Bible History
Bible History
Choose a Category

Manners & Customs

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...

Read More

Bread

BREAD Bread the principal food. In the Orient it has been estimated that three-fourths of the people live entirely upon either bread or upon that which is made from wheat or barley flour. It is unquestionably the principal food of the East. In the Bible such an expression as "eating bread" is often used when Occidentals would say: "eating a meal."...

Read More

Cheese

Cheese. In Israel the Arabs are fond of cheese. It is convenient for them to take cheese along with them. Their cheese is somewhat like Western slices, only larger and thicker. They are about as thick as a man's hand. They are found stacked up in the markets. David's father gave him ten cheeses to take to the army captain (I Samuel 17:18). Also Bar...

Read More

One Room House

Houses of One Room AFTER ISRAEL had been in the land of Canaan many years and had settled down from the nomadic life to the more stable agricultural pursuits, houses began to take the place of tents as places of abode. The average home of the common people was a one-room dwelling dwelling.1 Dr. Thomson thinks that because the poor widow who enter...

Read More

Living in Tents

Tent Dwellings IN THE BIBLE, living in tents is of ancient origin. It goes back before the days of Abraham. The first reference in the Scriptures to tent life is concerning the man Jabal, of whom it is said, "he was the father of such as dwell in tents" (Genesis 4:20). Following the Flood the Sacred Record says, "God shall enlarge Japheth, and he ...

Read More

Purposes of a House

PURPOSES OF THE HOUSE In Bible times men did not build houses with the idea in mind that most of their daily living would be spent inside them. Their first interest was in spending as much time as possible in GOD's out-of-doors. The house served as a place of retirement. For this reason the outside walls of the humble house were not inviting. Ther...

Read More

Tent Material

TENT MATERIAL The Bedouin's home is his tent, which is made of black goat's hair. He calls it beit sha'ar, i.e., "house of hair." It is made of coarse, heavy fabric, and serves to protect the family in winter from the cold winds; in the summer the sides are usually lifted, and the tent serves as a sunshade.3 This goat's hair cloth that is used in...

Read More

Floors and Walls

FLOOR AND WALLS OF THE HOUSE Concerning the nature of the floor of these Oriental houses, Dr. George A. Barton says: "The houses generally had no floor except the earth, which was smoothed off and packed hard. Sometimes this was varied by mixing lime with the mud and letting it harden, and sometimes floors of cobblestones or stone chippings mixed...

Read More

Tent Encampments

TENT ENCAMPMENTS AND MANNER OF SETTING UP OF TENTS If the Bedouin Arabs live together as a tribe or a clan, as they often do, or if more than one family dwell with each other, then their tents are not pitched in a promiscuous cluster, but more likely in a large circle to make it possible for at least some of their flocks to be protected inside the...

Read More

Roof Construction

CONSTRUCTION OF THE ROOF The roof of these humble Palestinian houses is made by laying beams across from wall to wall, then putting on a mat of reeds, or perhaps thorn bushes, and over it a coating of clay or earth; sand and pebbles are scattered over this, and a stone roller is used to make it smooth and able to shed rain. This roller is usually ...

Read More

61 Bible Translations

Popular Articles

Explore the Bible Like Never Before!

Bible History Online

Bible Study Tools

Top Tags