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January 20, 2016 |
| Everyday Life In Jesus' Time | ||
The Old Testament ended (in the 400s B.C.) with Israel under the authority of the Medo-Persians, who allowed them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple and the city.
The Jewish people made up roughly 8% of the Roman empire. Of the 50 million inhabitants of the Roman empire, 4 million were Jews and 700,000 of them lived in Israel. The population in Israel was very diverse but very stratified, consisting of Roman government, Jewish government (Herodian), Hellenized Jews, and ordinary Jews.
This was supplemented by tourism. Wealthy Greeks and Romans would travel by ship to enjoy the tourist destinations in Israel such as the Mediterranean seaport towns with their theaters and hippodromes, the serenity of the Galilee area and sight-seeing in Jerusalem.
Most towns were small, except Jerusalem, which was about 55,000, but could swell to 180,000 during major holidays like Passover or Yom Kippur.
1 to 2 percent of the population had 1/2 the wealth of the empire (political, military and religious leaders), 5-7 were considered rich (bureaucratic individuals), and about 15 percent were middle class (priests, Pharisees, fortunate merchants, etc.); while 70 percent of the population lived within what we would consider poverty and "were struggling farmers and fisherman or subsistence laborers working for others".
The region of Galilee was not as unpopulated as you might think – the majority of Galilee was made up of as many as two hundred small villages, few as large as Capernaum, which had possibly one thousand inhabitants.
Bread was the basic food of all meals (wheat, barley). The next most common foods were fish or goat cheese (depending on your occupation or location), olives, and wine (Matthew 9:17). This could all be carried to your job and was the common first meal of the day, eaten in the late morning or midday.
The Jews ate two meals a day. The second was usually at home in the evening. It consisted of more of the above plus sometimes lentil (vegetable) stew, fruit, eggs, and red meat on special occasions. In the Galilee area fish was more common as a meat.
Wine was the drink of choice, but it was "as much as three times as diluted as it is today." Water wasn't always safe to drink and the alcohol sometimes helped that way. They didn't have beer as we know it today. Grain based alcoholic beverages were known but were not common.
After dinner, usually amidst only good friends, two-three hours of the evening was spent in conversation. Most of them had no access to theatres. Telephone, Radio, TV, Computers, Gameboys and such would not exist for almost 2000 years.
People in this region and time reclined on pillows to eat, resting on their left elbows and eating with their right hands. Sitting on chairs at higher tables to eat was rare.
Women dressed simpler than men, yet had more colorful clothing. Most men had beards, and most women had long hair put in a bun.
The transit system within the Roman Empire was the best in the ancient world, but roads that were not well-traveled could be quite dangerous. Travelers could be attacked by lions or bears, but the biggest danger was robbers (Luke 10:25-37). This made it safest to travel with others in a caravan (Luke 2:44).
Major roads were built in Roman style and were well constructed and paved with stones. The remainder were dirt roads or even paths.
Travel was slow. Nevertheless, many people traveled regularly within Palestine. In spite of the availability of donkeys and camels, the people were accustomed to walking and most people walked. Generally, a person could walk about 20 miles per day.
Inns dotted the landscape, providing lodging for travelers, but many were notorious as hangouts for pirates and prostitutes. More reputable people preferred to stay in private homes with relatives, friends, or people who were recommended to them. Hospitality to travelers was an expected part of Jewish life.
Travelers could also actually buy maps, published in Rome, of nearly every part of the empire, including roads, inns, taverns, way stations, and distances between cities.
Slavery was common. For the most part, slaves were either born into slavery, a prisoner of war, or sold themselves into slavery to pay off debts. Unlike pre-Civil War America, in the Roman world slaves could own property, earn money, and often save enough to buy their own freedom.
Old Testament law required that Jewish slaves be freed on the Jubilee year, which came every 49 years.
Due to the Jewish triple tax (10% to priests and Levites, 10% for temple sacrifice, and a bit over 3% for the poor) plus normal Roman taxes, Jews could pay more than half their income in taxes. Jews did not like tax-collectors or paying taxes to Rome.
The weekly Sabbath for Jews was a time of joy and celebration. This was also true of the Holy days, when Jews were required to make their best effort to travel to Jerusalem. Jews enjoyed singing, dancing and story-telling. Romans and Greeks did not get weekends off but had numerous annual holidays, temple rituals, and patriotic celebrations provided relief from daily routines. Greeks and Romans enjoyed theater and sporting events like Olympic games and gladiators.
Men were expected to marry: Jews usually by 18, Romans by 25, and Greeks by 30. Women were usually married in their mid-teens but could be married as young as 12 plus 6 months. Divorce was common, but not as common among Jews. Children had no social voice.
Israel has lots of stone so that was the primary building material. The walls of a house were made of stones and mortar covered with a whitewashed sort of stucco.
The roof was of real importance in everyday life. It was a flat roof with just enough slope to drain off the rainwater. Rainwater was carefully collected into cisterns or large containers, for in the more arid climate of the eastern Mediterranean every drop of water was precious.
The roof began with a layer of wooden beams. Those were covered with multiple layers of thatch and mud. The result was strong enough for people to be on the roof and this served as a second floor for the house. A stairway on the outside led up to the roof.
A small house would have a small single room (about 12 x 12 feet). A more typical house would have one larger multipurpose room and a smaller back room for the animals such as chickens, sheep, and goats. The kitchen as we know it did not exist. Cooking was done outside, usually in front of the house.
For those with more money the house was built around a central open court with small rooms opening onto it. This kind of building had the advantage of needing only short beams for the roof structures, since the central court had no roof. The open concept retained the coolness by allowing air to move freely through. Cooking could also be done in the open central court, when the weather permitted.
Some houses in hilly regions were partial cave dwellings, built up against the limestone rock face, perhaps with the front section built onto it.
Privacy was rare and this was especially true in crowded cities, where the houses were generally built wall to wall.
On the roof, tools would often be stored, laundry would be put out to dry, and people would often gather to talk, especially in the evening. Scripture also speaks of it as a place to retire and pray. In the evening when it was cool, people sat and talked, and in the better weather would often sleep there. Some also placed tents and other coverings on the roof.
In poorer homes the floor was simply pounded earth. The more affluent might have pebbles or baked clay tiles. Wooden floors could be afforded only by the very wealthy.
Only the very wealthy could afford to have water piped to their houses. Ordinary people went to the well or spring, or perhaps a local stream, and collected water with skins, jars, and all kinds of pitchers. Some larger towns did have conduits or aqueducts that brought the water to certain public areas.
Generally there was no need for a lot of heating, except in the cooler months of the year. Most of the houses therefore had no fireplaces. If it did grow cold, there were charcoal braziers where small fires would be kindled.
Lighting was not very abundant. Small oil lamps were used. Much time was spent out-of-doors so interior lights were less necessary.
Furniture was extremely simple. The chief object in the home was the chest. There were chests for provisions and chests for clothes. For the poorest families, chests doubled as tables.
Since clothing was simple, there was little need for many different sets or changes of clothing, and thus there was less need for numerous chests and the sorts of insanely large closets many have today.
Most moderately well off families did have a low table at which to recline and eat.
Bedding was rolled out on the floor; the bed as a piece of furniture off the floor, as we know it, was largely unknown at that time except among the very wealthy. Family members stretched out on mats, covering themselves with their own cloaks. Many slept on the roof in the warmer months.
The Jews were conscientious about cleanliness and saw it as related to holiness and ritual purity. Unless you lived near a river or lake, bathing would have been less common than we experience. Because water needed to be hauled and possibly heated to have a bath, it was quite an effort. It would have been more common to wash oneself from a basin of water.
Latrines were more likely outhouses and were situated away from the main dwelling. They may have been shared facilities between several domiciles, depending on the size and layout of the town or village. There is an excerpt in the Torah in which Moses instructs the ancient Israelites to "build your latrines outside the camp." It further states, "When you go to the toilet, take a paddle or a shovel with you and use the toilet and then cover it up,". Other directions about latrines were that they should be located in discreet, private locations. Certain archeological digs have uncovered the presence of latrines that consisted of a pit dug into the ground and of an enclosed, roofed chamber; basically an outhouse.
Three of every ten Jewish children died before the age of 18 (but the number was even worse for the non-Jews), and 18 was almost middle age. The average longevity was 40-45, and unlike today, men usually outlived women by as much as 10 years, so it was common for widowers to marry younger girls. Even so, there were many men and women who lived to a normal old age.
Children were to be seen and not heard (Matthew 18:1-6; 19:13-14). Yet many toys have been discovered. They played games like hopscotch, jacks, and had whistles, hoops, spinning tops, toy animals on wheels, and board games.
Families, sometimes including several generations, tended to live under one roof and had little or no privacy.
News was either posted in town squares or announced by a herald.
Most people worked physically hard jobs and were generally not extremely poor. Many were shepherds (Luke 15:1-7; 17:7; John 10:1-5), the most traditional job of Israel. But many in Jesus' day were also farmers (Matthew 13:1-4; Luke 17:7), fishermen (Matthew 13:47-48; Luke 5:1-11), builders (Matthew 13:55), and various tradesmen, merchants, managers of the business of rich men (Luke 17:7; 19:12ff), and vine growers (Mark 12:1). There were also wealthy people in Palestine, but most got their wealth from inheritance or suspicious dealings (Luke 16:19).
Jesus was a carpenter. He probably learned from his father how to build specialty items, like furniture, doors, and windows. Jesus would have grown up as neither a poor peasant nor a rich noble.
Most Jews of Jesus' day were literate. Children were taught to read and write in the home, but the rabbis (a general term for teacher) also taught in the synagogues on certain days. Many teachers were former slaves. The Jews spoke Aramaic in the homes (a combination of Hebrew and Babylonian, which the Jews acquired during the 70 years of captivity).
Most Jews in Israel did not know Greek and generally didn't like foreigners or their languages. Jews outside of Israel were more likely to know Greek. Greek was the language of international travel and commerce in the Roman world. The Roman's Latin language never spread across the empire.
The native Hebrew was generally used only by rabbis. Writing was done mostly on chalk boards. Papyrus paper was expensive and was reserved for letters and writings that needed to last. Managing paper and ink and the tools for writing on papyrus was difficult enough that scribes were usually hired to do it for you. Usually only the wealthy owned books.
http://blog.adw.org/2014/07/what-were-typical-homes-like-in-jesus-time/
https://bjstockman.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/everyday-life-in-the-time-of-jesus-of-nazareth/
http://www.relationalconcepts.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=a_6J2_HY0gk%3D&tabid=73