Litter

Litter (Hebrew tsab, meaning something lightly and gently borne) denotes a sedan chair or palanquin—an enclosed portable vehicle carried on poles by bearers—used to convey persons of rank in the ancient Near East. Numbers 7:3 uses the term for the wagons (or litters) offered by the princes of Israel as transport for the tabernacle furnishings, though the NRSV and most modern versions translate it as covered wagons. Isaiah 66:20 anticipates the gathering of dispersed Israel to Jerusalem in litters alongside horses, chariots, mules, and swift beasts—a picture of the nations as attendants bringing God's people home in honor.

The litter or palanquin was a luxury conveyance in the ancient world, contrasted with riding on horseback or walking. The Song of Solomon 3:7–10 describes Solomon's ornate palanquin (appiryon) made of cedar, silver, gold, and purple—probably the same form of vehicle. Such conveyances were common throughout the ancient Near East and are attested in Egyptian and Mesopotamian art as the transport of royalty and high officials.