Manners & Customs

Camels Feet

The camel's feet. These are indeed made for desert traveling. They consist of two toes that are long and that rest upon hard elastic cushions that have a horny and tough sole. The soft cushions of their feet cause their tread to be as noiseless as that of a cat. Thus the camels do not sink in the desert sands, and the toughness of their feet enable...

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Camel Caravans and Current Events

The social influence of the caravans. In ancient times as well as today, in large sections of the Orient, the caravans take the place of newspaper, telephone, and radio. Ordinarily, the knowledge of what was going on was limited on the part of the women to what they heard at the village oven, or the village well; and on the part of the men, to what...

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Symbolism of Horses and Chariots

Figurative use of chariots and white horses. Chariots and white horses were often used as figures of speech in the Bible. Chariots are referred to as symbols of power. Thus GOD "maketh the clouds his chariots" (Psalm 104:3). The LORD is said to have his army of angels and many chariots: "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of an...

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Bull Calves

Bull calves were often used in Bible times for meat. [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]...

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Modes of Travel

Methods of travel. Traveling is sometimes done on foot, but more often on the backs of horses, mules, or donkeys, and when traveling in the desert, camels are mostly used. In order to avoid the intense heat, and to escape detection by robber tribes, traveling is often done by night. The guide will get his direction from the stars. Summer is the usu...

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Innkeepers

Sometimes the inn had an innkeeper. Luke tells us how the Good Samaritan brought the poor man he was helping "to an inn, and took care of him." In this case a "host" or "innkeeper" is mentioned (Luke 10:34,35). It would be the duty of this man to supply a few of the necessary provisions for the travelers who spent the night there. [Manners And Cust...

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Camel's Hump

The camel's hump. This serves important purposes. It makes it possible for the back of the animal to receive burdens that are to be transported. And the fatty matter that accumulates in the hump provides a supply of reserve energy which can be utilized by the animal as occasion demands. The condition of the hump is always examined when an Oriental ...

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Streets Were Sometimes Paved with Stone

As a rule, Eastern streets today are narrow, and everything would indicate that they were narrow in ancient times. In the cities some of them are paved (usually with stone), but in the villages they are seldom paved. David said, "I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets" (Psalm 18:42). Isaiah refers to the "mire of the streets" (Isaiah 10:6)....

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Beggars in the New Testament

In New Testament times beggars were usually the blind, maimed, or diseased. Thus blind Bartimeus "sat by the highway side begging" (Mark 10:46). The impotent man "was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple" (Acts 3:2). The beggar Lazarus, who was diseased, ...

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Horses in Bible Times

HORSES Bible time horse same as Arab horse today. Assyrian and Egyptian sculpture would indicate that the horse of Bible times was the same as the Arabs use today. In those days the horse was used mainly for war purposes, although Isaiah, in connection with threshing, speaks of the use of horses (Isaiah 28:28), thus indicating that to a limited de...

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