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Manners & Customs

Mid Day Rest

THE MIDDAY SIESTA In Israel during the summer season the time of greatest heat is from noon to three o' clock in the afternoon. There is cessation of most activity during that time in many parts of the land. They rest at home or wherever they may be and can find a suitable place. A laundry or shop will often be discovered to be closed during those...

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Girdles

THE GIRDLE If the tunic was ungirded it would interfere with a person's ability to walk freely, and so a girdle was always worn when leaving home for any kind of a journey (See II Kings 4:29; Acts 12:8). There were and are today two kinds of girdles. One, a common variety, is of leather, usually six inches broad and furnished with clasps. This wa...

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Smoking Flax

The prophet's reference to smoking flax. Isaiah's prophecy concerning the Messiah was that "the smoking flax shall he not quench" (Isaiah 42:3). Dr. Thomson tells of seeing ancient clay lamps in use illustrating this text. The wick was often made of a twisted strand of flax, and this was put into the olive oil in the shallow cup of the lamp. When t...

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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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Kinds of Food

Foods and Their Preparation for Eating WHAT KINDS OF FOOD did the ancient Jews eat? "The ordinary food of the average Hebrew of Bible times was bread, olives, oil, buttermilk and cheese from their flocks; fruits and vegetables from their orchards and gardens; and meat on rare occasions."1 Only a few more varieties would have to be added to make th...

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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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Vegetables

VEGETABLES The two most widely used vegetables in Bible times were beans and lentils. The prophecy of Ezekiel mentions both of these in one verse (Ezekiel 4:9). Beans are included in the articles of food which David's friends brought to him when he was in flight from Jerusalem, because of Absalom's rebellion (II Samuel 17:28). The most famous Bibl...

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Light in the House

The significance of light in a Palestinian house. A lamp is considered to be the Palestinian peasant's one luxury that is a necessity. When the sun sets in the West, the door of his house is shut, and then the lamp is lit. To sleep without a light is considered by most villagers to be a sign of extreme poverty. The Bible makes synonymous such terms...

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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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Milk

DAIRY PRODUCTS Milk. Milk in Bible times was considered, not simply as something that was added to their food in cooking, but was regarded as a substantial food for all ages. Babies were fed mother's milk (Isaiah 28:9). The Hebrews not only used cow's milk, but also sheep's milk (Deuteronomy 32:14), goat's milk (Proverbs 27:27), and, no doubt, cam...

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