Introduction: Importance of Daily Life in the Ancient World
Biblical Backgrounds

Lecture 1

Our Course Goal
•	We want to try to recreate the lifeways and mental attitudes of the ancient ______________ and the early First Century world in which Christianity arose.
The Problem with Ancient Israel
•	Involves discovering which biblical text belongs to which time period under study. 
•	One scholar has likened the OT to an archaeological ______________ that has to be separated layer upon layer. 
The Social Structure of Ancient Israel
Is based upon a model that most Americans do not experience today.  The basic elements of life revolved around the ______________ and close ______________ and most were involved in an agrarian activity.  
A Three-tiered Structure
•	1. ______________ Level
•	2. ______________ Level
•	3. ______________ Patrimonial Level
1. Ground level 
•	– ancestral or patriarchal household which in the ______________ Bible is bet ‘ab (House of the Father).
2. State Level
•	 – or tribal kingdom, the king functioned as the paterfamilias, his subjects dependent on personal relationships and loyalty to him. In return for loyalty, they received protection and other benefits. The king presides over his house and those of the land. Thus, the “______________ of ______________” or “The House of Omri”.
3. Supreme Patrimonial Level
•	The king is not the top of the pile in ancient Israel. The person occupying the top level is that of Yahweh or God. He is the ultimate head over the children of Israel. They are bound to Him by covenant as His ______________ (‘am) or kindred-in-law. 
What Does This Imply?
•	In the beginning of the nation there was no class consciousness. The vertical relationships between superior to inferior were of a different sort.  The term ‘ebed’ can mean a multitude of things.  It normally occurs with reference to “______________of the ______________”.  Only context can determine just what is meant.  So, in this context, it not so hard to imagine a farmer, like Saul, or a shepherd, like David becoming king.
Agricultural Life
•	This way of life is more and more difficult for modern Americans to understand. We continue to move away from it at a quick pace. In 2002 there were less than 2% of Americans on the farms. Ancient Israel was almost the opposite. Most lived on a farm of some kind. Even those in large cities, like Jerusalem or Samaria, were involved in some kind of business involving ______________ and ______________. 
An Example
Two of the main gates during the time of Nehemiah and Zephaniah
•	took their names from the animals that were bought and sold near these gates: the ______________Gate (Neh 3:1; 32; 12:39) and the ______________ Gate (2 Chron 33:14; Neh 3:3; 12:39 and Zeph 1:10).
Agricultural Life and a Calendar
•	The agricultural life followed a calendar that is very different from ours. Our calendars are based on the day, month, year and sometimes even the hour. The ancient world was on a different “______________” that the modern world. Often the time for work began at sunup and time for rest and sleep was at sundown.
The Agricultural Year (Briscoe)
•	The writer of Ecclesiastes said in 3:1 that “For everything there is a ______________”.  The daily life in the villages and towns of Israel revolved around certain agricultural tasks and followed a general cycle.  
A Calendar from Gezer, Egypt
•	And dated around 925 BC suggests the following:
•	Two months of ingathering (olives)
•	Two months of sowing cereals
•	Two months of ______________ sowing
•	A month of hoeing ______________A month of harvesting barley
•	A month of harvesting (wheat) and measuring (grain)
•	Two months of ______________ harvesting
A month of gather summer ______________This Agricultural Cycle
•	Involved the entire population. We will spend a lecture on this ______________ cycle in the future. 
Our Need
•	Is to realize that the things of mundane life play a larger role in the Bible (______________and ______________) than we might realize at a casual glance.  
•	They figure into stories, laws,histories, songs, prophetic oracles, wisdom sayings. Often they are considered background minutiae. 
•	Most readers fail to notice them. They may be so alien to us or we are used to such stereotyped uses of history, we fail to really consider their value. 
A Biblical Glance at Judges 17-18
•	Who do we encounter in this passage? When does it occur? ______________ or ______________? 
•	Who is with Micah in his house? 
•	What did Micah provide for the young Levite priest?
•	What is an ephod and a teraphim as mentioned in the marginal notes of most bibles?
•	Why is this story told in Judges? How does it add to our knowledge of this history of Israel and to idolatry in this period?
More Questions?
•	Who were the ______________?
•	Where did they come from or originate?
•	What are they doing here?
•	Where is or was Laish? Does it matter? Who are the Sidonians mentioned? Where is Zorah and Eshtaol? Does it matter? Where is Kiriath-jearim? Where is Ephraim? 
What other details can you find
•	That point to daily life in this period? Read close and ask many questions!