Couch

Couch in Scripture refers to a bed, divan, or reclining seat used for sleep, rest, or at meals. The Hebrew terms rendered couch include mishkab (lying down place, Genesis 49:4; Job 7:13), yatsa and related words. In Genesis 49:4, Jacob's rebuke of Reuben for defiling his father's couch by lying with Bilhah cost Reuben the birthright preeminence — a grave violation of honor reflected in the same language as David's later offense with Bathsheba. Psalm 6:6 uses the image of the psalmist flooding his bed with tears of weeping in distress.

In the New Testament, the couch (Greek krabattos) is the portable mat or pallet carried by those who were healed by Jesus. The paralytic healed at the pool of Bethesda and the one lowered through the roof in Capernaum were commanded to take up their couch and walk — the carrying of the very implement of their infirmity becoming the demonstration of their healing. The household couch or dining couch also provided the setting for meals at which significant teaching occurred.