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Houses - Wealthy

Cornerstones

The cornerstone is another important part of the mason's work of which Scripture speaks. When the first layer of oblong stones is laid on the foundation, a broad square stone is selected for each corner where two walls meet. A thinner square block is usually put at each corner of the top rows of stones where the roof-beams are to rest. When trimmin...

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Building a Multi Room House

BUILDING A HOUSE OF TWO, THREE, OR MORE ROOMS If a house of two rooms is to be built, the Oriental does not place them side by side, as the Occidental builder would do. Rather the breadth of a room is left between the two rooms, and a wall is constructed between the ends, and as a result of this arrangement, the house has an open court. If the bui...

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Wealthy Furniture

MORE ELABORATE FURNISHINGS The simple furnishings of a one-room house, where the common people lived, have already been described. Houses of more than one room were inhabited by those in a better situation. The wealthy usually had upper rooms as well as lower rooms, and of course, the furnishings were more elaborate. The divan or raised seat was ...

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Description of the Rooms

THE APPEARANCE AND ARRANGEMENT OF ROOMS There is a great difference between an Oriental and Occidental house of more than one room. The exterior of the Occidental house is made to be as beautiful as possible, and especially the part that fronts on the street. But the exterior of the Oriental house presents an appearance that is mean and blank by c...

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Doors and Gates

THE DOOR AND THE PORCH Location and appearance of the door. The door or gate was located in the middle of the front side of the house. This entrance was usually so arranged that nobody could see into it from the street. Sometimes a wall was built in front of it to serve this purpose. Oriental gates, or large doors often have small doors like a pan...

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Keys and Locks

The use of keys. The Oriental key of modern times is like the key of Isaiah's days, and most certainly not like the small occidental variety. Isaiah 22:22 says: "The key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder." Dr. Thomson tells of seeing different keys in Israel that would be large enough to lay on the shoulder of a man. He saw one key...

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Multiple Room Houses

Houses of More Than One Room AMONG THE ARABS of Israel villages and towns, houses of more than one room are owned by those who are more or less prosperous. The Arabic word meaning "house" also means "a room," The same thing was true of the houses belonging to the ancient Hebrews. As a rule the houses of one room were in the villages, and those of ...

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The Courtyard

THE ORIENTAL COURTYARD Open to the sky. It is important for the Westerner to realize that at the center of the Oriental house of several rooms is a courtyard that is open to the sky. The courtyard is an important part of the house. A person can be in the court and thus in the house, and yet he would be outdoors from the point of view of the Wester...

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Porters and Porches

The porch and duties of the porter. The passageway inside the door and leading to the courtyard itself is called the porch. It is most often furnished with some kind of seats for the porter or for the servants. It was in this porch that one of Peter's denials, took place. "And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto...

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Upper Rooms

THE UPPER ROOM The upper room or chamber is a well-known part of many Oriental houses today, and is frequently referred to in the Bible (cf. II Kings 1:2; 23:12; Acts 9:37; 20:8, etc.). Those who cannot afford such a room are content with booths or arbors on the roof of their houses. But when it is possible to do so they construct a room. It provi...

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