Penelope tells her to move it as another test to see if Odysseus is indeed who he says he is. If he is the her husband, he will know that the bed cannot actually be moved because it is built from the trunk of the Olive tree around which the house has been constructed. Odysseus calls her bluff by noting her orders of Eurycleia to be impossible, which finally convinces Penelope that her husband is home at last.
Penelope tells Eurycleia to move the bed, Odysseus responds by saying that is impossible because he has made the bed around the Olive tree.
1. (XXI.85-) When Penelope sets out the axes and challenges the suitors to archery, knowing only Odysseus will be able to shoot it. 2. (XXIII.197-202) Penelope commands Eurycleia to move the unmovable bed (that Odysseus himself built) so that Odysseus (before Penelope believes it to be him) will have sleeping accomodations. Odysseus then opposes that idea, claiming that the bed cannot be moved, convincing Penelope that it truly is Odysseus. Only Odysseus, Penelope, and Eurycleia know about the bed being unmovable.
The "marriage" bed or more formally known as the "bridal" bed, was the bed that Odysseus made with his bare hands, and he carved it into a tree that was growing through his house. Odysseus had taken years to build the bed, and it was a gift to Penelope, as a symbol of his love for her. When Penelope tells him the bed had been moved, he gets upset (which only Odysseus would do, because only he and Penelope even knew about the bed.) and this proves to Penelope that he really is Odysseus. The marriage bed/bridal bed was very sacred to Odysseus and Penelope, and only the two of them knew about it. There was a tree that was growing through a small room in their house, so Odysseus built a beautiful bed (bridal bed) he carved into it flowers, and ivory, and built it all by his self and with his bare hands. Odysseus initially built his entire house around this tree, and when Penelope states that she moved the bed, meaning she cut it out of the tree, it infuriates Odysseus (which Penelope knew it would) and then she knows that it really is him. But the basic point of the bed is that only he and Penelope knew about it, so it was used as a test.
Penelope's ostensible offer of marriage and her solicitation of gifts constitute a dolos with a double aim: to keep the suitors off guard and to reassure Odysseus of her loyalty, in the well-founded belief that he has today returned in the guise of the stranger.
The secret that reveals Odysseus is that the marriage bed is made from live olive roots. This convinces Penelope.
Rather than directly testing Odysseus and questioning him, Penelope asks her maid Eurycleia to move the great bed that Odysseus himself made with his own hands. This is a clever way of testing Odysseus because the bed was made in a way that would be near impossible to move and Odysseus finds Penelopes words 'a knife in [his] heart' The bed was made by using the trunk of an olive tree as the first bedpost, the tree was still rooted to the ground so Odysseus claims that even a man in his prime wouldn't be able to move the bed. Odysseus and Penelope are the only people to know how the bed was created so Odysseus has just give proof that he truly is who he says he is.
Penelope knows that only Odysseus knows that their bed is unmovable because one of the posts is a living tree. She was testing if it was the real Odysseus and not a fake
In Homer's epic "The Odyssey," Odysseus told Penelope various stories to prove his identity, including a description of their bed built from an olive tree trunk. This secret was known only to the couple, convincing Penelope of his true return.
Penelope tells Anticlea to move her and Odysseus' bed to a guest room, knowing full well that the bed cannot be moved without damaging it severely.
She did nothing. She just tested him with it. He had built the bed around a tree in their bedroom. No one knew about it but them.
In an attempt to ensure Odysseus is who he says he is Penelope instructs the servant Eurycleia to move the marrage bed down into the great hall. This upsets Odysseus as one of the bed posts was made from an Olive tree which grew in his room and Odysseus thinks it has been broken apart. The detail Odysseus gives to Penelope about the construction of the bed proves to her that Odysseus is her long lost husband.