Becker Bible Teacher Resources

Daily life in Israel

Architecture  in Roman Palestine – Stone dwellings consisted of square or rectangular rooms forming one building, with one or more courtyards, which was dependent upon topography (central courtyard on flat ground, but placed in marginal location on hilly ground). Flat roof surrounded by a parapet was the center of activity.  The lower level was usually windowless, with the upper level having windows to allow air and light, usually adjacent to the courtyard, for the rear rooms.  There were recesses and niches in the interior walls for clothes storage, dishes and other utensils. The smooth plaster walls had some fresco and stucco decorations; after the second century B.C.E. walls were embellished with fresco in palaces and lavish houses in Palestine. Lower economic houses had simple dirt or rock floors; upper-class dwellings were made of polished and hewn stones and mosaics. Rugs and mats were fastened to the floors with nails. The level of decoration was determined by economic considerations and also the amount of exposure to the Greco-Roman culture.

Roofs were used frequently for eating, praying, keeping fruits and vegetables, drying olives, and keeping animals.  The courtyard was used for similar purposes and contained wells, drinking troughs, and bathing vessels; cooking, wheat grinding, washing clothes and eating were some of the activities at this location.[1] Bathtubs and bath houses have been found in only the more luxurious dwellings. Usually, the courtyard was shared by tenants of two dwelling units.[2] The interior rooms were used for family dinners and special celebrations; it was called the traklin, and considered the most important room in the house.[3] Furniture was often used to divide the rooms; sometimes plastered jars were used.[4] Speaking of jars, chamber pots or outside watering were the common places of bodily relief; few latrines were present in common Jewish homes.

Political/Legal - Colonial status was given to the Jewish people, and they had the same privileges of Roman law that was given to Roman citizens.[5] They liked keeping the law, respected the Pharisees, paid their taxes, observed festivals and looked for the Messiah to come.[6] Often, they were tricked by one or another of the false Messiahs because their zeal for religion had no theological grounding. They were politically separated by their differences; some followed the Romans and were known as nationalists.  Many were loyal to the ruling family such as Herodians or the priestly family of Annas; some supported the Pharisees, and some the Sadducees.[7]

Family – During the time of Second Temple Judaism, there was a movement away from family-centered units, replacing them with association-type units.  Families were able to maintain their religious status, but societal religious life was prevalent.[8] Surprisingly, however, the vast majority of Jews belonged to no group during the first-century Israel whose chief concern was basic survival.[9] Husbands were head of the family, the wife inferior to him.  However, she was respected for her contributions to the family as she kept the home and blessed them with new babies.[10]

Religion – The Torah was their focus, and it regulated every aspect of their life including the food they ate, the clothes they wore, the placements of Scripture in their daily life, and even the prayers they said.[11] There was an increased participation in private religious activities during the Second Temple period, and fasting became increasingly practiced by individual devout Jews in non-public places.[12]

Towns/Cities - Cities were built haphazardly, and the size determined the importance of the city.  Water, police, toilets and sewage disposal were provided by some of the larger cities in Jerusalem.  It was these larger walled cities that offered protection to the smaller townspeople as a place to escape danger.[13] Still, life was crowded, noisy, dangerous and probably stinky.  People locked their doors and shuttered their windows even emptying their chamber pots through their windows at night to prevent walking in the darkened streets.[14]

Daily life in the Roman Empire

Groups – Jewish communities in Rome separated themselves from other religions because of their social practices and issues of faith in the first century C.E.[15] Jewish catacombs in Rome have been used from as early as the first century C.E. in large underground cemeteries. While the Jews in Rome maintained a separation from others in a sociological and religious sense, they did not live in cultural isolation.  They attracted proselytes and shared their religion with Romans, until Christianity arose, that changed this openness.[16]

Politics/Law – The mighty Roman Empire kept safety amongst its citizens through its soldiers and government.

Structures – Massive public buildings with intricate design were everywhere in Rome. Aphrodisias, recognized by Rome as an asylum state, contained a large Jewish community, which had the same impressive civic institutions, agora, temples, council chambers, theaters, baths, basilicas and stadiums as in the center of the Roman Empire.

Religion – Jews practiced their religion dutifully, and participated in civic and charitable projects, and were respected by the non-Jews in the community.[17]

Public – The Roman public baths encouraged participation in the Roman society and encouraged a participation of Jews in the society.

Lifestyle – Compared to Israel, the lifestyle of the Roman Empire flourished with public works, increased safety and protection from bandits, and civilized government that rewarded its citizens for good behavior.

Bibliography

Borchert, Gerald L. John 12-21. Vol. 25B The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holmon Publishers, 2003.

Galor, Katharina. Domestic Dwellings in Roman Palestine The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010.

Gilbert, Gary. Aprodisias The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism, Edited by John J. Collins and Daniel C. Harlow. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010.

Hacham, Noah. Fasting The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism, Edited by John J. Collins and Daniel C. Harlow. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010.

Neusner, Jacob. The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary. Vol. 3. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2011.

Rutgers, Leonard V. Rome The Eerdmans Dicionary of Early Judaism, Edited by John J. Collins and Daniel C. Harlow. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010.

Scott, Julius J. Jewish Backgrounds of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1995.

Sivertsev, Alexei. Family Religion The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism, Edited by John J. Collins and Daniel C. Harlow. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010.