Daily Life in the era of the Shoftim
Country LifeCity LifeReligion
" א' תשע מרחשון וOctober 14, 2010
Country lifeThe VillageAgricultureAnimal HusbandryDiet
The Village Structure
Village Evolution Village Design Villages were a result of
common need for protection and shared commerce they were close to farmland that was worked by the villagers
They were close to larger cities for the same reasons
They were not placed on arable land so as to maximize output
They were located close to perennial water sources like springs
They typically had a population of about 75 – 150 people
Ring Shaped villages◦ Laid out for protection and for
the keeping of animals
Agglomerated ◦ Were not planed in any way
but every family built where he wanted
Farmsteads◦ A single farm owned by one
person along with attendant building like barns and workers quarters
◦ It had a low wall to keep the animals in
House Structure
The Four Room House
Model of four room house from the front
The typical home found in Israel was limited by technology and by resources
Wood and metal were not common enough in the Near East to use as building material
They were built with stone and sun dried mud brick
There were two parallel rooms and one in the back
There was a courtyard and second story
The roofs were used collect rainwater in the winter, to sleep during the summer, drying fruit or to keep a grindstone
House Structure
The Concept of the Four Room House
Four Room House From BAR28:04
This was the dominant form of all buildings constructed in Israel from the Shoftim to the Destruction of the Beis Hamikdash then disappears
Shlomo Bunimovitz and Avraham Faust (Bar28:04) make the case that the four room building was a functionally adaptation to the laws of Tumah and Tahara
Every room could be accessed from the center courtyard which allows for the separation of people and vessels who are tahor and those who are tamei
Agriculture
Agriculture During the Shoftim and Monarchy
A contour map of the Tabaq Farm. Wall A contains the sluice gates which controlled the floodwaters as they entered the farm. Walls B through H are terrace walls around which the water flowed after being partially absorbed behind each terrace wall. The enclosure wall surrounds the farm. The pare military outpost where the farmers lived was on a hill north of the farm, marked by a rectangle. BAR3:03
The land is dry and rocky and difficult to farm
The villagers worked together try and expand arable land by using◦ Terrace farming◦ Runoff irrigation◦ Forest clearing
Agriculture
Making the Desert Bloom Area of Tabaq Farm now
BAR3:03
These communal activities allowed farming to be productive that simple subsistence
Depending on the year and the rainfall farmers could produce surpluses which they used to invest in land reclamation
They could also purchase luxury goods
Agriculture
Field Crops Fruits and Vegetables
Cereals◦ Wheat
◦ Barley
◦ Millet
Legumes◦ Peas
◦ Chickpeas
◦ Sesame
Spices◦ Dill
◦ Cumin
◦ Coriander
Fruits◦ Olives
◦ Grapes
◦ Figs
◦ Pomegranates
◦ Dates
◦ Carobs
◦ Almonds
◦ Pistachios
Vegetables◦ Cucumbe
rs
◦ Gourds
◦ Leeks
◦ Onions
◦ Garlic
Animal Husbandry
Herding Draft Animals In less populated areas
herding was a major industry
The herded goats and sheep which were used for their milk, cheese, butter, meat, hair/wool, and skins/leather
Shepherds would lead their flock around the area grazing unfarmed land
Cattle ◦ Males – Bulls or Oxen used
for plowing and hauling
◦ Females – Cows – for plowing with mild and hide as secondary products
DonkeysCamelsHorses
◦ delicate small Arabians which were used primarily for people
Diet
The Mediterranean Triad
Biblical Diet
Daily diet was made up of ◦ Grain – in the form of bread or דגן
porridge◦ Grapes- wine תירוש◦ Olives – olive oil יצהר
They are the products that the תורה requires one to take off תרומה and מעשרות
Other crops grown locally were eaten but because they were not primary food less land was dedicated to their production and therefore more scarce and expensive
Meat would only have been eaten on special occasions like Shabbos
Fowl – also for special occasions would have been chicken, duck, goose and pigeon
Summary of Country LifeCountry life remains constant from
the period of the judges to the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash
The basis of the Village economy was agriculture, growing mostly of staples with some cash crops
Animal husbandry and small crafts were a small part of rural life
Diet was almost entirely made from locally grown crops
City lifeCity PlanningPopulationHygiene and SanitationTrade
View of Megiddo
How City Life Changed from the Period of the Shoftim to the
MonarchyCities started out as commercial centers in
the Bronze Age as the Iron Age progressed and the Monarchy assumed more control the cities became the center for the bureaucracy.
Most residence moved out to smaller villages and the cities were filled with ever more governmental structures
Since we are in the period of the Shoftim we will be discussing city life during the Iron Age
CITY PLANNING
FortificationWater
City Planning
Pre-Planning City Types that Develop During the Monarchy
Public structures are the key feature used in differentiating between a city and a village
The city was primarily an administrative and commercial hub of a larger area made up of several villages and farmsteads
There seems to be some central lay out of the city which is seen by the planning of the fortifications, the houses, roads, marketplaces and public structures
This is hinted to in the "ך תנwhere various leaders are said to construct cities and in
Capital Cities◦ Samaria
◦ Jerusalem
Regional Cites◦ Lachish
◦ Megiddo
◦ Hazor
◦ Dan
Towns ◦ Be’er Sheva
◦ Taanach
◦ Beth -Shemesh
City Planning
Fortification
Tell-Dan City Gate House
Outer Fortifications◦ Glacis – sloping rampart in
front of the Fosse or wall
◦ Fosse – dry moat near the wall
City walls ◦ Solid
◦ Casemate – two thin parallel walls filled with rubble
Gates – and Gate Houses◦ Outer gates
◦ Several parallel inner gates
◦ Doors made from wood covered with metal sheets
Water Systems Shaft and Tunnel leading to
a perennial water source outside the city
Shaft and Tunnel leading to a water source in the city
Tunnel from outside water source meets with a vertical shaft inside the city
Tunnels diverting water into reservoirs
External approach to water at the base of the Tell
Cut out of Jerusalem showing tunnelBAR34:05
Contour map showing path of tunnelBAR34:05
Courtesy of the Tower of David Museum (Permanent Exhibition)FINDING THE RIGHT PATH. Shimron and Frumkin believe that a third team working on the surface pounded out acoustic signals on the bedrock to guide the underground work of the tunneling teams (see section drawing). Initially, the southern team planned to take a fairly direct route northeast from the Siloam Pool so they would intersect the northern team as quickly as possible. The northern team, however, began by excavating almost due west, a course the geologists believe was either a gross miscalculation in direction or a deliberate attempt to extend the tunnel to a well shaft in the heart of the city.Both teams quickly realized, however, that the nearly 160 feet of bedrock and soil overburden in their respective areas made sound communication with the surface impossible, so they decided to adjust the tunnel’s course. Hezekiah’s engineers directed the tunnelers to the shallower eastern slope of the city instead (which has a more manageable overburden of between 25 and 80 feet), where the guiding signals of the surface team could be more easily heard. Partial shafts in the bedrock may have aided in the sound communication. From here the tunnelers followed the surface signals until they were finally within earshot of the other team’s voices and pick axes, as described in the Siloam Inscription. On the plan, areas in yellow have a shallow overburden and gradually progress to the deepest areas (shown in red) where it was impossible to hear the surface signals.
View of Megiddo
Plan of Megiddo
POPULATION
Population
Who Lived in the Cities?
Dionysus – Roman "ז of עdrunkenness (uncg.com)
As the cities became centers of administration most non-government employees moved out
Those who remain were bureaucrats and the upper classes who would have kept a town house in addition to a country estate
Foreigners were in the cities as ambassadors and for trade
The new upper class mixed with foreign cultures and were affected by them
They did not feel a connection to the population of the country who were poorer and less cultured
HYGIENE AND SANITATION
Hygiene and Sanitation
Personal Hygiene Sanitation Limited water was not to wasted
on bathing more than necessary Hand washing and feet washing
were common Washing hands face and feet
would prepare one for Shabbos Clothes were seldom washed
since it would involve a trip to a river
There were soaps but very caustic Halachos of Tumah and Taharah
which were widely practiced demanded that men and women go to mikvah often so the observant Jewish people were much cleaner than most others
No sewers Few latrines or outhouses –
people generally used chamber pots that they dumped in the street
Household garbage was swept into the street
This is not healthy It builds up the street level It contaminates drinking
water and leads to the spread of disease
COMMERCE AND TRADE
Local Long distanceMaritime
Local Trade
What was traded?
Ox cart relief from the wall of Assur
Mostly one crop was bartered for another
A villager would haul his crop to the market in a larger town by ox or donkey pulled cart along dirt trails
Wholesale middlemen would bring crops into the city in exchange for manufactured goods or precious metals
In the city one would by from a retailer who bought it from the wholesaler
Long Distance Trade
Trade
Camel caravan in the Sahara
Luxury goods since the prophet had to be good and the items small◦ Jewelry
◦ Spices
◦ Exotic food (such as fish from Egypt)
There were established trade routes
Usually run by Canaanites so the term Canaanite was synonymous with trader
Israel was on the major trade routes from Arabia to Syria and from Egypt to Mesopotamia
Used camels and donkeys to haul the loads
Maritime Trade
Trade Phoenician ship Ship travel was dangerous
and seasonal Conducted mostly by the
Phoenicians It was Mediterranean centered
with the "ך telling us about תנsome expeditions to the Red Sea with success during the time of Shelomo and failure during the time of Yehoshafat
Based on shipwrecks it seems that the objects of trade were grain, oil, wine, wool, and purple dye ארגמן
ReligionThe Prevalence of Avodah ZarahSyncretistic Worship
Religion
Shrines and Avodah Zarah and Syncretistic Worship
This shows a temple in Gezer where the idolaters have two altars one of the two back stones is for Hashem the other for his wife Asherah
Shrines to Avodah Zara and idols are commonly found at archeological sites shows its prevalence
Personal alters or במות are also found
Is the inclusion of Hashem into the pantheon of idols and pagan "ז ע
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