Ancient Israelite House
Illustration of a House
of a Commoner in Israel
If one were to walk through the front door they might see a child lying in a hammock wrapped in swaddling clothes, and a woman seated at her hand-mill. Inside you might also find lamps, stoves, beds, fireplaces, and windows and chimneys. The animals were kept in an enclosed area on a slightly lower level with no roof, the ox, the ass, the goats and other animals. There were stairs leading outside to the roof.
"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.2 (cf. I Kings 17:8-19)." [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]
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. There was no effort to attract attention to this place of retirement.3 The purpose of these dwellings is borne out by the meaning of the Hebrew and Arabic words for "house." 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: 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 Israel 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 Psalm and also in the prophetic writings5 (cf. Psalm 61:3; Isaiah 4:6). [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]
House in Easton's Bible Dictionary
Till their sojourn in Egypt the Hebrews dwelt in tents. They then
for the first time inhabited cities (Gen. 47:3; Ex. 12:7; Heb.
11:9). From the earliest times the Assyrians and the Canaanites were
builders of cities. The Hebrews after the Conquest took possession
of the captured cities, and seem to have followed the methods of
building that had been pursued by the Canaanites. Reference is made
to the stone (1 Kings 7:9; Isa. 9:10) and marble (1 Chr. 29:2) used
in building, and to the internal wood-work of the houses (1 Kings
6:15; 7:2; 10:11, 12; 2 Chr. 3:5; Jer. 22:14). "Ceiled houses" were
such as had beams inlaid in the walls to which wainscotting was
fastened (Ezra 6:4; Jer. 22:14; Hag. 1:4). "Ivory houses" had the
upper parts of the walls adorned with figures in stucco with gold
and ivory (1 Kings 22:39; 2 Chr. 3:6; Ps. 45:8). The roofs of the
dwelling-houses were flat, and are often alluded to in Scripture (2
Sam. 11:2; Isa. 22:1; Matt. 24:17). Sometimes tents or booths were
erected on them (2 Sam. 16:22). They were protected by parapets or
low walls (Deut. 22:8). On the house-tops grass sometimes grew
(Prov. 19:13; 27:15; Ps. 129:6, 7). They were used, not only as
places of recreation in the evening, but also sometimes as
sleeping-places at night (1 Sam. 9:25, 26; 2 Sam. 11:2; 16:22; Dan.
4:29; Job 27:18; Prov. 21:9), and as places of devotion (Jer. 32:29;
19:13).
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House in Fausset's Bible Dictionary
Known to man as early at least as Cain; the tent not until Jabal,
the fifth in descent from Cain (Genesis 4:7; Genesis 4:17; Genesis
4:20). The rude wigwam and the natural cave were the abodes of those
who, being scattered abroad, subsequently degenerated from the
primitive civilization implied in the elaborate structure of Babel
(Genesis 11:3; Genesis 11:31). It was from a land of houses that
Abram, at God's call, became a dweller in tents (Genesis 12:1;
Hebrews 11:9). At times he still lived in a house (Genesis 17:27);
so also Isaac (Genesis 27:15), and Jacob (Genesis 33:15). In Egypt
the Israelites resumed a fixed life in permanent houses, and must
have learned architectural skill in that land of stately edifices.
After their wilderness sojourn in tents they entered into possession
of the Canaanite goodly cities. The parts of the eastern house are:
(1) The porch; not referred to in the Old Testament save in the
temple and Solomon's palace (1 Kings 7:6-7; 2 Chronicles 15:8;
Ezekiel 40:7; Ezekiel 40:16); in Egypt (from whence he derived it)
often it consisted of a double row of pillars; in Judges 3:23 the
Hebrew word (the front hall) is different. The porch of the high
priest's palace (Matthew 26:71; puloon, which is translated "gate"
in Acts 10:17; Acts 12:14; Acts 14:13; Revelation 21:12) means
simply "the gate." The five porches of Bethesda (John 5:2) were
cloisters or a colonnade for the use of the sick. (2) The court is
the chief feature of every eastern house. The passage into it is so
contrived that the court cannot be seen from the street outside. An
awning from one wall to the opposite shelters from the heat; this is
the image, Psalm 104:2, "who stretchest out the heavens like a
curtain." At the side of the court opposite the entrance was the:
(3) guest chamber (Luke 22:11-12), Hebrew lishkah, from laashak, "to
recline"; where Samuel received his guests (1 Samuel 9:22). Often
open in front, and supported by a pillar; on the ground floor, but
raised above the level. A low divan goes round it, used for sitting
or reclining by day, and for placing beds on by night. In the court
the palm and olive were planted, from whence the psalmist writes, "I
am like a green olive tree in the house of God"; an olive tree in a
house would be a strange image to us, but suggestive to an eastern
of a home with refreshing shade and air. So Psalm 92:13, "those that
be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of
our God." Contrast the picture of Edom's desolation, "thorns in the
palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses ... a court for
owls" (Isaiah 34:13). (4) The stairs. Outside the house, so that
Ehud could readily escape after slaying Eglon (Judges 3:23), and the
bearers of the paralytic, unable to get to the door, could easily
mount by the outside stairs to the roof, and, breaking an opening in
it, let him down in the midst of the room where Jesus was (Mark
2:4). The Israelite captains placed Jehu upon their garments on the
top of the stairs, as the most public place, and from them
proclaimed "Jehu is king" (2 Kings 9:13). (5) The roof is often of a
material which could easily be broken up, as it was by the
paralytic's friends: sticks, thorn bushes (bellan), with mortar, and
marl or earth. A stone roller is kept on the top to harden the flat
roof that rain may not enter. Amusement, business, conversation...
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House in Naves Topical Bible
Built of Stone Le 14:40-45; Isa 9:10; Am 5:11 Brick Ge 11:3; Ex
1:11-14; Isa 9:10 Wood So 1:17; Isa 9:10 -Built into city walls Jos
2:15 -Used for worship Ac 1:13,14; 12:12; Ro 16:5; 1Co 16:19; Col
4:15; Phm 1:2 -"A man's castle," De 24:10,11 -ARCHITECTURE OF
Foundations of stone 1Ki 5:17; 7:9; Ezr 6:3; Jer 51:26 Figurative Ps
87:1; Isa 28:16; 48:13; Ro 15:20; 1Co 3:11; Eph 2:20; 1Ti 6:19; Heb
6:1; Re 21:14 Cornerstone Job 38:6; Ps 144:12 Figurative Ps 118:22;
Isa 28:16; Eph 2:20; 1Pe 2:6 Porches Jud 3:23; 1Ki 7:6,7 Courts Es
1:5 Summer apartment Jud 3:20; with Am 3:15; 1Ki 17:19 Inner chamber
1Ki 22:25 Chambers Ge 43:30; 2Sa 18:33; 2Ki 1:2; 4:10; Ac 1:13;
9:37; 20:8 Guest chamber Mr 14:14 Pillars Pr 9:1 With courts Ne 8:16
Lattice Jud 5:28 Windows Jud 5:28; Pr 7:6 Ceiled and plastered Da
5:5 Hinges Pr 26:14 Roofs, flat Jos 2:6; Jud 16:27; 1Sa 9:25; 2Sa
11:2; 16:22; Isa 15:3; 22:1; Mt 24:17; Lu 12:3 Battlements required
in Mosaic law De 22:8 Prayer on Ac 10:9 Altars on 2Ki 23:12; Jer
19:13; 32:29; Zep 1:5 Booths on Ne 8:16 Used as place to sleep Jos
2:8; Ac 10:9 Used as dwelling place Pr 21:9; 25:24 Painted Jer
22:14; Eze 8:10,12 Chimneys of Ho 13:3 Texts of Scripture on
doorposts of De 6:9 Laws regarding sale of Le 25:29-33; Ne 5:3
Dedicated De 20:5; Ps 30 -FIGURATIVE 2Sa 7:18; Ps 23:6; 36:8; Joh
14:2; 2Co 5:1; 1Ti 3:15; Heb 3:2
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House in Smiths Bible Dictionary
The houses of the rural poor in Egypt, as well as in most parts of
Syria, Arabia and Persia, are generally mere huts of mud or sunburnt
bricks. In some parts of Israel and Arabia stone is used, and in
certain districts caves in the rocks are used as dwellings. Am 5:11
The houses are usually of one story only, viz., the ground floor,
and often contain only one apartment. Sometimes a small court for
the cattle is attached; and in some cases the cattle are housed in
the same building, or the live in a raised platform, and, the cattle
round them on the ground. 1Sa 28:24 The windows are small apertures
high up in the walls, sometimes grated with wood. The roofs are
commonly but not always flat, and are usually formed of plaster of
mud and straw laid upon boughs or rafters; and upon the flat roofs,
tents or "booths" of boughs or rushes are often raised to be used as
sleeping- places in summer. The difference between the poorest
houses and those of the class next above them is greater than
between these and the houses of the first rank. The prevailing plan
of eastern houses of this class presents, as was the case in ancient
Egypt, a front of wall, whose blank and mean appearance is usually
relieved only by the door and a few latticed and projecting windows.
Within this is a court or courts with apartments opening into them.
Over the door is a projecting window with a lattice more or less
elaborately wrought, which, except in times of public celebrations
is usually closed. 2Ki 9:30 An awning is sometimes drawn over the
court, and the floor is strewed with carpets on festive occasions.
The stairs to the upper apartments are in Syria usually in a corner
of the court. Around part, if not the whole, of the court is a
veranda, often nine or ten feet deep, over which, when there is more
than one floor, runs a second gallery of like depth, with a
balustrade. When there is no second floor, but more than one court,
the women's apartments --hareems, harem or haram -- are usually in
the second court; otherwise they form a separate building within the
general enclosure, or are above on the first floor. When there is an
upper story, the ka'ah forms the most important apartment, and thus
probably answers to the "upper room," which was often the guest-
chamber. Lu 22:12; Ac 1:13; 9:37; 20:8 The windows of the upper
rooms often project one or two feet, and form a kiosk or latticed
chamber. Such may have been "the chamber in the wall." 2Ki 4:10,11
The "lattice," through which Ahasiah fell, perhaps belonged to an
upper chamber of this kind, 2Ki 1:2 as also the "third loft," from
which Eutychus fell. Ac 20:9 comp. Jere 22:13 Paul preached in such
a room on account of its superior rise and retired position. The
outer circle in an audience in such a room sat upon a dais, or upon
cushions elevated so as to be as high as the window-sill. From such
a position Eutychus could easily fall. There are usually no special
bed-rooms in eastern houses. The outer doors are closed with a
wooden lock, but in some cases the apartments are divided from each
other by curtains only. There are no chimneys, but fire is made when
required with charcoal in a chafing-dish; or a fire of wood might be
made in the open court of the house Lu 22:65 Some houses in Cairo
have an apartment open in front to the court with two or more arches
and a railing, and a pillar to support the wall above. It was in a
chamber of this size to be found in a palace, that our Lord was
being arraigned before the high priest at the time when the denial
of him by St. Peter took place. He "turned and looked" on Peter as
he stood by the fire in the court, Lu 22:56,61; Joh 18:24 whilst he
himself was in the "hall of judgment." In no point do Oriental
domestic habits differ more from European than in the use of the
roof. Its flat surface is made useful for various household
purposes, as drying corn, hanging up linen, and preparing figs and
raisins. The roofs are used as places of recreation in the evening,
and often as sleeping-places at night. 1Sa 9:25,26; 2Sa 11:2; 16:22;
Job 27:18; Pr 21:9; Da 4:29 They were also used as places for
devotion and even idolatrous worship. 2Ki 23:12; Jer 19:13; 32:29;
Zep 1:6; Ac 10:9 At the time of the feast of tabernacles booths were
erected by the Jews on the top of their houses. Protection of the
roof by parapets was enjoined by the law. De 22:8 Special apartments
were devoted in larger houses to winter and summer uses. Jer 36:22;
Am 3:15 The ivory house of Ahab was probably a palace largely
ornamented with inlaid ivory. The circumstance of Samson's pulling
down the house by means of the pillars may be explained by the fact
of the company being assembled on tiers of balconies above each
other, supported by central pillars on the basement; when these were
pulled down the whole of the upper floors would fall also. Jud 16:26
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House in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE
hous (bayith; oikos, in classical Greek generally "an estate," oikia,
oikema (literally, "habitation"), in Acts 12:1, "prison"): I. CAVE
DWELLINGS II. STONE-BUILT AND MUD/BRICK-BUILT HOUSES 1. Details of
Plan and Construction (1) Corner-Stone (2) Floor (3) Gutter (4) Door
(5) Hinge (6) Lock and Key (7) Threshold (8) Hearth (9) Window (10)
Roof 2. Houses of More than One Story (1) Upper Chambers and Stairs
(2) Palaces and Castles 3. Internal Appearance III. OTHER MEANINGS
LITERATURE I. Cave Dwellings. The earliest permanent habitations of
the prehistoric inhabitants of Israel were the natural caves which
abound throughout the country. As the people increased and grouped
themselves into communities, these abodes were supplemented by
systems of artificial caves which, in some cases, developed into
extensive burrowings of many adjoining compartments, having in each
system several entrances. These entrances were usually cut through
the roof down a few steps, or simply dropped to the floor from the
rock surface. The sinking was shallow and the headroom low but
sufficient for the undersized troglodites who were the occupiers.
II. Stone-built and Mud/Brick-built Houses. There are many
references to the use of caves as dwellings in the Old Testament.
Lot dwelt with his two daughters in cave (Gen 19:30). Elijah,
fleeing from Jezebel, lodged in a cave (1 Ki 19:9). The natural
successor to the cave was the stone-built hut, and just as the loose
field-bowlders and the stones, quarried from the caves, served their
first and most vital uses in the building of defense walls, so did
they later become material for the first hut. Caves, during the
rainy season, were faulty dwellings, as at the time when protection
was most needed, they were being flooded through the surface
openings which formed their entrances. The rudest cell built of
rough stones in mud and covered a with roof of brushwood and mud was
at first sufficient. More elaborate plans of several apartments,
entering from what may be called a living-room, followed as a matter
of course, and these, huddled together, constituted the homes of the
people. Mud-brick buildings (Job 4:19) of similar plan occur, and to
protect this friable material from the weather, the walls were
sometimes covered with a casing of stone slabs, as at Lachish. (See
Bliss, A Mound of Many Cities.) Generally speaking, this rude type
of building prevailed, although, in some of the larger buildings,
square dressed and jointed stones were used. There is little or no
sign of improvement until the period of the Hellenistic influence,
and even then the improvement was slight, so far as the homes of the
common people were concerned. 1. Details of Plan and Construction:
One should observe an isometric sketch and plan showing construction
of a typical small house...
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The Bible mentions a lot concerning "Houses"
1
Chronicles 29:2 - Now I have prepared with all my might for
the house of my God the gold for [things to be made]
of gold, and the silver for [things] of silver, and the brass for
[things] of brass, the iron for [things] of iron, and wood for
[things] of wood; onyx stones, and [stones] to be set, glistering
stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones,
and marble stones in abundance.
Deuteronomy 7:26 - Neither shalt thou bring an abomination
into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it:
[but] thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it;
for it [is] a cursed thing.
1 Kings
8:64 - The same day did the king hallow the middle of the
court that [was] before the house of the LORD: for
there he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of
the peace offerings: because the brasen altar that [was] before the
LORD [was] too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat
offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.
Ezekiel
40:48 - And he brought me to the porch of the house,
and measured [each] post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and
five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate [was] three
cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.
Ezekiel
43:11 - And if they be ashamed of all that they have done,
shew them the form of the house, and the fashion
thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and
all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the
forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write [it] in their
sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the
ordinances thereof, and do them.
Ezekiel
48:21 - And the residue [shall be] for the prince, on the
one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the
possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of
the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the
five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the
portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the
sanctuary of the house [shall be] in the midst
thereof.
2 Samuel
15:35 - And [hast thou] not there with thee Zadok and
Abiathar the priests? therefore it shall be, [that] what thing
soever thou shalt hear out of the king's house, thou
shalt tell [it] to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.
2
Chronicles 3:11 - And the wings of the cherubims [were]
twenty cubits long: one wing [of the one cherub was] five cubits,
reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing
[was likewise] five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other
cherub.
Exodus
20:17 - Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house,
thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor
his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that [is]
thy neighbour's.
2 Kings 8:5
- And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had
restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he
had restored to life, cried to the king for her house
and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this [is] the
woman, and this [is] her son, whom Elisha restored to life.
Numbers
18:1 - And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and
thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity
of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the
iniquity of your priesthood.
1 Kings
12:27 - If this people go up to do sacrifice in the
house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this
people turn again unto their lord, [even] unto Rehoboam king of
Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of
Judah.
Deuteronomy 22:2 - And if thy brother [be] not nigh unto
thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it unto thine
own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother
seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again.
2
Chronicles 3:12 - And [one] wing of the other cherub [was]
five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and
the other wing [was] five cubits [also], joining to the wing of the
other cherub.
Jeremiah
33:11 - The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the
voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of
them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD [is]
good; for his mercy [endureth] for ever: [and] of them that shall
bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the
LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at
the first, saith the LORD.
1
Chronicles 22:8 - But the word of the LORD came to me,
saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars:
thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because
thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.
Ezekiel
37:16 - Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and
write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his
companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph,
the stick of Ephraim, and [for] all the house of
Israel his companions:
1 Kings 7:2
- He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon;
the length thereof [was] an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof
fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows
of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.
1 Kings
21:29 - Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me?
because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in
his days: [but] in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his
house.
Ezekiel
41:19 - So that the face of a man [was] toward the palm tree
on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree
on the other side: [it was] made through all the house
round about.
Nehemiah
1:6 - Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open,
that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before
thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants,
and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned
against thee: both I and my father's house have
sinned.
Job 38:20
- That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou
shouldest know the paths [to] the house thereof?
2
Chronicles 10:16 - And when all Israel [saw] that the king
would not hearken unto them, the people answered the king, saying,
What portion have we in David? and [we have] none inheritance in the
son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel: [and] now, David,
see to thine own house. So all Israel went to their
tents.
Isaiah 63:7
- I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, [and] the praises
of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and
the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which
he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to
the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
Psalms
135:20 - Bless the LORD, O house of Levi: ye
that fear the LORD, bless the LORD.
1 Kings
12:16 - So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not
unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have
we in David? neither [have we] inheritance in the son of Jesse: to
your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house,
David. So Israel departed unto their tents.
Daniel 5:23
- But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they
have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and
thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine
in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of
brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and
the God in whose hand thy breath [is], and whose [are] all thy ways,
hast thou not glorified:
2 Samuel
3:19 - And Abner also spake in the ears of Benjamin: and
Abner went also to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that
seemed good to Israel, and that seemed good to the whole house
of Benjamin.
Deuteronomy 28:30 - Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another
man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and
thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt
not gather the grapes thereof.
1
Chronicles 29:7 - And gave for the service of the
house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand
drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen
thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.