LIFE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT WORLD	
NEW TESTAMENT 1

Lecture 2

LIFE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT WORLD
•	How did people in the first century live, think, speak, work, eat, dress, travel, learn, and entertain?
•	What differences existed between daily life inside Israel and outside Israel?
JEWISH POPULATION
•	Estimates put the population of Jews in the Roman Empire from ____to ____million
•	this may represent 7% of Rome’s total population
•	scarcely 700,000 live in Israel and call it home
•	More Jews lived in_________________, Egypt than in _________________,
•	more in Syria than in Israel
Languages
•	The LEGAL language was _________________, in the Roman Empire
•	It was the major language in the Western Empire
•	the major language in the Eastern Empire was _________________,
•	Besides Greek they spoke _________________, and _________________,
Transportation
•	Several main roads ran through Israel:
•	1. The Highway by the _________________,
•	2. The _________________, Highway
•	The Romans Roads were better than those in Israel

Travel
•	was mainly by _________________, or by animal or wagon
•	the inns of this time were poor, most travelers depended on _________________, for lodging
•	travel maps could be bought in mss form
•	water was another major way to travel: Ships and smaller vessels carried people from one place to another
•	Rivers and the Mediterranean Sea were the major waterways

Ships and Shipping
•	Water was the primary means of commercial transport.
•	_________________, served as the bread basket of the Roman Empire, Alexandria provided the major harbor and outlet for Egyptian grain
•	Alexandrian ships reached almost _________________, feet in length, and had sails, and carried oars for emergencies
LARGE CARGO SHIPS
•	Large cargo ships could hold several _________________, passengers in addition to its cargo
•	Paul was on one of these large cargo ships when he suffered shipwreck on the way to Rome
•	Warships were lighter and faster
•	_________________, slaves labored at the oars - two to five banks and as many as 10 banks
•	Barges plied up and down the rivers and canals of Egypt gathering materials to send to Rome
Public Conveniences
•	School Systems - 
•	Alexandria, Egypt had a well-developed system
•	_________________, Systems - Alexandria is said to have had over half a million volumes in its library
•	Antioch, Syria had two and one half miles of marble paved, colonnaded streets and a complete system of lighting
•	Public _________________, for all: admission = 1cent
•	most took 1 bath a day and several took more
Roman Meals
•	Romans  ate _________________, meals a day
•	an average diet consisted of bread, porridge, lentil, _________________,, goat’s milk, cheese, vegetables, fruit, olives, bacon, sausage, fish, and diluted wine.
Jewish Meals
•	ate only _________________, meals a day

•	their diet consisted mainly of bread, fruits, and_________________,. Meat, roasted or boiled, was usually reserved for festival days.  Raisins, figs, honey, and dates supplied sweetening, since _________________, was unknown

Clothing for Men
•	wore_________________,, shirt-like garments extended from shoulders to the knees
•	a belt or sash, called a “girdle” in the NT and tied around the waist
•	coarse shoes or _________________, on the feet
•	a hat or scarf on the head
•	In winter a heavy _________________, or cloak was worn over the tunic to give warmth: These were usually white in color
Clothing for Women
•	wore a short _________________, as an undergarment
•	sometimes a brightly colored outer tunic that extended to the feet
•	more fashionable used cosmetics lavishly, including lipstick, eye shadow, and eyebrow paint
•	for jewelry wore _________________, and noses ornaments
Hair Styles
•	Hairstyles _________________, constantly, though Palestinian women wore veils covering their heads, but not their faces.
•	Men wore their hair _________________, and shaved with straight razors
•	Dandies had their hair curled and used large amounts of hair _________________, and perfume
•	Both men and women dyed their hair, often to cover gray.
•	False hair added to the coiffure and both sexes wore _________________,
In Palestine 
•	men grew _________________, and let their hair grow somewhat longer, but not like traditional pictures
•	Generally, Palestinian styles tended to be _________________, for both sexes
HOMES
•	Western part of the Empire - houses made of _________________, or concrete, at least in cities
•	Poorer sections and rural areas had _________________, houses or huts
•	Eastern part of the Empire - houses usually consisted of stucco and sun dried brick
•	few _________________, opened onto the street because of a lack of police forces and break ins were common
•	More expensive homes had double door entrances
A GENERAL DESCRIPTION
•	A vestibule led to the door, beyond which lay a central court called an _________________,
•	Roofs were tile or thatch
•	In the kitchen was open hearth _________________, or a stone oven
•	Oil _________________, provide the lighting
More General Descriptions
•	_________________, and heating were well developed
•	central furnace heated some houses
•	pipes often carrying heat to other areas of the house
•	Many Roman _________________, had running water
•	Murals decorated walls
•	In  larger cities families could rent _________________,
Homes in Israel
•	compared to their Greco-Roman counterparts were a little behind
•	One entered the town through an open gate
•	the market-place was centrally located in the _________________,
•	it  was a place for trade and commerce
•	it was a place for _________________, and _________________, gatherings as well
•	The houses were low and flat roofed, sometimes with a guest room perched on top
•	the building materials were usually bricks made of mud and straw and baked in the sun
Homes in Israel
•	the typical lower economic home was and an apartment building with several rooms. 
•	Usually the apartment had only _________________, of those rooms
•	if so, part of that room was on a higher elevation.
•	_________________,, chests for clothes, and cooking utensils were located on the higher level
Homes in Israel
•	livestock and other domesticated _________________, lived on the lower level
•	branches laid across rafters and plastered with _________________, formed the flat roots
•	rain caused _________________, and the roof had to be rolled after each rain
A little more
•	a _________________, went around the top of the house so that people would not fall off
•	there was usually a set of stairs leading to the rooftop outside the house
•	the housetop was used for _________________, in really hot nights, for drying vegetables, ripening fruit, and in devout homes for praying.
•	The floors were harden, packed _________________, for most modest homes & more wealthy homes had stone floor
•	the beds were mats or pallet on the floor. People slept in their day garments
SOCIAL CLASSES
•	The Greco-Roman  world was basically the _________________, and the _________________,
•	the middle class was eventually wiped out by the rich so they  became the homeless and foodless mobs
•	_________________, was a little more level because of their laws, but the _________________, and leading rabbis did quite well for themselves
•	Farmers, _________________,, small businessmen, and their families made up most of the population
Among the Jews
•	tax collectors, traditionally called, _________________, were a class of special hatred
•	some Jews hated them because they handled the pagan _________________, with blasphemous pagan inscriptions and iconography and cooperated with the Roman overlords
•	The overlords auctioned the toll collecting positions to the highest _________________,
•	I.e. the one who agreed to receive the _________________, rate of commission for a five year contract
Among the Jews
•	_________________, of all kinds went on by the rich increased the financial burden of the poor
•	resulting in the masses of Jews deeply hating the _________________, collectors
Slavery
•	the number of slaves in the Roman world may have outnumbered the free people
•	It  was common for condemn criminals, _________________,, and prisoners of war to be slaves
•	many of Jesus sayings and parables assume that slavery existed in the _________________, culture
•	Paul’s letters reflect the presence of slaves in _________________, households
Slavery
•	Many of the slaves were doctors, accountants, _________________,, philosophers, and clerks, etc
•	Many slaves had greater _________________, than their masters and 
•	some bought _________________, or was set free by their masters
Criminals
•	Originally only slaves who had turned criminal were _________________,
•	then, free people who had committed heinous crimes also suffered this lot
•	During the siege of Jerusalem in AD 70, Titus crucified as many as ________Jews in a day outside the city walls, in plain view of all the people still inside
Executions
•	Execution by burning at the _________________, was occasionally practiced.
•	Other times condemned men were made _________________, in the arena
•	Other groups might kill one another in staged warfare
The Family
•	this is the basic unit of society
•	some factors destroying the family in this period was slavery and the training of children by _________________, rather than the parents
•	The typical Greco-Roman family had a _________________, birth rate
•	to promote larger families the government offered incentives for families with _________________, or more children
•	_________________, appears to have been taxed
The Family in Palestine
•	large families were common & there was great joy in the birth of a _________________, and disappointment in the birth of a _________________,
•	the _________________, day the son was taken to the temple and circumcised and named
•	the naming of a girl could wait _________________, month
Family Names
•	families had no_________________,, so
•	the way to distinguish the people was to refer to their _________________, (Simon of Zebedee) or to their religious or _________________, affiliation (Simon the Zealot);  their _________________, (Simon the Tanner) or their place of _________________, (Joseph of Arimethea)
Morals
•	In the NT epistles, _________________, sins usually head a list of prohibited vices
•	Every conceivable vice of immorality was attributed to the pagan gods and goddess
•	Sexual relations with the temple “_________________,” formed an integral part of pagan religious activity
Morals
•	_________________,, both male and female, was a  recognized institution
•	_________________, girls often fell victim to this problem
•	to gain money some men made their _________________, and daughters serve as prostitutes
•	_________________, and homosexuality were a part of the scenery 
Other Moral Issues
•	_________________, was easy, frequent, and acceptable
•	In fact, divorce documents are among the most numerous papyrus documents that remain
•	_________________, was common
•	Parents often _________________, their children as infants and abandoned them in city forum and exposed girls were picked up to be prostituted
•	Yet, without a warped picture, decent and honorable people did live in the society too
ENTERTAINMENT
•	a large assortment of amusements were available
Sporting Games
•	The _________________, Games provided sporting pleasures of a wholesome sort
•	The charioteers were highly regarded by the populace
•	_________________, provided much appeal and sport 
•	They could be slaves, captives, criminals or volunteers 
•	They often engaged in betting on the events
Games in the Arenas
•	the arenas could be flooded with water and naval battles staged
•	as many as _________________, men  could die in a single performance
•	the sand would become so saturated with blood that it would have to be changed several times a day
•	one commentator said the stench was so terrible that _________________, mists would be sprayed into the air
The Arenas
•	would use animals and other beasts
•	on one occasion 300 _________________, were killed
•	at the opening of Titus’ amphitheater _________________, wild beasts and _________________, tame beasts were slaughtered.
•	Elephants, _________________,, panthers, rhinoceri, hippopotami, crocodiles, and snakes fought each other.
Music and literature 
•	uplifted  the  human spirit
Children’s Games 
•	amused themselves with toys,  _________________,, dolls with moveable limbs, miniature houses with furniture, balls, swings
•	They played games close to_________________,, hide and seek, and blindman’s bluff.
•	_________________, races were like today’s Indy 500
Business and Labor
•	Trade guilds were foreshadows of modern labor unions
•	The trade guilds would engage in _________________,
•	extend help to members
•	give benefits to _________________, and children
•	In Israel, they regulated days and hours for _________________,
Industry
•	was limited and small
•	local shops produced most materials because _________________, was so expensive
•	_________________, were slow and subject to robbery
•	shipping in the Mediterranean Sea was limited to the _________________, months
Agriculture
•	was amazingly advanced in some ways
•	Farmers practiced _________________, selection according to size and quality
•	they soak seed in _________________, mixtures to protect them from insects
•	even used _________________, mixtures and crop rotation
Private Companies
•	carried on _________________, very similar to today’s methods
•	borrowing, lending, discounting, exchanging foreign currencies
•	issuing letters of _________________,
•	the ordinary interest rate varied from _________________, to _________________, percent
Science
•	The _________________, had little interest in science during the NT period
•	In 3rd century BC, Eratosthenes, librarian at Alexandria, taught that the earth is spherical and calculated its size at _________________, miles in circumference (only _________________, miles short of modern estimates)
•	He said the earth was _________________, million miles from the sun (today’s estimate is _________________, million miles)
•	He even conjectured the existence of the _________________, continent
Medicine or Surgery
•	more advanced than might guess
•	_________________, was a private physician for Paul
•	Surgeons operated on the _________________,
•	did tracheotomies and _________________,
•	use of anesthetics was limited
Medical Instruments
•	a variety of instruments were used:
•	lancets and _________________, needles
•	an elevator to lift up depressed portions of the skull
•	different kinds of forceps, catheters, spatulas for throat exams
•	dental tools including the filling of teeth with _________________,
•	false teeth came from the mouths of deceased people or animals