Canopy

CANOPY. A term used six times in the RSV and not at all in the KJV. Its root is from the Gr. κωνωπίον from κώνωψ, G3270, a gnat. It was evidently some kind of gnat catcher or screen.

In 2 Samuel 22:12, “canopy” tr. סֻכָּה, H6109, “a thicket or booth” (KJV “pavilion,” Ps 18:11).

In 1 Kings 7:6 it tr. עָ֖ב, a term the meaning of which is not known. It was some kind of wooden structure. KJV tr. it “thick beam.” In Isaiah 4:5 “canopy” tr. the Heb. word חֻפָּֽה, “a chamber” or “covering” (KJV, a “defence”).

In Jeremiah 43:10, where KJV has “royal pavilion” and RSV “royal canopy” the term in Heb. is שַׁפְרִיר, H9188, a word the meaning of which is unknown. Both “canopy” and “carpet” have been suggested as possibilities. It is prob. from an Assyrian word meaning “spread out.”

Finally, in Ezekiel 41:25, עָ֥ב again is tr. “thick plank” in KJV and “porch” in ASV. The context clearly shows that it is of wood.

It is apparent from the above that the term “canopy” is very indefinite for some kind of covering, usually, but not always, of wood. Sometimes the structure was used for splendor, sometimes for protection. See Booth.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)

Isa 4:5 the King James Version has "defence," the English Revised Version "canopy," the American Standard Revised Version "covering," the last being best, though "canopy" has much in its favor. In Ps 19:5 (Hebrew 19:6) chuppah is used of the bridegroom’s chamber and in Joe 2:16 of the bride’s. Among the Hebrews the chuppah was originally the chamber in which the bride awaited the groom for the marital union. In Judith 10:21; 13:9,15; 16:19 the word canopy occurs as the English equivalent of the Greek konopeion, which was primarily a mosquito-net and then a canopy over a bed, whether for useful or for decorative purposes.