A roof roller

DID YOU KNOW…

that the roofs of ancient Israel were flat and sturdy enough to allow many activities on top, such as weaving, social activities, and a place to dry flax, dates or figs?

However, they required a lot of maintenance.

They were supported on wooden beams or sturdy branches, with a cross layer of smaller branches.

On top lay a mat of brush or reeds and then a layer of compacted mud.

After heavy rain, a stone roller had to be used to close any cracks or fill up any holes in the top layer of mud.

If neglected the roof would be full of holes and leak, causing water to possibly run down the mud brick walls.

These would get soaked, bulge out and finally collapse.

A rain-soaked roof was well known in Bible times and has given rise to more than one proverb.

Ecclesiastes 10:18, "If a man is lazy the roof sinks in, and if his hands are idle, the house leaks.”

Proverbs 27:15, "A continual dripping on a rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.”

Compiled by Jim and Maxine Carlill.

Picture: stone roof roller - Beit Avraham Collection

Threshing Board

DID YOU KNOW…

That an agricultural instrument was also a weapon of war?

Part of Beit Avraham's collection consists of threshing boards, like the ones used in Bible times. The sharp stones, later combined with steel, embedded underneath the wooden sledge, chop up the grain stalks.

Another version was the threshing wagon. It consisted of 3 axles and a number of steel disks that not only were used to thresh grain, but also as an instrument of torture.

In Amos 1:3 we read, "...[the king of Syria] threshed the people of Gilead with the sharp iron teeth of threshing wagons."

Proverbs 20:26 says, "A wise king sifts out the wicked, and brings the threshing wheel over them."

The threshing board begins the separating, cleaning and refining process of the grain harvest. From it came food that nourishes and blesses.

Compiled by Jim and Maxine Carlill.
Picture taken by: Petra van der Zande. Neot Kedumim , Israel.

The Sheepfold

DID YOU KNOW…
that the life of a shepherd in Biblical times was a hard one?

Jacob tells us in Genesis 31:40, “Thus I was; by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled my eyes.”

Some shepherds lived and slept outside all the time, especially if they were looking after a large flock which was too big for a fold or cave.

Luke 2:8, “And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.”

The shepherd cannot leave his sheep, neither by day, nor by night, and as a result, he knows the sheep from birth. He spends the entire time with them, and the sheep know that the shepherd will look after them, provide for them and keep them safe.

The usual sheepfold was a simple structure of loose stones, without mortar, varying in height from about 1.2 to 2.5 meters. Sometimes dead thorny brushes were added on top of the wall for further protection.

In general there is no regular door, but a narrow doorway in which the shepherd sleeps to guard the sheep at night. He is their door.

John 10:7, 9. “So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. I am the door: if any man shall enter he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

When no sheepfold is near, a ring of thorny bushes is heaped up, but this of course is no real barrier for the wolf or other wild animals.

In the hill-country, natural caves are prolific and commonly used as folds for small herds. Generally, large herds can not be catered for in these caves.

It was common for two shepherds to share a fold, keeping all the sheep together.

At dawn the shepherds had to separate their sheep. The first shepherd stood outside the fold and called his sheep. His sheep came to him, as they knew his voice, leaving the remainder for the other shepherd.

John 10:3,4,5, 14. “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers… I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me.”

Written by Jim and Maxine Carlill.

Picture: Jim Carlill. Sheepfold in Gilo, Jerusalem, Israel.

Grinding Wheel or Mill Stone

Did You Know...
That the grinding wheel – or mill stone - was an essential piece of equipment in every household in Bible days?
And that the first sound of the day, usually before dawn, was the unmistakable sound of grinding that came from every home as the family’s daily bread was prepared?

This chore belonged to the humblest and youngest female slave or hired servant, or in a normal village household, a daughter or the wife. Proverbs 31:15 tells us that the wife gets up before dawn!
There are many references in the Bible indicating that grinding is the humblest, and sometimes the most humiliating of jobs.

Exodus 11:5 refers to the highest to the lowliest in the land when referring to the deaths of the firstborns “… from the first born son of Pharaoh… to the first born of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill.”

In Lamentations 5:13 Jeremiah describes Israel’s deep humiliation after the destruction of the Temple by the Babylonians, where the young men do this most menial of women’s work.

Note that Sampson, when he was taken to Gaza after being made blind, was made to grind. Presumably this was a commercial operation where he took the place of an ass, and walked around in a circle pushing a beam attached to a big mill stone.

It is exhausting work and approximately three (!) hours of grinding is needed to supply the needs of a family. And if you wanted finer flour, it took even longer. Where possible, two women share the job - sitting opposite each other. One hand is needed when two work together, whereas a single person has to use both hands.
Hence the scripture, “Two women will be grinding grain together…” Luke 15:35.

However, when the grain is ground, small particles of the mill stone come away and get included in the flour and the bread. Consequently, by eating the bread, the teeth gradually get ground down because of the stones. The wealthier families insisted on extra fine flour for their bread, because they had slaves or servants to grind the grain until it was very fine. However, more fine bits of the worn basalt would still be mixed with the flour. Skeletons found in the homes of wealthy people of those times, often showed teeth that were worn right down!

The sound of the grinding stones was rough and grating, but it was a sign of normal family life. Also it meant that there was adequate grain. Conversely, its absence indicated desolation and sorrow. When the sound of grinding coming from a house was low, it meant that the family was impoverished.
Hence Jeremiah, when prophesying the ruin to be brought on the land by Nebuchadnezzar, tells his people that God will “… banish from them… the sound of millstones.” Jeremiah 25:10. Revelations 18:22 also refers to the destruction of Babylon. “The sound of the millstone will never be heard in you again.”

Grinding wheels were generally made from basalt, a black rock found in the Galilee and Golan Heights, and would be a relatively precious item. The Law of Moses states that the millstones of a household could not be seized by a creditor (Deuteronomy 24:6).

Compiled by Jim and Maxine Carlill