How did the first century Jews live? What about the Romans? Get a glimpse of the daily experiences in first century Israel and Rome.
By Mark D. Harris
One of the difficulties in understanding the Bible as a 21st century American Christian is the vast chasm of language, culture, and geography that separates us from people of the Bible times. Even considering only first century Palestine, the differences are enormous. Nonetheless, the better we understand them, the better we will understand Him, and so studying daily life in that era is vital.
A typical day
First century Israel was first and foremost an agricultural society. Lacking good ports, it could not be a maritime power and benefit from high levels of seaborne trade, but being on the Europe-Asia-Africa land bridge, Israel did benefit from overland trade. Lacking natural resources such as iron, gold and precious stones, it could not make large amounts in exports. So the average Jew was a farmer, holding a small plot of land and obeying the timeless rhythms of the seasons and the weather for his daily life. The early Jew rose before the sun, dressed in a simple woolen or linen tunic and leather sandals, and tilled the fields for several hours before returning home for his morning meal of vegetables and bread. His home was no more than a few rooms, with walls of stone and mud and a roof of beams/branches and mud. After eating he returned to the fields, using hand tools and perhaps an ox. Occasionally he went to market to buy the items needed for his farm and family. After his toil, the New Testament Jew would return home to his wife and children for an evening meal, a little teaching of the Scriptures and perhaps singing and dancing, and an early bedtime. The man’s neighbors in the same village, or perhaps even sharing the same courtyard, had similar schedules. Taxes were exorbitant, up to 50% of a farmer’s salary, and the cause of financial destitution in many and brigandry in some.
Continue reading “Daily Life in First Century Israel and the Roman Empire”
