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Manners & Customs

Women

This attitude toward women can be illustrated from the Bible. Notice how Jacob's wives when traveling were given places by themselves, and not with him (Genesis 32). And nothing is said about the prodigal's mother being present at the feast which the father served his son (Luke 15:11-32). All this is in keeping with Oriental custom. [Manners And Cu...

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Purification of the Mother

After childbirth, the Jewish mother passed through a period of purification of seven days for a boy and fourteen days for a girl, and then she still remained at home thirty-three days for a boy, and sixty-six days for a girl. Then she was to go up to the Temple to make her childbirth offerings. If she was rich she would bring a lamb to be offered, ...

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Education at Ancient Synagogues

THE SYNAGOGUE SCHOOLS WHEN JESUS WAS A BOY When JESUS grew up as a boy in the village of Nazareth, he no doubt attended the synagogue school. The Jewish child was sent to school in the fifth or sixth year of his life. The pupils either "stood, teacher and pupils alike, or else sat on the ground in a semicircle, facing a teacher." Until the childr...

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The Torah in Ancient Jewish Life

THE BIBLE IN THE JEWISH HOME OF CHRIST'S TIME In the days when JESUS grew up as a boy in his Nazareth home, whatever else of the Hebrew Scriptures the youth may have been acquainted with, they grew up to hear recited a prayer called "The Shema." This prayer was in reality the quotation of three passages from the Pentateuch. It was repeated morning...

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Betrothal

THE BETROTHAL Difference between a promise and a betrothal. A promise of marriage among the Jews of Bible times might mean an engagement without anything definite. There could be a number of engagements broken off. It was the betrothal that was binding, rather than a mere promise of marriage. The promise might be set aside, but a betrothal entered...

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Weaning Children

WEANING OF A CHILD The weaning of a child is an important event in the domestic life of the East. In many places it is celebrated by a festive gathering of friends, by feasting, by religious ceremonies, and sometimes the formal presentation of rice to the child. Among the peasant Arabs of Israel, babies are often nursed for two years, and sometime...

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Men Wearing Women's Clothing

The law of Moses forbade a man to wear a woman's clothing, and a woman to wear a man's clothing (Deuteronomy 22:5). Among the Bedouin Arabs of Israel there is a great care that either sex shall not imitate the other in matters of dress. A traveler one day discovered a Bedouin man who had put on a woman's garment while doing some rough work. He was ...

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The Father

"The Father" is a powerful and thought-provoking drama that explores the complex dynamics of family relationships, memory, and identity. This poignant story delves into the life of an elderly man grappling with dementia, and his daughter's struggle to come to terms with the changing reality that surrounds them. Through nuanced storytelling and evoc...

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Wise Women

But while these things are true, it must be understood that the Old Testament does not picture the wife as a mere slave of her husband. She is seen to exert tremendous influence for good or ill over her husband. And he showed great respect for her in most cases. Sarah was treated by Abraham as a queen, and in matters of the household: she ruled in ...

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Naming Children

NAMING OF CHILDREN The Arabs are fond of compounding the name of Allah into the name given their children. It was a very common custom for the Hebrews to include a name for GOD as a part of their children's names. A few samples of such Hebrew names are here given together with their meanings: Abijah - "Whose father GOD is" Ahaziah - "Held by JEHO...

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