CHAPTER 2
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. Dr. Thomson thinks that because the poor widow who entertained Elijah had an upper room in her house, it indicates she was not of the poorer class but was in straits only because of the terrible famine (cf. 1Kings 17:8-19).
Purposes Of The House
Picture: Peasant's One-Room 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. There was no effort to attract attention to this place of retirement.
The purpose of these dwellings is borne out by the meaning of the Hebrew and Arabic words for "house." Rev. Abraham Rihbany, who was born in Syria and spent his early life there, has made a very illuminative statement about the meaning and purpose of the Palestinian house:
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The Hebrew word bavith and the Arabic word bait mean primarily a "shelter." The English equivalent is the word "house." The richer term, "home," has never been invented by the son of Palestine because he has always considered himself "a sojourner in the earth." His tent and his little house, therefore, were sufficient for a shelter for him and his dear ones during the earthly pilgrimage.
Because the Palestinians lived out-of-doors so much, the sacred writers were fond of referring to God as a "shelter" or as a "refuge," rather than as a "home." Such expressions in connection with Deity are numerous in the Book of Psalms and also in the prophetic writings. (cf. Psa. 61:3; Isa. 4:6).
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 with lime were found. In the Roman period mosaic floors, made by embedding small smoothly cut squares of stone in the earth, were introduced.
The walls of the houses were often made of bricks, but these were not ordinarily burned, but were composed of mud dried in the sun. Job speaks of these kinds of dwelling as "houses of clay" (Job 4:19). They are similar to the adobe houses so common in Mexico today, and often seen in the Southwestern states of America, where the Spanish influence of the past is still felt.
But sometimes the walls were made of rough sandstones, so common in the land. These were of varying sizes and were set in mud. The joints between them were apt to be wide and irregular. It was only the palaces or houses of the wealthy that were constructed of hewn stones, like the palaces of Solomon
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(1Kings 7:9), and the rich of Isaiah's day, who boasted they would replace fallen down brick walls with walls of hewn stones (Isa. 9:8-10).
Construction Of The Roof
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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 left on the house top and the roof is rolled again several times, especially after the first rain, in order to keep it from leaking.
A low parapet or wall, with spaces to allow the rain water to flow off, was expected to be built on these houses in Bible times, in order to prevent people from falling off. The failure to build such a wall in modern times has often caused accidents. The law of Moses was very definite in commanding the erection of such. Its regulation says: "When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence" (Deut. 22:8). The common use of the houseroof for so many purposes, as shall be seen, made this law essential.
Items Of Interest Growing Out Of The Character Of The Roof An Walls
Grass On The Housetops.
Picture: Oriental Housetop
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" (Psa. 129:6; 2Kings 19:26; Isa. 37:27). Examples of this in connection with similarly built roofs in modern times have often been seen. One book published in the latter part of the nineteenth century carries a picture of a Palestinian roof all covered with growing grass. The notation beneath the picture says: "This is a good example of the appearance of 'grass on the housetops.' After the winter rains, every flat and mud-roofed building is overgrown with grass and weeds,
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which soon perish."
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Leaky Roofs.
With a dirt roof it can be understood how natural it would be for a heavy rainfall to produce a leak, which would make it quite inconvenient for those inhabiting the house at the time. Travelers who stop for the night at one of these dwellings, have sometimes had to change their sleeping quarters, because of the dripping of the rain water. The Book of Proverbs compares this dropping to a contentious woman
(Prov. 19:13; Prov. 27:15).
Digging Through Of Thieves.
Since the walls of the houses are so often built of clay or dirt, or of stones with mud between them, it makes it an easy task for a robber to dig through and get into the house Job referred to this: "In the dark they dig through houses" (Job 24:16). Jesus also spoke of the same thing in His great Sermon on the Mount: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth where moth and rust consume, and where thieves dig through and steal" (Matt. 6:19, A.R. V. margin; cf. Matt. 24:43, A. R. V. margin).
Snakes In House Walls.
Because the walls of the, stone houses were built so that the joints between the stones were wide and irregular, therefore a snake might readily crawl into the crevices and unexpectedly come in contact with an inhabitant. Concerning this kind of house the prophet Amos said that a man "leaned his hand on the wall and a serpent bit him" (Amos 5:19). Windows And Doors Windows.
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Picture: Latticed Window
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 while the lower half of the 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 I looked forth through my lattice" (Prov. 7:6, A. R. V.). Wooden shutters close the windows at night. When the window is open, those inside may see out without themselves being seen.
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 used (cf. Isa. 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 (Prov. 26:14). If the doors were fastened when shut, bars were usually used for this purpose (Prov. 18:19).
The door of the peasant's one-room house is opened before sunrise in the morning, and stays open all day long as an invitation to hospitality. The
Apocalypse speaks thus: "Behold, I have set before thee an open door" (Rev. 3:8). For such a door to be shut would indicate the inhabitants had done that of which they were ashamed (cf. John 3:19). At sunset the door is shut and remains shut during the night (cf. Luke 11:7). The rule about the open door for the simple house does not hold for the city houses of more than one room. The reference to the Master knocking at the door has to do with such a door (Rev. 3:20; cf. pp. 39, 40). The distinction between the house of the villager and of the city dweller must always be made, in order to understand the scriptural references to houses.
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Furnishings Of The House
The furnishings of a one-room Palestinian house were and still are very simple. Mats and cushions are in use to sit on by day, and carpets or mats are slept on at night. There will be vessels of clay for household needs, with perhaps some cooking utensils of metal. There will be a chest for storing bedding, a lamp either placed on a lampstand or a bushel, a broom for house cleaning, and a handmill for grinding the grain, and the goatskin bottles in which liquids are kept. The fireplace would be on the floor often in the middle of the room. This gives a general picture of the furnishings of the average Palestinian home. More details regarding some of these items will be given as the study proceeds.
Manners and Customs, n.d.
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