameion and secret yourself in a Tameiou) This is probably where the phrase “Hiding under one’s bed” originally came from.

2 Kings 6:12 And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.(Septuagint: Tamieo tou Koitonos sou – while having sexually relations in thy bedchamber)

2 Kings 9:2 And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber; (Septuagint A Tameion of Tameio) This bedchamber of bedchambers might denote a master bedroom of a noble or wealthy person’s house.

In Psalm 144 we find a different form of the word with a different meaning

Psalm 144:13 That our garners may be full, affording all manner of stores (Storage-chambers --Tameria) that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets:
This is not Tamieon or any other forms of the word we have seen so far which all have consistently been used for “bed-chamber.” Here we see Tameria is a chamber used for storage

Proverbs 3:9-10 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns (Tamieia) be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

As we have noted above David in Psalm 128 makes a reference to the wife being a fruitful vine and children being olive plants encompassing around one’s table, and that such a man will be happy and blessed.

Proverbs 7:26-28 For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. (Entering) Her house is the way to hell, (and) going down into the (Her bed) chambers (Tamieia) is death.

Proverbs 24:3-4 Through wisdom is an house(hold is) builded; (Septuagint Oiko-Domeitai Oikos -- Master-builder of households) and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge (Discretion) shall the chambers (Tamieia) be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

This Proverb is concerning strange women, and bad men and keeping away from them and instead building one’s household with lawful companions and women of discretion.

Ecclesiastes 10:20 Curse not the king, no not (even) in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: (Tamieiois Koitonon During sexual relations in thy bed chamber) for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.

For out of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Song of Solomon 1:4 Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his (Bed) chambers: (Tameion)

Song of Solomon 3:4 It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the (Bed) chamber (Tameion) of her that conceived me.

I Personally have had quite a hard time understanding the reference here and in Song of Solomon 8:2 of this unmarried woman bringing Solomon to her mother’s house and to her mothers bed, (Tonight 10/15/06 in a flash I understood these and another problematic passage for the first time.) – Her mother’s house, and her mother’s bed are reference to Naomi tutoring Ruth in household matters and sexual matters. (This is partially picked up in Proverbs where Solomon extols the virtuous woman.) This is also referred to in the book of Titus to the woman Elders instructing the younger women in how to Phileo husbands (To seduce and overpower their husbands with sex as Ruth learned of Naomi) And the passage then speaks of these women elders also instructing these young woman in six other things pertaining to a wife’s duties and household matters.

Song of Solomon 8:1-2 O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! (What she is saying here is if Solomon had sucked her mother’s breasts he would have had more respect / anticipation towards hers) when I should find thee without, (and) I would (have) kiss(ed) thee; yea, I should not be despised. I would (So desire to) lead thee, (Greek Sul-Lambano Laid hold upon – in an intense relational or sexual manner.) and bring thee into my mother's house, (Septuagint adds: and (Bed)chamber Tameion) who would instruct me: (Her mother’s house, and her mother’s bed are reference to Naomi tutoring Ruth in household matters and sexual matters.) I would cause thee to (Successfully provoke or tempt thee) drink of (My) spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate. (This pomegranate of hers is singular as opposed to her breasts that are plural whether they call them twin roes, Song 4:5, 7:3, Towers Song 8:10 or as the Clusters of grapes Song 7:7, and 7:8. What this maiden clearly desires here of Solomon is some oral vaginal stimulation.)

Isaiah 26:20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy (bed) chambers, (Tameia) and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.

Isaiah 42:22 But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, (Septuagint Secret (bed) Chambers or Hideth in their (bed) Chambers– Tameiois ) and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.

Whether one agrees of not that Tameion in all its various forms means “bed closet” or “bed chamber.” – Atleast one can see when going though this list of scripture that upwards of 75-80 percent of the time in the Septuagint when Tameion is used by context it clearly carries the meaning of “bed closet” or “bed chamber.”

So this word is used only four times in the New Testament

Matthew 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy (bed)closet, (Tamieon) and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Matthew 24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret (Not in Greek) (Bed) chambers; (Tameiois) believe it not. (Probably of some king’s palace or man of great wealth home. The president of Iran comes to mind with his seeking the return of the Mandi or the Twelfth Imam – and Christ is supposed to be with him)

Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse (Tamieon A chamber for it to rest) nor barn (A-Potheke; A-Not Pothe-Author – They Make Nothing ) and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
(Is this not what He called to Apostles to? That they were to sow nothing reap nothing store up nothing (In their purses) and to produce nothing (as they sought the kingdom of God first). And yet God took care of all their needs. And we can see further see here in Christ’s words -- that the Apostles were not to and could not tithe and by the same token also that Jesus could not and did not tithe either.)

One time a brother spoke to me about tithing, and how important it had become in his church. He told of how it had become an indispensable part of their spiritual worship, and that any one that was not tithing could not be fully blessed by God. He even speculated he wondered if they could even be serving God if they did not tithe. The conversation then switched to end-time truth and that the church was not going to fly away anywhere. And I looked at this young man and asked him point blank when the antichrist arose and all commerce could only be done by the mark of the beast, would his pastor then demand his congregants take the mark of the beast so that they could continue to pay him their tithes and offerings, and thus continue their indispensable spiritual worship? To say this young man did not like this question would be an understatement – and yet he did not disfellowship me, and it did not throw his faith – for two years he has spoken to me regularly to see what the Lord has spoken to me.

Honesty and not being willing to compromise even in the face of personal loss won me a brother – as well it should.

Psalm 15:4 -- He (that) honoureth them that fear the LORD. (Is) he that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

In the above passage in Luke 24:12 this is a great promise of Christ to the end-time church even unto the Ek-Lectos of God for when the time of darkness shall come that no man shall be able to work (Sow or reap of lay aside some food, or even be able to make anything that God shall take care of His people as the ravens, for he careth more for them than the birds.

Luke 12:3 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in (Bed) closets (Tameiois --This is in multiple individuals houses) shall be proclaimed upon the housetops

No where in the Septuagint is Tamieion used as a pantry or household storage closet. And even if it had ever been, in Christ’s instructions concerning prayer He never said where ever one of you shall gather in My Name, nor in the Lord’s prayer did Christ in instruct his disciples to pray “my Father.” – Instead Jesus instructions were always where “two or three are gathered”, and when we were to pray we should say: “Our Father.” So two or three wedged in a pantry or crammed into a small household storage closet in a “poor” Jewish household would not make sense at all. But in context of a household the two always speak of the husband and wife, and the more speak of the children. So that Christ instructed the church to pray first by household as by husband and wife – this goes back to the Law of Moses concerning the Passover in which salvation was granted unto households and the households of the redeemed in turn made up the Ek-Klesia in the wilderness not visa-versa as is preached today. And we see further that Christ was instructing each household that they were to pray around the bed. This is especially meaningful in the sexual relations between husband and wife. And the words here of Christ were spoken of in scripture by David, where he prayed upon his bed in his bed chamber, and he worshipped upon his bed in his bed chamber, and wept before the Lord upon his bed in his bed chamber. In the Greek all of David’s activities here were done upon the bed of Koitos. So that it was he with his wife praying singing worshipping and crying out to the Lord as part of their relations.

David saw by the Spirit that this is what had been done by Adam and his wife before the fall in the cool of the evening. David saw that they had included God in the most sacred part of marriage – the two celebrating the communion of co-mingling with one another as being one flesh. (Which we have more to say but will not express it here as this may well be too much for many to deal with already.)

Since the fall of the early church this holy and sacred union between husband and wife has been all but destroyed. And just as the Pharisees with their so called oral-traditions of Moses and Talmud destroyed the holiness and sanctity of the union of marriage in all of Israel to this very day, replacing it with their hollow and empty traditions of the asceticism of their so called sages and rabbis. -- So also these same Pharisees after the deaths of Peter and Paul beguiled the church into accepting these same Talmudic traditions, and were thus be able to destroy the sanctity of the holy union in marriage in the church as well.

So that in Matthew 6:6 Christ pronounces a blessing on husbands and wives that will integrate prayer, praise, worship, bible reading, and even partaking of Holy Communion while communing physically with each other

And further we find that when husbands and wives integrate prayer, praise, worship, bible reading, and even partaking of Holy Communion while communing physically with each other – that Christ declares a further promise that God shall indeed speak revelation and enlightenment to them and what they shall hear in bed obeying his commandments that they 1)Become one flesh daily 2) That they be fruitful and multiply 3) That they do not sunder themselves -- by loving the Lord with all their heart mind soul and strength in how they love whom they have seen. So that when they come together in the assembly everyone will see the fruit of that union –because everyone hath. And what they hath is such glorious stuff it can be shouted from these households .