Dwell

Tents were in primitive times the common dwellings of men. Houses were afterwards built, the walls of which were frequently of mud (Job 24:16; Matt. 6:19, 20) or of sun-dried bricks. God “dwells in light” (1 Tim. 6:16; 1 John 1:7), in heaven (Ps. 123:1), in his church (Ps. 9:11; 1 John 4:12). Christ dwelt on earth in the days of his humiliation (John 1:14). He now dwells in the hearts of his people (Eph. 3:17-19). The Holy Spirit dwells in believers (1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Tim. 1:14). We are exhorted to “let the word of God dwell in us richly” (Col. 3:16; Ps. 119:11). Dwell deep occurs only in Jer. 49:8, and refers to the custom of seeking refuge from impending danger, in retiring to the recesses of rocks and caverns, or to remote places in the desert.

Part of speech: verb (v.)

1. To delay; to linger. [Obs.]

2. To abide; to remain; to continue. I 'll rather dwell in my necessity. Shak. Thy soul was like a star and dwelt apart. Wordsworth.

3. To abide as a permanent resident, or for a time; to live in a place; to reside. The parish in which I was born, dwell, and have possessions. Peacham. The poor man dwells in a humble cottage near the hall where the lord of the domain resides. C. J. Smith. To dwell in, to abide in (a place); hence, to depend on. "My hopes in heaven to dwell." Shak. -- To dwell on or upon, to continue long on or in; to remain absorbed with; to stick to; to make much of; as, to dwell upon a subject; a singer dwells on a note. They stand at a distance, dwelling on his looks and language, fixed in amazement. Buckminster.

Synonyms: inhabit; live; abide; sojourn; reside; continue; stay; rest.

Part of speech: verb (v.)

To inhabit. [R.] Milton.