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Easton's Bible Dictionary
The materials used in buildings were commonly bricks,
sometimes also stones ( Leviticus 14:40 , 14:42 ), which were held together by
cement ( Jeremiah 43:9 ) or bitumen ( Genesis 11:3 ). The exterior was usually
whitewashed ( Leviticus 14:41 ; Ezekiel 13:10 ; Matthew 23:27 ). The beams were
of sycamore ( Isaiah 9:10 ), or olive-wood, or cedar ( 1 Kings 7:2 ; Isaiah 9:10
).
The form of Eastern dwellings differed in many respects from that of dwellings
in Western lands. The larger houses were built in a quadrangle enclosing a court-yard
( Luke 5:19 ; 2 Samuel 17:18 ; Nehemiah 8:16 ) surrounded by galleries, which
formed the guest-chamber or reception-room for visitors. The flat roof, surrounded
by a low parapet, was used for many domestic and social purposes. It was reached
by steps from the court. In connection with it ( 2 Kings 23:12 ) was an upper
room, used as a private chamber ( 2 Samuel 18:33 ; Daniel 6:11 ), also as a bedroom
( 2 Kings 23:12 ), a sleeping apartment for guests ( 2 Kings 4:10 ), and as a
sick-chamber ( 1 Kings 17:19 ). The doors, sometimes of stone, swung on morticed
pivots, and were generally fastened by wooden bolts. The houses of the more wealthy
had a doorkeeper or a female porter ( John 18:16 ; Acts 12:13 ). The windows generally
opened into the courtyard, and were closed by a lattice (Judges 5:28 ). The interior
rooms were set apart for the female portion of the household.
The furniture of the room ( 2 Kings 4:10 ) consisted of a couch furnished
with pillows ( Amos 6:4 ; Ezekiel 13:20 ); and besides this, chairs, a table and
lanterns or lamp-stands ( 2 Kings 4:10 ).
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
(no entry)
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(no entry)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
(no entry)
Tags:
bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, define, dwellings
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