{
  "id": "dict_003215",
  "term": "Lattice",
  "slug": "lattice",
  "letter": "L",
  "entry_type": "biblical_background_object",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "An openwork screen or grating in a window or opening, used as an ordinary architectural feature in Scripture.",
  "simple_one_line": "A lattice is a screened window or grille mentioned in biblical descriptions of houses and palaces.",
  "tooltip_text": "A lattice is a crosswork screen or grille that lets in air and light while providing partial cover.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "window",
    "house",
    "palace",
    "upper chamber",
    "Song of Songs",
    "Proverbs"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "2 Kings 1:2",
    "Proverbs 7:6",
    "Song of Songs 2:9"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "In Scripture, a lattice is a practical architectural feature: an openwork screen or grille in a window or opening. It appears in narrative and poetic settings, where it serves descriptive rather than doctrinal purposes.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "A lattice is a screened or gridded opening in a wall or window.\n\nIt is an ordinary item of ancient architecture, not a theological concept.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Appears in narrative and poetic passages",
    "Refers to a real architectural feature",
    "Helps describe scenes of looking out, speaking, or falling from a window",
    "Not a distinct biblical doctrine or symbol on its own"
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "A lattice is a patterned screen or grille used in ancient windows or openings. In the Bible it appears as a concrete architectural detail in narrative and poetic contexts, especially where someone looks through a window or falls through one.",
  "description_academic_full": "In biblical usage, a lattice refers to an openwork screen or grille in a window or other opening. It likely allowed air and light to pass through while still providing some privacy or protection. The term appears in ordinary descriptive contexts, including a fall through a lattice in a palace setting and poetic references to looking through a window screen. Because it names a common architectural feature rather than a doctrine, covenant, office, or moral category, it is best treated as a Bible-background or ordinary-object entry rather than a standalone theological term.",
  "background_biblical_context": "The biblical references to a lattice are concrete and situational. In 2 Kings 1:2, Ahaziah falls through the lattice in his upper chamber. In Proverbs 7:6, the speaker looks through the lattice of a window. In Song of Songs 2:9, the beloved is pictured standing behind the wall, looking through the lattice. These uses show the term functioning as part of domestic or royal architecture.",
  "background_historical_context": "In the ancient Near East, windows and openings were often fitted with screens, grilles, or patterned woodwork to allow ventilation and light while offering some measure of shade, privacy, or safety. A lattice in this sense belongs to everyday building practice rather than specialized religious vocabulary.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "Ancient Israelite homes and royal structures would have used common architectural features suited to heat, privacy, and upper-room design. The biblical mention of a lattice fits that ordinary household and palace setting, and the term is best read as a descriptive detail familiar to ancient readers.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "2 Kings 1:2",
    "Proverbs 7:6",
    "Song of Songs 2:9"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "—"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "English translations render a Hebrew term that refers to a screened or latticed opening. The exact architectural form is not always certain, but the basic sense is clear from context.",
  "theological_significance": "The term has no major doctrinal weight in itself. Its significance is literary and contextual: it grounds biblical scenes in real settings and helps the reader picture what is happening.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "The word illustrates how Scripture often communicates through concrete, ordinary objects rather than abstract terms. Material details can carry narrative force without becoming symbolic in a technical sense.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not over-symbolize the lattice or read a doctrine into it apart from the immediate context. Its meaning is primarily architectural and descriptive.",
  "major_views_note": "There is no significant theological debate over the basic sense of the term. Discussion is mainly lexical and architectural, not doctrinal.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "A lattice should not be treated as a spiritual office, ritual object, or prophetic symbol unless the immediate context clearly requires it. Its plain sense is an ordinary window screen or grille.",
  "practical_significance": "The term reminds readers that the Bible speaks in real-world settings with ordinary details. Such details often strengthen narrative realism and poetic imagery.",
  "meta_description": "Lattice in the Bible refers to an openwork screen or grille in a window or opening, used as an ordinary architectural feature in narrative and poetry.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/lattice/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/lattice.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}