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Manners & Customs

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...

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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 ...

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Inside a Tent

INSIDE ARRANGEMENT OF TENT The Oriental tent is usually oblong in shape, and is divided into two, and sometimes three apartments by goat's hair curtains. The entrance leads into the apartment for the men, which also serves as the reception apartment. Beyond this is the apartment for the women and children. And sometimes there is a third apartment ...

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Roof Problems

ITEMS OF INTEREST GROWING OUT OF THE CHARACTER OF THE ROOF AND WALLS Grass on the housetops. With the roofs of the houses made largely of dirt or clay, one can easily imagine how grass could grow on the tops of the houses as Bible references indicate. "Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it growth up" (Psalm 129:6; s...

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Windows

Windows. The Oriental has few windows that open on the street side of the house, and those that do are usually high. As a rule the window has wooden bars serving as a protection against robbers, while the lower half of the window is screened by a framework of latticework. The Book of Proverbs speaks of such a window: "For at the window of my house ...

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Tent Furniture

INSIDE FURNISHINGS OF TENTS The shepherd's tent is always subject to perpetual removals, as Hezekiah indicated in his song of thanksgiving, after his recovery from sickness (Isaiah 38:12). Therefore, the furnishings of that tent must include only the necessities. Rugs cover the ground, but at night the bedding is brought out, which is composed of...

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Patching and Enlarging

PATCHING A TENT AND ENLARGING THE QUARTERS New tents are very seldom made among the Bedouins. About the only time this happens is when a young groom and bride set up housekeeping for themselves in a different location from that of the groom's parents, and this rarely happens. The usual procedure is to accumulate the goat clippings of a year or so,...

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Doors

Doors. The doors as well as windows were ordinarily built of sycamore wood. It was only for ornamental purposes of the wealthy that cedar wood was used16 (cf. Isaiah 9:10). These doors turned on hinges, as. the familiar proverb about the sluggard makes mention of the turning of a door upon its hinges (Proverbs 26:14). If the doors were fastened whe...

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Tent Dwellers

THE CHARACTER OF TENT-LIFE The Westerner does not begin to appreciate the pilgrim character of the Oriental tent-dweller. One traveler among these nomads had this to say about them: The Arab's tent is his home: yet the word "home" does not mean to him what it means to us. Of our idea of home he has no conception . . . His home is the little spot ...

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