Bed-chamber

The bed-chamber in Eastern houses was typically a slightly elevated platform at the upper end of the main room, or a separate inner room. References include: Elisha's provision of a small upper chamber as a guest room in Shunem (2 Kings 4:10); the bed-chamber as a place of private conspiracy in 2 Kings 6:12, where the Syrian king suspected a spy revealing his plans; and the hiding of the infant Joash from Athaliah in a bed-chamber of the temple (2 Kings 11:2). Ecclesiastes 10:20 warns against cursing the king even in your bedroom—an expression of the reach of royal surveillance.