Gen 3:14:   "And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life."  (KJV)

The ancient world was a dusty place.  Factors such as drought, heat, rocky terrain, dry soil, bare land, sand, and storms, along people and animal debris, all contributed to a dirty environment.  Keeping clean was a chore.  In scripture, the Hebrew word for dust is awfawr.  It appears 108 times in the KJV Bible, and it can have any of the following meanings:  dust, earth, mud, ashes, ground, mortar, powder, or rubbish.  
 
 From Alfred Russel Wallace:  "The majority of persons, if asked what were the uses of dust, would reply that they did not know it had any, but they were sure it was a great nuisance. But though we can thus minimize the dangers and the inconveniences arising from the grosser forms of dust, we cannot wholly abolish it; and it is, indeed, fortunate we cannot do so, since it has now been discovered that it is to the presence of dust we owe much of the beauty, and perhaps even the very habitability, of the earth we live upon."  ("The Wonderful Century", p.69-70.  Published 1899, New York.)
 
While the scientific world declares dust to have beneficial purposes, ancient people were not so convinced.  Their dislike of dust brought about a number of symobloic uses of dust, all of which had negative meanings. 
 
1.  The word dust became a figurative term for a person's lowly position in society.   
 
2.  The word dust could also mean the grave (placed in the dust) or death (returning to dust).
 
3.  To shake the dust from one's feet meant to renounce all future association with a person or situation.
 
4.  Throwing dust in the air was a sign of sorrow or distress.
 
5.  Throwing dust in the air was a sign of judgement or a negative decision. 
 
6.  Throwing dust upon a criminal's head meant that the criminal was to receive a death sentence. 
 
7.  Throwing dust upon one's own head was a sign of mourning.
 
8.  Sitting in the dust was a sign of extreme affliction. 
 
 
While all of these symbolic uses of dust seem rather odd, there is another application that is even more disturbing:  to "eat dust".  Or as it appears elsewhere in the Bible and other translations, kiss the dust or lick the dust. 
 
The first known instance of "dust eating" is recorded in Genesis 3 and comes from the curse of humiliation that God pronounced on the snake that tempted Eve.  From that moment on, the snake and all of its descendants were doomed to slither on their bellies and exist in the dust for as long as they lived.  It was from God's curse that a number of customs involving humiliation evolved and were practiced among different cultures throughout the ages.  Some of these acts are still performed today.  

HUMILIATION AS A PART OF DEVOTION (WORSHIP)
 
From Joseph Roberts:  "People on their arrival from England are astonished at the apparent devotion of the Hindoos (and) when they see them cast themselves down before their temples.  Those of high rank, and in elegant attire do not hesitate thus to prostrate themselves in the dust, before the people.  How often as you pass along, may you see a man stretched his full length on the ground, with his face in the dust, pouring out his complaint or making his requests unto the gods.  It matters not to him who or what may be near him: he heeds not, and moves not, till his devotions are finished."  ("Oriental Illustrations of the Scriptures", p. 251.  Published 1835, London.)
 
From Thomas Wright:  "The governor of Palestine, who was acquainted with the family of St. Paula (380 A.D.), prepared to receive her in Jerusalem with due honours, but she preferred taking up her abode in a small cell, and she hastened to visit all the holy objects with which she was now surrounded.  She went first to the church of the Holy Sepulchre, where she prostrated herself before the true cross, and entered the sepulchre itself, after having kissed the stone which the angels had taken from the entrance." ("Early Travels in Palestine", Introduction - p. X.  Published 1858, London.)
 
From J.H.A. Bomberger:  "On April 17, 1349, in Easter-week, the first Flagellaut (flagellant) Society came to Magdeburg (Germany) from Pirna (Germany). When the company approached a town they formed themselves into a regular procession.  The candles, crosses, and banners were borne in front, then followed the penitents, two and two, wearing a red cross on their clothes.  One of the company commenced singing, and all joined in.  As they entered the town the bells were rung.  On coming before the church all kneeled, and as certain lines were sung, they prostrated themselves on the ground with outstretched arms, forming a cross, and remained thus until the leader gave them a hint to rise."  ("The Protestant Theological and Ecclesiastica Encyclopedia", Vol. 2, p. 291-292.  Published 1860, London.)
 
From Edwin Sherman Wallace:  "Alexander is said by Josephus to have prostrated himself before the high-priest (Jaddua)  and then to have gone to the temple and offered sacrifices in the name of God : this is doubted, (by some) but at all events, the city was especially favored by the conqueror."   ("Jerusalem the Holy", p.52-53. Published 1898, New York.   (From "Antiquities of the Jews", by Josephus,  Chapter 8, Par. 6.  Written 96 A.D.)

​HUMILIATION IN THE ACT OF OBEISANCE
 
FROM SIR JOHN MANDVILLE:  "And before the soldan (sultan) cometh no stranger, but if he be clothed in cloth of gold, or of Tartary or of Camaka, in the Saracens' guise, and as the Saracens use.  And it behoveth, that anon at the first sight that men see the soldan, be it in window or in what place else, that men kneel to him and kiss the earth, for that is the manner to do reverence to the soldan  of them that speak with him."  ("The Journeys of Sir John Mandville",  p.26.   Recorded from 1355 in French.  Cotton manuscript in modern spelling first printing 1499.  Published 1900,  London.)
 
From Hugh Boyd:   "We soon arrived at Candy (Kandi), which we found of better appearance, and more regularly built, than any Indian town I had yet seen.  After advancing about a quarter of a mile along this street, we turned...the next corner, we saw the palace on our right.  We halted here some time until further permission should be sent us from the palace to approach. (Later) The curtain was now removed, and the whole terminated in a large alcove, retired within which was a very high throne, and his Majesty seated on it with much solemnity. He wore a large crown, which is a very important distinction from the other princes of the East. The removal of the curtain was the signal for our obeisance...My companions immediately began the performance of theirs, which were in the most perfect degree of eastern humiliation.  They almost literally licked the dust; prostrating themselves with their faces close to the stone floor, and throwing out their legs and arms, as in the attitude of swimming.  ("The Miscellaneous Works of Hugh Boyd", Vol. 2, pp. 209-214.  Published 1800, London.)
 
 From James Morier: "Wherever the (Persian - Sultan Shahanshah, the Great) King travels in his own dominions, his expenses are defrayed by the country through which he passes; and by virtue of the ancient laws of hospitality, which are as binding on the poor Turcoman in his black tent as on the Viceroy in his palace, the Monarch, his sons, his ministers, and his troops, all now became mehmans, or guests, of the (local) Prince.  The Prince was solicitous to make his royal guest satisfied with his reception, and every effort was exerted to strike the King  with astonishment at the improvements of Aderbigian ( Azerbaijan).  The building at Ojan was enlarged and beautified with paintings and rich decorations.  The Prince collected all his troops, infantry, cavalry, and artillery, to greet His Majesty's arrival.

But it was in the Istakball that he put forth the whole of his respect and devotedness.  As the King approached, he prostrated himself before his horses’ feet, and kissed the earth in token of his obedience.  ("A Second Journey Through Persia, Armenia, and Asia Minor", p.274.  Published 1818, London.)   (*Istakball: A group of marching men carrying matchlock guns accompanied by line of men on horseback who perform a ceremonial greeting to honored guests.)
 
 From Lady Duff Gordon: "Luxor, March 30, 1865.  To Alexander Duff Gordon: The next day we had a capital dinner at Mustapha's, and the two Abab'deh Sheykhs, the Sheykh ofKarnac, the Maohn, and Sheykh Yussuf dined with us.  After dinner she(Sheykh Yussuf) showed the Arabs how ladies curtsey to the Queen in England, and the Abab'deh acted the ceremonial of presentation at the court of Darfur, where you have to rub your nose in the dust at the King's feet. ("Letters from Egypt", pp. 223-224.  Published 1902, New York.)

​HUMILIATION IN THE ACT OF SUBMISSION
 
The following poem was written by a man named Hassan, who on the occasion of his capture and captivity by Sultan Sangiar (Sanjar)  (1084-1157 A.D.), Prince of the House of Selgucides, was  eager to show his gratitude for not losing his head but instead being kept a prisoner at Sangiar's court.
 
From Barthélemy d'Herbelot: "One day he (Hassan) threw himself on the ground, kissing the steps that the Sultan Sangiar's horse had taken, and repeated to him (the Sultan) the Persian quatrain he (Hassan) had composed.  'The mark that your horse's foot left on the dust now gives me a crown.  The ring that I wear as a mark of my slavery has become my most beautiful ornament.  As long as I have the happiness of sweeping the dust from your feet, I will believe that fortune favors me with its tenderest caresses and its dearest kisses.'"  ("Bibliothèque Orientale", Vol. 2,  p. 216.  Written in 1697.  Translated from the French for publication in 1777.  Published 1777, Paris.)
 
From John Lewis Burckhardt:  "The chief of Aloa* is a greater person than the chief of Mokra*. He has a stronger army…and his country is more extensive and fertile. The religion (of his people) is that of the Jacobite Christians.  The king (of Aloa) reduces to slavery whomsoever he chooses of his subjects, whether they have committed a crime or not, nor do they object to this practice.  On the contrary, they prostrate themselves before him in submission and never oppose any of the hateful orders with which they are oppressed; but exclaim "Long live the King, and may his will be done!'."   ("Travels in Nubia" p. 501. Published 1819, London.)  (*Aloa and Mokra were two major areas of the Nubian kingdom.)
 
 From Rev. George Paxton:   "The most abject submission is required by an eastern conqueror from those whom he has vanquished.  They fall prostrate on the ground before him; they kiss his feet and the very ground upon which he treads." (Illustrations on the Holy Scriptures", Vol. 3, p. 205.  Published 1825, Edinburgh.)
 
From Sir J. Garner Wilkinson:  "The (Egyptian) king's edicts appear to have been issued in the form of a firman or written order, as in all Oriental countries.  And from the expression used by Pharaoh in granting power to Joseph, we may infer that the people who received that order adopted the usual Eastern mode of acknowledging their obedience and respect for the sovereign.  Nor can there be any doubt that, besides the custom of kissing the signature attached to those documents, they were expected to bow the knee in the presence of the monarch and chiefs of the country, and even to prostrate themselves to the earth before them."  ("The Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians", Vol. 1. p.294.  Published 1838, London.)
 
BITE THE DUST

 If the act of submission did not satisfy the superior person, then the inferior person could face certain death, sometimes being put to death while his face was still pressed to the ground in the act of submission.  Often the inferior person would die with their mouth full of dirt or dust if they were engaged in the act of kissing the ground or having their face held to the ground while being killed.  Although there are a number of suggestions as to how the idiom, "bite the dust" came into use as a synonym for death, this idea is one of the most plausible.
 
From Homer's Iliad:  "Agamemnon prayed, saying, "Jove, most glorious, supreme that dwellest in heaven and ridest upon the storm-cloud, grant that the sun may not go down nor the night fall till the palace of Priam is laid low and its gates are consumed with fire.  Grant that my sword may pierce the shirt of Hector about his heart, and that full many of his comrades may bite the dust as they fall dying round him.  (Later) "As an oak falls headlong when uprooted by the lightning flash of Father Jove, and there is a terrible smell of brimstone—no man can help being dismayed if he is standing near it for a thunderbolt is a very awful thing, even so did Hector fall to earth and bite the dust. His spear fell from his hand but his shield and helmet were made fast about his body  and his bronze armour rang about him."  (Homer's Iliad", Scroll 2, line 400.  Written late 8th or early 7th century BC.) ("The Iliad of Homer", pp. 27, 235.  Translated Version by Samuel Butler.  Published 1898, London.)    
 
From Alain Rene' LeSage:  "You may well be astonished, Gil Bias, to renew your acquaintance with your old commander; and you will be still more so, when you have heard my tale.  The day I left you in the cave, and went with my troop to Mansilla, for the purpose of selling the mules and horses we had taken the evening before, we met the son of the Corregidor of Leon, attended by four men on horseback,  well- armed, and following his carriage.  Two of his people we made to bite the dust, and the other two ran away.  On this the coachman, alarmed for his master, cried out to us in a tone of supplication: "Alas ! my dear gentlemen, in God's name, do not kill the only son of his worship the Corregidor of Leon."
(“The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane,” p.80.  Written 1715-1735.  Translated Version by Tobias Smollett.  Published 1866, London.) 
 
Along with "bite the dust", we also get the associated invectives "eat dirt" or "eat dust".  While these last two idioms also denote death, they have also evolved into a mild profanity meaning to wish someone death.
 
 From Rev. William M. Thomson: (Writing from Gaza) "Perhaps the phrase "eat dust" has a metaphorical meaning equivalent to " bite the dust," which from time immemorial has been the favorite boast of the Eastern warrior over his enemy.  To make him eat dust, or as the Persians have it, (eat) dirt, is the most insulting threat that can be uttered.   In pronouncing sentence upon the serpent, we need not suppose that God used the identical Hebrew words which Moses wrote some thousands of years afterward, but the Jewish lawgiver was guided to a proverb which fully expressed the purport of that divine commination.  We may paraphrase it after this fashion: Boast not of thy triumph over a feeble woman, proud, deceitful spirit; you shall be overthrown, and reduced to the most abject degradation.  The seed of this feeble victim of thy treachery shall yet plant his heel upon thy accursed head, and make thee bite the dust.  ("The Land and the Book", Vol.2, p. 332.  Published 1859, London.)
 
 The action taking place in the introductory verse is God punishing the snake for its sin by causing it to live out its days in a position of abject humiliation, writhing along the ground in a constant state of obeisance and submission to God's supreme authority.  The taking in of dust with its food is a continual symbolic reminder of the death sentence that awaits it.   

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​Mat 23:27-29:   Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous.
 
The whitewashing of tombs or gravestones is an old custom that was practiced commonly by a number of ancient cultures.  Not only did these early people paint gravestones or the sepulcher walls, but they also took great care in keeping the burial sites in good repair, especially if the final resting place was that of an important person.   Some sepulchers were so well-tended and stood in such sharp contrast to the brown and barren landscape they evolved into landmarks for travelers.

 From Rev. John Kitto:  "There are three kinds of calcareous earth, found abundantly in the desert west of the Euphrates  The first called noora is in present use, mixed with ashes, and employed as a coating for the lower parts of walls in baths.  Another called by the Turks karej, and by the Arabs jus, is also found in powder mixed with indurated pieces of the same substance, and round pebbles.  This forms even now the common cement of the country, and constitutes the mortar generally found in the burnt brickwork of the most ancient remains.  The third sort, called borak, is a substance resembling gypsum, and is found in large lumps of an earthy appearance, which, when burned, form an excellent plaster or whitewash."  ("A Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature",  Vol. 3,  Article: Mortar,  p. 218.  Published 1874, London.)
 
From Georges Montbard:  "Tangier, Morocco - Half-way up the hill there is a saint's tomb, four whitewashed walls.   At the top stands a cemetery, strewn with stones, graves, and clusters of cactuses and aloes of a dusty grey-green colour."  ("Among the Moors ", p. 8.  Published 1894, London.)
 
From William Libbey & Francis E. Hoskins:  "The people of Banias are all Moslems of a low type and have a deservedly evil reputation.  They keep the shrine of Sheikh Khudr  (Saint George) whitewashed outside, and they cover branches of a huge tree near the bridge with thousands of filthy rags as votive offerings, but that seems to be the extent of their religious life." ("The Jordan Valley and Petra",  Vol 1,  p. 98.  Published 1905, New York.)
 
From Barbara Hofland: " From Acre they gladly departed for Tyre, passing in their way Zib (the Achzile of the Scriptures), and proceeding on the road said to have been made by Alexander the Great, over a stupendous rock, called the " white promontory," from whence they had the view of a wide extended and beautiful landscape.  They passed many tombs erected by the Arabs to persons denominated saints, all of which were white-washed."  ("Alfred Campbell, The Young Pilgrim", p. 180.  Published 1825, London.)
 
 From John Gadsby:  "The tombs of saints in Egypt are held in great veneration.  They are covered with a circular building in the form of a cupola, and are regularly whitewashed, repaired, rebuilt, and decorated, as was the case with the Jews.  (" My wanderings - Being Travels in the East", p. 276.  Published, London 1881.) 

​From Dr. John Kitto:  "Like other Orientals they (Jews) had a very proper objection to cemeteries in towns, and therefore (had) a strict regulation which required that (cemeteries) should be not less than two thousand cubits distant from a Levitical city, and  a considerable space from other cities.  The Jews had a stronger reason for this than most other nations because they considered that not only the touch of a dead body, but contact with a sepulcher, communicated defilement.  It was for this reason that the sepulchers of all kinds were whitewashed every year in the mouth of February that no one might be defiled unawares."  ("The Pictorial Bible", Vol. 2., Article:  2 Chronicles 34:4,  p. 517-518.  Published 1836, London.)
 
 
From Rev. Joseph Anderson: " The mnemeion, when a simple slab stone  as most of the monumental stones in the valley of Jehoshaphat are, lay flat on the grave, which when covered with weeds and grass did not appear, and men are not aware of it, walked over it, and so were ceremoniously defiled.  To prevent this, the monuments whether flat or erect, were generally white-washed once every year.  Hence the expression of "whited sepulchers".  Thought not for the same reason and not with the same frequency, the sepulchers of the East, the tall turban-headed tombstone, and the round Mosque-like monuments continue to be whitewashed and appear beautiful to the present day.  ("Bible Light from the Holy Land", p.335-336.  Published 1856, New York.)

​When it came to venerating the dead, some cultures went to great lengths to do so by embellishing the place of their burial.  Depending on the person's level of importance in life, dome-shaped buildings called welees might be  erected over their grave or tomb.  Many times these welees were furnished with a  shrine, alter, sacred fire,  holy water, or a religious relic.  Some of the more elaborate welees even provided comforts for those who came to pay their respects or worship. Oftentimes, welees were embellished with architectural ornamentation and gifted with decorations that ranged from the beautiful to the bizarre.
 
​From William C. Taylor:  "Among the novelties which engage the stranger's attention on his arriving in Egypt and Syria, is the frequent appearance of the welee, the name given to the tombs of those revered among the Mohammedans as great saints.  The term signifies properly" a favorite of Heaven," but by an extension of meaning denotes also the place where persons of this class are buried.  The welee consists usually of a stone or brick edifice, with a dome or cupola over it, varying in height from eight to ten feet, and containing often a mat and a jar of water, for the convenience of such as may choose to stop and perform their devotions.  The Mohammedans build these tombs in honor of those who are held in repute for the supposed sanctity of their lives, and often bestow much labor and expense on them, for the purpose of adorning them and keeping them in repair…being covered with stucco or whitewashed and occupying such conspicuous positions." ("Illustrations of the Bible from the Monuments of Egypt",  p.61.   Published 1838, London.)
 
From Colonel Wilson:  At length we attained the highest peak, where there was scarcely more space than sufficient to contain the small wely.  On entering we found near the door a common-looking tomb, over which was spread a pall of silk, striped in red, green, and white,  but much faded.  Against a pillar which supports the roof were hung rows of colored rags and threads of yarn, with snail-shells and sea-shells among them by way of further ornament. . The floor of the chamber has been handsomely paved with tessellated bits of colored marble, much of which still remains.  Over the tomb are suspended some ostrich eggs on a line, as is common in Oriental churches, and near it is a mihrab, or niche in the wall, to indicate the southerly direction for Mohammedan prayers."  ("Picturesque Palestine, Sinai, and Egypt",  Vol. 2, p. 223-234. Published 1881, New York.)
 
From Rev. Charles T. Wilson:  "The traveler in Palestine will often see a little clump of trees with the white dome of a low stone building peeping out of the dark-green foliage, and on inquiring what it is will be told that it is a wely, or saint—that is, his reputed tomb.  These buildings are usually, though not invariably, on the tops of hills, and can be seen for many miles round, some of them, indeed, forming landmarks for a great distance.  There is generally, but not always, a grove of trees round the wely.  The shrine itself' usually consists of a plain stone building, for the most part windowless, but having a prayer-niche.  It is kept in fair repair as a rule  and whitewashed from time to time both inside and out.  ." ("Peasant Life in the Holy Land", p. 25-26.  Published 1906, New York.)

​Another way of honoring the dead was to construct a garden around a burial area.  An early form of the cemetery,  these ancient burial gardens contained one or more  caves  or  graves.  Most often  a burial garden was privately owned and tended.

​From Dr. Thomas Shaw:  "If we except a few persons, who are buried within the precincts of the sanctuary of their marabbutts (shrines), the rest are carried out at small distance from their cities and villages, where a great extent of ground is allotted for that purpose.  Each family hath a particular portion of it, walled in like a garden where the bones of their ancestors have remained undisturbed for many generations.  For in these enclosures ' the graves are all different and separate : having each of them a stone, placed upright, both at the head and feet, inscribed with the name of the person who lieth there interred ; whilst the intermediate space is either planted with flowers, bordered round with stone or paved all over with tiles.  The graves of the principal citizens are further distinguished by having cupolas or vaulted chambers of three, four, or more yards square built over them: and as these very frequently lie open an occasionally shelter us form the inclemency of the weather…And as all these different sorts of tombs and sepulchers, with the very walls  likewise of their respective cupolas and  enclosures, are constantly kept clean, whitewashed and beautified, they continue, to this day, to be an excellent comment upon that expression of our Saviour's, where he mentions the garnishing of the sepulchers."  ("Travels or Observations Relating to Several Parts of Barbary and the Levant", p. 285.  Printed at the Oxford Theatre, 1738.)

When the Jews first actively started whitewashing graves, grave markers, sepulchers, and tombs is unknown.  Originally, they may have  learned about the custom while slaves in Egypt since it is believed that at one time the pyramids were kept whitened.   The New Testament indicates that whitewashing graves by the Jews was well established by the first century A.D.
​
Historical literature also indicates that at some point the Jews  adopted the practice of venerating the burial sites of those persons deemed important to their people.  

From Horatio B. Hackett:  "It was a similar feeling, doubtless, which led the Jews to erect monuments in honor of their prophets and holy men, and to regard it, in like manner, as an act of merit both to build these monuments in the first instance, and afterward to garnish and preserve them from decay.  I may add that many of these welees or tombs in Palestine are still called after the names of the patriarchs and prophets of the Old Testament.  I either saw or heard of tombs of this description consecrated to Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Aaron, Ishmael, Joseph, Seth, Samuel, David, Jonah, Zechariah and others.  The Jews share with the Mohammedans in their veneration for many of these sepulchers and make pilgrimages to them as to holy places."  ("Illustrations of Scripture", p. 56-57.  Published 1857, Boston.) 
 
From Rev. J.J. Smith:  "About two hundred yards, or such a matter, from Jacob's well, (Shechem) directly north, is the tomb of Joseph, who was Prime Minister of Egypt.  In approaching the sepulcher, you enter a small square area enclosed by a whitewashed stone wall.  Across one end of this is a sort of Mohammedan Mosque, within which is the tomb where the bones of Joseph were deposited by the Israelites on their arrival from Egypt."  ("The Wonders of the East or the Record of a Journey Through Europe, Egypt and the Holy Land",  p. 301.  Published 1873,  New York. 
 
From Henry Van Dyke:  "(Mizpah) It was a stiff scramble up the conical hill to the little hamlet at the top, built out of and among ruins.  The mosque, evidently an old Christian church remodeled, was bare, but fairly clean, cool, and tranquil.  We peered through a grated window, tied with many-colored scraps of rags by the Mohammedan pilgrims, into a whitewashed room containing a huge sarcophagus said to be the tomb of Samuel." ("Out of Doors in the Holy Land", p. 69-70.  Published 1912, New York.)
 
From Thomas Weymss: "The Jews were in the habit of visiting the sepulchers of the dead. . .They even erected temples over the sepulchers and performed religious worship therein.  Mahomet is said to have execrated them on this account.  The prophet, in his last disease, from which he never arose, said, " May God curse the Jews, for they convert the sepulchers of their prophets into temples."  ("A Key to Symbolical Language of Scripture", p. 360.  Published 1840 , Edinburgh.)
 
In the introductory text, Jesus uses a common custom of the day as an object lesson in his condemnation of  the Scribes and Pharisees for their pompous outward show of righteousness  when in reality, on the inside. they are as corrupt and full of death as  the contents of the whitewashed tombs, which they zealously avoid to keep from being ceremonially  defiled.
 
"Garnishing the sepulchers of the righteousness" refers to the shrines that the Jews created at the tombs of the Old Testaments prophets where they adored and worshiped the same men whose prophecies of a coming Messiah they ardently refused to understand correctly or even accept.
 
 
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John 4:7, 9-10:  "There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.  Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, 'How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans'.   Jesus answered and said unto her, if thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water." 
 
In the ancient world, nothing was more precious for sustaining life than water.   Man, animals, and crops all depended on it.    A ready supply of good fresh water was a guarantee of a life and for prosperity.  Little water or bad water brought about poverty and death.   

In many areas of the ancient world, water, especially drinking water, could be  hard to come by, causing the inhabitants to go to great efforts to obtain it, to  store it, to preserve it,  and to keep it clean.  Fresh lakes,  streams, or fountains might be located  at  great distances.   Some seasons produced little or no rain.  And the  reservoirs or cisterns used to collect both rainwater and  transported water were prone to contamination and decay.    In hot climate areas, it was common for these water storage receptacles  to dry out, break down, crack and lose the precious water.

From Mary Fawley Maude:  "In India, the Hindoos go sometimes a great way to fetch water and then boil it that it may not be hurtful to travelers that are hot: and after this stand from morning till night in some great road where there is neither pit nor rivulet  and offer it in honour of their gods to be drunk by the passengers....hence a cup of water is a present  in the east of great value."  (Excerpt from the "Asiatic Miscellany -1818, quotation by Dr. Adam Clark.)  ("Scripture Manners and Customs", 10th edition,  p. 166-167.  Published 1862, London.)

From John Lewis Burckhardt:  "Here and in every other part of Nubia, the thirsty traveler finds at short distances, water jars placed by the roadside under a low roof.  Every villager pays a small monthly stipend to some person to fill these jars in the morning and towards evening.  The same custom prevails in Upper Egypt, but on a larger scale."  ("Travels in Nubia", p.54.  Published 1819, London.)

Jerusalem, the Holy City of Living Water
 
From Jean de Thevenot:  "I shall here make a little digression from my travel and observe what is to be seen (in) those quarters.  The first night you leave Acre, you lodge at Sour (Tyre), about halfway there is a tower near the sea where a casfare (toll) must be paid.  About an hour and a half before you come to Sour , a few steps from the seaside, you find a well of an octagon figure, about fifteen foot in diameter, which is full of water, that one may reach it with the hand, and (as they say), they have often attempted to sound the depth of it with several camel-loads of rope  but could never find the bottom.  It is taken to be the well of living waters mentioned in Canticles (Song of Solomon).  "("The Travels of Monsieur de Thevenot into the Levant p.220.  Published 1686, London.  Translated from French.)
 
From Richard Pococke:  "We came to the fountains which supplied the aqueducts of Tyre, they are called, as they informed me, Talious.  (There)  we found the great sheik of  these parts with a considerable company of attendants who had stopped there, but soon went away; it being usual for them to halt whenever they meet with a spring.  These fountains are a league and half southeast of Tyre  and are called the Fountains of Solomon  (so they are said (to be), tho' I know not on what foundation to have been made by him at the time when he cultivated an alliance with Hiram, King of Tyre to facilitate the building of the temple of Jerusalem.)   (The fountains) are supposed to be the well mentioned by him in the Canticles (Son of Solomon) "as a fountain of gardens, a well of living water, and streams of Lebanon".   ("A Description of the East and Some Other Countries",  Vol 2, Part 1,  p.82.  Published 1845, London.)​

From Edwin Sherman Wallace:  "Another of Solomon's great works was the procuring of an abundance of water for city and temple use.  It has been a continual wonder how Jerusalem was supplied with this most necessary commodity.  The "Virgin's Fountain " is the only living spring near, and unless its flow was considerably more copious than at present it would not suffice for the needs of very many of the residents of the city.   It is a matter of history, however, that Jerusalem never suffered from lack of water even during periods of drought or long protracted sieges."  (" Jerusalem the Holy", p.42.    Published 1898, New York.

 
Jacob's Well and Living Water
 
From Rev. Joseph Anderson:   "A traveler intending to pass from Jerusalem or any other city of Judah or Benjamin into Galilee; anyone looking on the map...will see that he must needs pass through Samaria . Journeying northwards from Jerusalem for thirty -five miles, he comes to a city of Samaria , which was at one time called Sychar, now Nablous (Nablus).   At the entrance of the valley which leads into the town, a little way off the road on the right is a well, called from time immemorial “ Jacob's Well."  ("Bible Light from Bible Lands",  p. 134-135.  Published 1856, New York.)
 
From Rev. Edward Robinson:  "June 14 - We inquired of the Samaritans respecting Jacob's well. They said they acknowledged the tradition and regarded it as having belonged to the patriarch. It lies at the mouth of the valley, near the south side ; and is the same which the Christians sometimes call Bir es - Sâmiriyeh , Well of the Samaritan woman ."  ("Biblical  Researches in Palestine and the Adjacent Region from 1838-1852", Vol 2, p.280, 283.  Published 1856, London.)
 
From Thomas Hartwell Horne:  "Jacob's Well is situated at a small distance from the town of Sychar an on the road to Jerusalem.  The rugged limestone mountain on the right is Gerizim, on which are scattered a few shrubs.  On its summit are considerable fragments of buildings, probably the foundations and remains of the ancient Samaritan temple built by Sanballat...Near the bottom of the mountain is distinctly seen the path which leads from Jerusalem to Shechem, or Naplous...The foreground is flat except just about the well…a dark-looking hole, around which some wild Arabs have collected, (and) who let their assistance ...in removing the large stone which closes the mouth of the well and protects it from dust.  The traveler is obliged to clamber down this hole in order to reach the water."   ("Landscape Illustrations of the Bible", Vol. 2,  Section:  Jacob's Well Near Naplous.  Published 1836, London.")
 
From Henry Maundrell:  "At about one third of an hour from Naplosa (Naplous or Nablus), we came to Jacob's Well; famous not only account of its author, but much more that memorable conference which our blessed Saviour here had with the woman of Samaria (John 4).   Over the well there stood formerly a large church, erected by that great and devout patroness of the Holy Land, the Empress Helena; but of this voracity of time, assisted by the hands of the Turks has left nothing but a few foundations remaining.  The well is covered at present with an old stone vault, into which you are let down through a very strait hole; and then removing a  broad flat stone, you discover the mouth of the well itself.  It is dug in a firm rock, and contains about three yards in diameter, and thirty-five depth; five of which we found full of water.  This confutes the story commonly told to travelers, who do not take the pains to examine the well, namely that is dry all year round except on the anniversary of that day on which our blessed Saviour sat upon it, and then it bubbles up with abundance of waters." ("A Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem at Easter A.D. 1697", p.61-62.  Published 1703, Oxford.

Living Water is mentioned 5 times in the Bible.  Jer.2:13, John 4:10, and John 7:38.
Also Rev. 7:17  and John 4:11.  In the first 3 verses, Living Water is a symbolic name for God/Christ - the Giver of All Life. The Rev.  7:17 is the same symbolic term presented in a broader sense but still meaning the same thing.  In John 4:11, the Samaritan women is simply repeating Christ's words without knowledge of what she is saying. 

The most prominent passage concerning living water is found in John 4 and contains much symbolism.  The conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman takes place at Jacob's well, revered for giving forth some of the finest, sweetest, purest, living water available in the Holy Land.
​
In the introductory text, Jesus goes to the source of this superior life-giving water to make-known His even "greater living water".  By using this meaningful and compelling setting,  He gives an easy-to-understand yet irrefutable object lesson on how valuable HIs living water --His  Gift of Life-- truly is. 

​

​Mat 26:26-28.  "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."  (KJV)

Bread and wine,  since earliest times,  have played a significant role in man's diet.  Every culture has a  version of these two foods, and  when served together, they comprise a complete meal:  the bread fills and the wine refreshes.   
 
From the Author* of Psalm 104:15: "And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart."  (*Author unknown.  Probably  David or Solomon.)
 
​Modern historians estimate that bread came into existence as early as 30,000, 14,000, or  11,000 years ago.   But a more conservative date with good supporting evidence  is that a type of unleavened bread was in common use at  8, 000 years ago.  The Mesopotamians and the Egyptians are believed to be the  first cultures to pound grain into meal, mix it with water, and cook the subsequent paste into a flat cake.
 
From James M.  Freeman D.D.:  "Orientals, in general, are great eaters of bread.  It has been computed that three persons in four live entirely upon it, or else upon such compositions as are made of barley or wheat flour.  No doubt the term " bread " was often used to denote food in general; but this was because bread was more generally used than any other article of diet.  When Joseph's brethren had
cast him into the pit, "they sat down to eat bread." Genesis 37: 25.  When Moses was in Midian he was invited to "eat bread." Exodus 2: 20.  The witch of Endor  set a morsel of bread " before Saul and his servants."   ("Handbook of Bible  Manners and Customs",  #85,  1 Samuel 28: 22-25,  p. 51.  Published,   New York  1872.)
 
From John Ashton:  "And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah and said: 'Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.' And to this day in Syria cakes are made upon the hearth, and the breaking of bread together is a token of amity and protection extended by the stronger to the weaker."  ("The History of Bread", p. 37-38.  Published, London 1904.)
 
From Sir John Chardin:  "The country people (Mt. Caucus)  dwell in wooden huts: of which every family has four or five;  in the biggest of which they make a fire  and sit round about it.  The women grind the corn as they have occasion for bread,  which they bake in round stones a foot or thereabouts in diameter, and some two or three fingers in depth.  These stones they make very hot, put in the dough, and then cover it with hot ashes, and live coals over that: and in some places they bake it in the embers only.  To which purpose they sweep the hearth very clean, lay the dough upon it ,and then cover it with ashes and live coals as before. Nevertheless, the crust is very white, and the bread very good."   ( "The travels of Sir John Chardin into Persia and the East Indies",  p. 108, 167-168.  Published, London 1686.)
 
Wine is not as old as bread.   Sometime  between 6000 to 9000, the Chinese turned rice  into a beverage that  they allowed to ferment.  Near the same time, the countries of  Armenia, Turkey Georgia, Iran, and Egypt developed the method of storing  juice  squeezed from grapes or other fruit in clay jars that they sealed and buried in the ground for later use.  During this storage time, fermentation took place.  When the preserved juice was exhumed,  water was often added to lessen the bitterness before the mixture was consumed as a  beverage.   
 
The wine mentioned in the Bible was both pure fresh juice (new wine or sweet wine) and the preserved, fermented beverage.  Mixed or mingled wine had honey or other spices added for flavor.   Strong drink was either old highly fermented wine or an intoxicating beverage made from a grain or other fruits.
 

 
From John Hawkesworth:  "The only article of trade in this (Madeira) island is wine, and the manner in which it is made is so simple, that it might have been used by Noah, who is said to have planted the first vineyard after the flood: the grapes are put into a square wooden vessel, the dimensions of which are proportioned to the size of the vineyard to which it belongs; the servants then, having taken off their stockings and jackets, get into it, and with their feet and elbows, press out as much of the juice as they can: the stalks are afterwards collected, and being tied together with a rope, are put under a square piece of wood, which is pressed down upon them by a lever with a stone tied to the end of it."  ("A New Voyage Round the World in the years 1768, 1769, 1770, and 1771 by Capt. James Cook, etc.", p. 4.  Printed by James Rivington, London 1774.)
 
From John Baptista Tavernier:   "The games (servants) are they  that make the wine,  and to make it more sweet and pleasant, they take away the stalks, and never press anything but the  mere Grape."  ("The Six Voyages of John Baptista Tavernier",  Book 1, Chapter 8, p. 41.  Published,  London 1678.)
 
From Alexander A. Know:  " Do not let the man whose soul is heavy if he does not fare sumptuously every day, try a ramble in Algeria, but let no one be deterred under the idea that he will not get enough to eat, and of wholesome food.   As a rule, the bread is good, and there is plenty of fruit.  The wine of the country, heavily dashed with St. Galmier (mineral water) (which you will find in most places, and of which you can always take a small supply with you), serves well enough for drink."
("The New Playground or Wanderings in Algiers",  p. 215.  Published, London 1881.)
 
Once domesticated, grains and grapes became the most important food source to man.  Grains and grapes were abundant at their harvest times, both could be stored in various forms for lengthy periods, and both were easily converted into a form of food that man could consume.   Bread and wine were passed out as gifts of hospitality, sold and traded in the marketplace, and used as money.  Later, bread and wine took on symbolic meanings.
 
From Moses:  "And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most-high God.   And he blessed him, and said, blessed be Abram of the most-high God, possessor of heaven and earth: ." ( Genesis14: 18-19.  King James Version) 
 
From Sir John Chardin:  They keep their wine as they do in Mingrelia (Georgia).  I lodged every night at some countryman’s house. . .They gave us hens eggs, pulse, wine, bread, and over-cloyed us with fruit.  (And) every neighboring house brought us a great pitcher of wine, a pannier of fruit, and a basket of bread…which we never asked them what was to pay, nor would my guide permit me to give them any gratuity." ( "The travels of Sir John Chardin into Persia and the East Indies",  p. 108, 167-168.  Published, London 1686.)
 
 From John Baptista Tavernier:  " Kerman (Iran) is a large city, which has been often ruined by being several times taken and re-taken; nor is there anything handsome in it , but only one house and a garden , upon which the last Kans have bestowed a vast expense to make the place delightful.  They make there a fort of Earthenware which comes very near to Porcelain  and looks as neat and as fine.  As soon as I arrived , I went to visit the Kan , who made me very welcome , and gave order to the games (servants) to furnish me with bread and wine pullets and pigeons."   ("The Six Voyages of John Baptista Tavernier",  Book 1, Chapter 8, p. 41.  Published,  London 1678.)
 
From Dr. Frederick Hasselquist M.D.:  Jerusalem, April 12, Good Friday.  "At six o'clock we went into the little convent, which the Latins have beside the church, through which they go into the vestry room.  Here we supped, which was the miserablest meal I ever eat : it consisted of a head of lettuce ; the deficiency was to be made up with bread and wine,   two material articles for the refreshment and sustenance of man, and which the Monks always had (been) very good (at providing). To be more at liberty, which is hard to obtain in a cloister, I went with a Jesuit, who was a pilgrim, into another chamber, where we were refreshed with Hebron wine, and excellent bread, baked with oil, that we might support a whole, night and day's fatigue in beholding the ceremonies."  (" Voyages and Travels in the Levant in the years 1749-1752", p.132 .   Published,  London 1776.)
 
 From Monsieur Jean De Thevenot:  "None but slaves sell wine at Tunis, it is all white, and grows in great plenty in the country about, but they put lime to it to make it intoxicate.  They sell their wine cheap, and it is the custom, that if you go to a tavern and call for a quart of wine they will set bread before you, and three or four dishes of meat. . .with salads and other appurtenances, and when you are to go, you only pay for the wine, and at a reasonable rate too."  ("Travels into the Levant",  Part 1, Chapter 91,  p.277.  Published,  London 1687.)
 
From Edmund Bohun Esq.:  " Lesina, Pharia, (is) an Island on the Coast of Dalmatia, under the Venetians (that is) thirteen German miles long, and almost three in breadth.  In the northeast part of the Island, which (the) Sclavonians call Huar. . .It has a good haven at the south end of the isle.  It is deep enough, too, for ships of any rate; and bread and wine are cheap."   ("A Geographical Dictionary of all the Present and Ancient Names …of the Whole World",  Heading: LE - Lesina, Pharia.  Published, London 1866.)
​

Bread and Wine as a DEATH RITUAL
 From Rev. J .R. Pitman:  " The wise man here refers to the parental or sepulchral entertainments which were anciently much in vogue in the eastern and other countries, and particularly amongst idolaters, whose notion was, that the souls of the departed wandered about their sepulchers, and wanted a proper sustenance ; and that it was a pious office to place bread and wine over their graves for their support and refreshment.  The learned Spencer thinks that the Baalim,  or hero-gods of the ancients, were designed to be honored and propitiated by dedications or presentations of this kind, particularly Isis and Osiris.  Epiphanius has a passage which expressly mentions this superstitious custom: the eatables, says he, they burn, and the wine they consume by way of libation ; in this they do the deceased no good, and injure themselves.  What he farther adds is very particular,—that when they bring these accommodations they call upon the dead person by name, for whom the feast is designed,  'Arise, such a one, eat, drink, and rejoice.'  They were so extravagantly credulous as to believe the dead took pleasure in these repasts, and that the phantoms came to eat and drink voluptuously, whilst their relations feasted on the rest of the sacrifice, and ate in common, sitting round the pit or hearth, discoursing of the virtues of the person they came to lament."   ("A critical Commentary on the Old and New Testament and the Apocrypha", Vol. 3,  p. 526.  Published, London 1822.
 
From Colonel Charles W. Wilson:  "Very near Hiram's Tomb, (Tyre, Lebanon), to the southward, is the little village of Hanaway.  (It is) surrounded by orchards and olive yards, with many tombs in the sides of the hills.  In these tombs have recently been discovered many interesting specimens of Phoenician or at least pre-Roman glass.  In a sepulcher, which this year was opened by a charcoal-burner in digging up an old tree root, a complete set of funereal glass was found, undisturbed as when first placed in the newly-occupied tomb, which was a very small niche just large enough for a body and about four feet high, hewn at the foot of a rock against which earth and rubbish had accumulated.  At each of the four corners of the tomb was a lachrymatory (tear bottle), much larger than the ordinary or later Roman ones and with a very long neck.  At the upper part of the tomb were placed two flat dishes, one about six inches (and) the other twelve inches in diameter, for the meat and bread offerings for the dead, and a glass flask of antique and graceful shape for the wine."  ("Picturesque Palestine, Sinai and Egypt",  Vol.  2.  p. 63.  Published,  New York 1881.)
 
 Bread and Wine as a SALARY
 From Herodotus:  "The Egyptians are divided into seven classes, severally entitled priests, warriors, cowherds, swineherds, hucksters, interpreters, and pilots.   So many classes there are, each named after its vocation.   The warriors are divided into Kalasiries and Hermotubies, and they belong to the following provinces (for all divisions in Egypt are made according to provinces).  The whole military force, consisting of 410,000 men,  was divided into two corps, the Kalasiries and Hermotybies.  They furnished a body of men to do the duty of royal guards, 1000 of each being annually selected for that purpose; and each soldier had an additional allowance of five minse of bread, with two of beef, and four arusters of wine, as daily rations, during the period of his service."    ("Histories",  Book ii, p. 163, 166,168.  Written 430 B.C.  Published as Volume 1 of the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1920.)
 
 From John Pinkerton:  " We went northward between the mountains, and turning west came to the large convent of Nea-moni (Island of Chios, Greece) about two leagues to the west of the city ; it is situated on a hill in the middle of the mountains ; this convent was founded, or the church built by the Emperor Constantine Omonomilos …there are two hundred persons in the convent, twenty-five of which are priests, fifty stavroforoi, or cross bearers, who are those who have taken the strict vow, and ought never to eat flesh ; and four or five of the megalofkema, whose vow is so strict that they can have no employ in the convent, or elsewhere ; and though they ought to have no property, yet this is permitted, because they are obliged to pay their poll tax. They admit caloyers (monks of St. Basil) here for a sum of  money, who may go and live on their own farms, and are entitled to a certain portion of bread and wine, though absent; so that the convent is served."   ("A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels in all Parts of the World", p. 624.  Published, London 1811.)
 
 
 Bread and Wine as a RELIGIOUS RITUAL
 From Rev. J.E. Riddle:  Oblation:  An offering or sacrifice.  " In the primitive Church, at the administration of the Lord's Supper communicants were required to bring certain oblations, irpoacpopai, or presents  of bread and wine.  These were sometimes presented by persons who did not communicate.  The bread and wine were enveloped in a white linen cloth called  fago;  the wine being contained in a vessel called ' ama' or  amula.  After the deacon had said, ' Let us  pray,' the communicants carried their offerings towards the altar, which were usually taken by a deacon, and, having been delivered or presented to the bishop, were laid upon the altar, or upon a separate table provided for their reception. This custom of offering oblation ceased generally during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries." ("Manual of Christian Antiquities", p. 586.  Published, London 1843.)
 
So why did Christ choose bread and wine to be the symbols of his body and blood at the last supper? 
 
In the introductory verse, Christ has chosen the two universally accepted sources of complete nourishment to man as symbols for Himself,  and in doing so creates a  compelling comparison and inference.   Bread and wine were abundant, came in many forms, were easy to obtain, fully satisfied man's hunger, and were meant to be shared.  So the same can be said of Christ and his sacrifice.  As our generous host, His love is abundant, comes in many forms, is easy to obtain, completely satisfies man's hunger, and is meant to be shared.
 
Today, as in all the past centuries, bread and wine are still the most recognized of all foods.  They continue to be a  mainstay of man's diet.  Whether as part of an everyday meal or a symbolic element of a religious ceremony,  they remain a continual daily reminder of Christ.

​Text:  "He that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction."  Proverbs 17:19 (KJV)
 
Just like houses of today, ancient houses came in all shapes and sizes and varied from hovels to palaces.  And also like today, ancient abodes all had doors.  However, instead of being designed and decorated to appear welcoming, they were constructed in a way that discouraged others from entering.  Of course there were exceptions to this rule. Sometimes, ancient royalty or the wealthy built large ostentatious openings into their homes and, which according to Solomon, was not a good idea.
 
From Gaston Maspero: "The dwelling-houses (in Armenia) were of very simple construction, being merely square cabins of stone or brick, devoid of any external ornament, and pierced by one low doorway." ("History of the Ancient Peoples of the Classic East", Vol.3, p. 58.  Published, London 1900.)
 
From Rev. James A. Bastow:  "Throughout the East, private dwellings were generally constructed of sun-dried bricks, or mud walls, reeds, and rushes." ("A Bible Dictionary; History and Antiquities of the Hebrews", p.348.  Published, London 1859.)
 
From John Pinkerton:  "Several of the houses in Loheia (Yemen) are built of stone ; but the greater part are huts constructed in that fashion which is common among the Arabs. The walls are of mud mixed with dung; and the roof is thatched with a sort of grass which is very common here?  Round the walls within are a range of beds made of straw, on which, notwithstanding their simplicity, a person may either sit or lie commodiously enough.  Such a house is not large enough to be divided into separate apartments; it has seldom windows, and its door is only a straw mat." ("A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels in all Parts of the World", Vol. 10, p.30 – "Travels in Arabia'" by Carsten Niebuhr.  Published, London 1811.)
 

From: Rev. J.G. Wood:  "The rude domed houses (of the Sinaitic Peninsula) are made of massive stones, standing in groups like beehives, with no windows and a door only high enough for a man to creep in on all fours."  ("Wood's Bible Animals", P. 703.  Published, Philadelphia 1875.)
 
From James B. Fraser:  "The streets of Baghdad, as in all other Eastern towns, are narrow and unpaved, and their sides present generally two blank walls, windows being rarely seen opening on the public thoroughfare, while the doors of entrance, leading to the dwellings from thence, are small and mean." ("Mesopotamia and Syria ", p. 239.  Published, New York 1842.) 
 
From: Bayard Taylor:   "We went to the Alcazar or Palace of the Moorish Kings.  We entered by a long passage, with round arches on either side.  Finally, old Bailli brought us into a dull, deserted court-yard, where we were surprised by the sight of an entire Moorish façade, with its pointed arches, its projecting roof, its rich sculptured ornaments and its illuminations of red, blue, green and gold.   A doorway, entirely too low and mean for the splendor of the walls above it, admitted us into the first court."  ("Land of the Saracen", p.398.  Twentieth Edition.  Published, New York 1864.)
 
From James Morier:  "(In Tehran) On the 31st, we went to the king.  At this audience, he was seated in a room in a square court called the Gulistan, a name derived from the roses, with which (intermixed
with cypress and chenar trees) it was planted.  We were introduced into it by the two ministers, through a door small and mean, like those in other parts of the palace, and which are obviously adapted for more easy defense in the event of any sudden alarm."  ("Journey through Persia", p.214.  Published, Philadelphia, 1816.)
 
So how exactly were these small doorways constructed, and what kind of door covered them?
 
From Rev. James Freeman:  "The hinges of Eastern houses are not like ours, but consist of pivots inserted into sockets both above and below.  In the Hauran (area between Southern Syria and Northern Jordan) there are still standing stone houses with stone slabs for doors, having pivots cut out of the same and turning in sockets prepared for them in the wall of the house."  ("Bible Manners and Customs", p.239, #467: Hinges, (1902  edition).  Originally published, New York 1874.)
 
From James S. Buckingham:  " The houses of Assalt (town southeast of Nazareth, on the east side of the Judean Hills) are very small, each dwelling, with few exceptions, consisting of only one floor, and this having only one room, subdivided into recesses, rather than separate apartments.  They are mostly built of stone, and, where necessary, a few pointed arches are thrown up on the inside, to support a flat roof of branches of trees and reeds plastered over with clay.  The interior are hung in the same manner as the ancient stone doors seen in the tombs of the kings at Jerusalem and in the sepulchers at Gamala, a wooden post forming the inner edge of the door itself, and terminating in a pivot at each end, the upper pivot traversing in a hole in the beam above, and the lower pivot traversing in the sill or threshold of the door below. ("Travels Among the Arab Tribes", p.34. Published, London 1825.)
 
So, why did the ancients make their houses so difficult to enter their homes?
 
From Robert K. Porter: "The outskirts of the village of Ismael Kara Sassan (northern Iraq) was our allotted quarters for the night.  No description can give an idea of the rude state of our accommodation, the most spacious hovel in the place, for it merited no better name, only affording me one apartment, the door-way of which I was obliged to barricade with a matting of reeds, to prevent the constant inroads of dogs, asses, and goats."  ("Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, and Ancient Babylonia", Vol.2, p.444.  Published, London 1822.)
 
From Monsieur Jean de Thevenot:  " We arrived at Rama, called in Arabick Ramla…and then went to…see the French Merchants…that live there.  Therein is the house of Nicomedes, where some French merchants and their chaplain live.  In the same house, there is a pretty church, and it is the house where the Franks who are on pilgrimage lodge when they pass through Rama.  The door of that house is not three foot high, and so are all the doors in the town, to hinder the Arabs from entering into their houses on horseback."  ("The travels of Monsieur de Thevenot into the Levant in Three Parts", p.181. Translated from French by Archibald Lovell.  Published, London 1687.)
 
From Mrs. Barbara Hofland: (Upon leaving the Jaffa Gate) "The doors of the houses are so low that they cannot be entered without stooping, a circumstance arising probably in the present day from the jealously of the Christians who dread giving any facility of entrance to the Mahometans,  as they would not hesitate to use it for purposes of plunder." ("Alfred Campbell, the Young Pilgrim", p.102.  Published, London 1825.)
 
From Rev. George Paxton: "The Armenian merchants at Julfa, the suburb of Ispahan, in which they reside, find it necessary to make the front door of their houses in general small, partly to hinder the Persians --who treat them with great rigor and insolence-- from entering them on horseback, and partly to prevent them from observing the magnificent furniture within.  ("Illustrations of the Holy Scriptures in Three Parts", Vol II, p.524.  Published, Edinburgh 1826.)
 
Those pursuing the Bible for a greater understanding of scripture have puzzled over the meaning of the introductory text.  Here are three opinions concerning this verse from esteemed Bible commentators.
 
From Adam Clark:  "He that exalteth his gate - In different parts of Palestine they are obliged to have the doors of their courts and houses very low, not more than three feet high, to prevent the Arabs, who scarcely ever leave the backs of their horses, from riding into the courts and houses, and spoiling their goods. He, then, who, through pride and ostentation, made a high gate, exposed himself to destruction; and is said here to seek it, because he must know that this would be a necessary consequence of exalting his gate.  But although the above is a fact, yet possibly gate is here taken for the mouth; and the exalting of the gate may mean proud boasting and arrogant speaking, such as has a tendency to kindle and maintain strife.  And this interpretation seems to agree better with the scope of the context than the above."  ("Commentary of the Holy Bible", Published originally in New York, 1831.)
 
From John Gill:  "And he that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction; that opens the door of his lips, and speaks proudly, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra interpret it; who compare it with Micah 7:5; who set their mouths against heaven, and God in it; and whose tongue walks through the earth, and spares none there."  ("Exposition of the Old and New Testaments", Published originally in 1746-1766.)
 
From Matthew Henry:  "And a man who affects a style of living above his means, goes the way to ruin." ("Exposition of the Old and New Testaments", Originally published, 1708-1710.")
 
While the warning given by Solomon is an admonishment to his readers the wisdom in building doorways that do not allow the unscrupulous easy access to their valued possessions, it is also a general warning that the pursuit of admiration, in all respects will ultimately bring about complete loss.    ​

For the Readers's Enjoyment:   Camels and Low Doors
 
From James S. Buckingham:  "At sunset, the camels of our host entered the room in which we were seated, and arranged themselves along, to the number of eight on each side, at the stone troughs before described.  The height of the door of entrance, which was about seven feet, had struck me at first as something unusual, since, in most of the towns to the westward, the height of the door is rather below than above the human stature, and passengers are generally obliged to stoop before they can enter it.  Here, however, the motive for increasing the height became evident, as in its present state it just admitted the entrance of the camels, and was no doubt originally constructed for that purpose, so as to admit them under shelter at night, and secure them from the incursions of the neighboring Arabs."  ("Travels Among the Arab Tribes", p.171. Published, London 1825.)
 
"In Oriental cities, there are in the large gates small and very low apertures called metaphorically " needle's-eyes," just as we talk of certain windows as " bull's-eyes." These entrances are too narrow for a camel to pass through them in the ordinary manner, or even if loaded.  When a laden camel has to' pass through one of these entrances, it kneels down, its load is removed, and then it shuffles through on its knees. " ("Wood's Bible Animals", p.243-244.  Published, Philadelphia 1875.)
 
 "Cairo, December 2, 1863.
Dearest Alice,
It is beginning to be cold here, and I only await the results of my inquiries about possible houses at Thebes to hire a boat and depart.  Yesterday I saw a camel go through the eye of a needle,  the low arched door of an enclosure; he must kneel and bow his head to creep through —and thus the rich man must humble himself."  ("Letters from Egypt Lady Duff Gordon's", p. 83.   Published, New York and London 1902.)
 
 

Exodus 9:8:  "And Jehovah said to Moses and Aaron, Take to yourselves handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh."
 
Sprinkling is an ancient custom that goes back to very early times.  Performed in different ways for a variety of  reasons, sometimes the outcome was friendly, and sometimes it was  frightening.  

According to historical accounts,  many early cultures practiced a ritual of sprinkling: or the act of tossing and throwing a variety of substances into the air —or at themselves, or at each other, or at their houses, alters, shrines and temples. 

The most common substances sprinkled were blood, water (scented or unscented) , oil, ashes, dust, and perfumes; all of which were defused by using the fingers, shaking a container designed specifically for releasing liquids, or by dipping a hyssop branch into the substance and  shaking it.  The hyssop plant of scripture was believed to have grown branches 3' to  4' tall and often served as a  useful tool, such as a paintbrush or extension pole.
 
In the Bible, most instances of sprinkling are recorded with enough information to make the event understandable.  Yet, there are three instances where Bible  researchers believe that the act of sprinkling is taking place but there is not enough details given or additional historical information is needed in order to define it as such. 
 

Salting a Newborn
 
Ezekiel 16:4:   And as for your birth, in the day you were born your navel was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you. And you were not salted, nor swaddled at all.
 
In ancient times, a new baby was sprinkled with either salt or salt water, rubbed, and then washed until all the birth fluids were removed.
 
From Rev. Samuel Burder:  On translating Galen of Pergamon (130 AD -210 AD) from the Latin, "Sale modico insperso, cutis infantis densior, solidiorque redditur;" a little salt being sprinkled upon the infant, its skin is rendered more dense and solid."  ("Oriental Literature Applied to the Illustration of Sacred Scriptures", Vol. 2, p. 183.  Published, London 1822.)
 
From Mary Holderness:  "A Tatar child is swathed from head to foot with no other clothes than a few rags for the first two or three months, and, more than all, the scorbutic humours which almost invariably cover it from a very short time after its birth, make it, of all the infants I ever saw, the most disgusting and uninteresting.  (However) The Greeks in the Crimea preserve the custom of sprinkling a new-born infant with salt." ("Notes Relating to the Customs and Manners of the Crim Tartars", p.20. Published, London 1821.)


Gilding the Hair
 
2 Samuel 14:26:   And he (Absalom) sheared it, and he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels, according to the king's weight.
 
From Josephus:  (Describing of the young horsemen who accompanied King Solomon's regal processions.) " The riders (of the royal adorned horses) also were a further ornament to them (the horses), being, in the first place, young men in the most delightful flower of their age, and being eminent for their largeness, and far taller than other men. They had also very long heads of hair hanging down and were clothed in garments of Tyrian purple. They had also dust of gold every day sprinkled on their hair, so that their heads sparkled with the reflection of the sun-beams from the gold."  ("Antiquities of the Jews', Ch. 7, par. 3.  Written, 93 AD;  First Published, 1544.)
 
From Dr. John Kitto:  "We shall find in it also in Solomon's Song, and confirmed by Josephus, who observes that the picked men who formed the guard of that magnificent monarch wore their hair in long flowing tresses, which they sprinkled every morning with gold dust (having first anointed it, of course), so that their heads glittered in the sunbeams, as reflected from the gold. If this were the custom a little earlier (in time), the weight of the unguents with which it (the hair) was saturated, and of the gold dust it contained, may somewhat lessen our surprise at the weight of Absalom's hair, though it must still have been extraordinary.  ("The Pictorial Bible being  the Old and New Testaments ",  Vol. 2, p. 219.  Published, London, 1866.)
 
From John Wesley:  "Weighed: Others understand this not of the weight, but of the price of his hair."  ("Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament ", 2 Samuel 14;26.  Written 1765, Edinburgh.)

​
 Kid Boiled in its Mother's Milk  
 
Deuteronomy 14:21:  For you are a holy people to Jehovah your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk.
 
For centuries, this mandate to Israel has caused much debate among Bible scholars as to its meaning.  Some believe it to be an idiomatic phrase of the day, understood then but indecipherable now.  Others believe that it somehow relates to the Mosaic dietary laws.  Others think it may be an early humane law directed specifically towards the respect of animals in general.  A more plausible correlation can be drawn from an early common pagan practice.
 
From Dr. Ralph Cudworth (1617-1688):  (From a Karaite Jew comment on the Pentateuch,) "Thinking, that by this means, they were made acceptable to their gods and did procure a blessing by it...it was a custom of the ancient heathens, when they had gathered in all their fruits, to take a kid and boil it in the dam's milk; and then, in a magical way, to go about and besprinkle with it all their trees and fields and gardens and orchards;  thinking by this means they should make them fructify and bring forth the following year. ("The Works of Ralph Cudworth D.D. Containing 'The True Intellectual System of the Universe', Sermons, & etc." by Thomas Birch, M.A.F.R.S.,  Vol. 4, p. 241-242.  Published, Oxford D. A. Talboys  1829.)

​​While sprinkling in the Bible most often occurs in conjunction with a religious ceremony or worship ritual, it could also be performed for reasons of hospitality, grief, anger, medicine, hygiene, grooming, scenting, and magic.

​Scenting
From Proverbs 7:17:  "I have sprinkled my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon."
 

Hospitality
From Rev. Thomas Harmer:  "The tulip which resembles a cup.  Not however a cup for drinking, that appears not to have been his thought, but a vase designed to give out its contained fluids in drops, which kind of vessels are often used in the East, for the sprinkling those they would honor. ("Observations on Various Passages of Scriptures", Vol. 3, p.129. Compiled by Adam Clarke L.L.D. Published, Charlestown, 1817.)

From John Pinkerton:   "I saw… the Lord of the (Cairo) palace, who, beckoning to me to come..(and) making me sit down, (I was) attended (by) ten or twelve handsome young pages, all clad in scarlet, with crooked daggers and scimitars richly gilt.  Four of them came with a sheet of taffety (taffeta)  and covered me ; another held a golden incense with rich perfume, wherewith…(I was) a little smoked.  Next came two with sweet water, and besprinkled me ; after that, one brought a porcelain dish of coffee, which, when I had drank, another served up a draught of excellent sherbet."  ("A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels in all Parts of the World", Vol. 10, p.238.  Chapter: "A Voyage into the Levant by Henry Blount in 1634".  Published, London 1811.)


Magic
From Joseph Roberts:   "When the magicians pronounce an imprecation on an individual, a village, or a country, they take ashes of cows' dung (or from a common fire), and throw them in the air, saying to the objects of their displeasure, such a sickness, or such a curse, shall surely come upon you."  ("Oriental Illustrations of the Sacred Scriptures Collected from the Manners, Customs, Rites etc., of the Hindoos ", p. 65.  Published, London 1835.)
 
​
Grief
From Rev. James Freeman:  "Throwing dust at a person is an Oriental mode of expressing anger and contempt...There may, however, be some connection between this custom and the practice of persons in trouble putting dust on their own heads in token of grief.  Throwing dust at others may be a symbolic mode of wishing them such trouble and grief that they may feel like covering themselves with dust, as an expression of their sorrow."  ("Handbook of Bible Manners and Customs",  P. 146.  Published, New York 1902.  [First Published 1874])

​In the introductory text, God (through Moses and Aaron) is insulting Pharaoh in the worst way possible.  Sprinkling ashes towards heaven not only served as a public humiliation to the ruler of Egypt,  but also announced to him the extent of God's wrath and the grief he would come to for not obeying Gods will. 

Amos 3: 15. "And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the LORD." 
 
According to the eastern travelers (1600-1900), Palestine and the surrounding area experience two main seasons, summer (April to October) and winter October to mid-March).  Both seasons are prone to extreme temperatures. 
 
From Jacob, the Patriarch:  "Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes. (Genesis 31:40; King James Version.)
 
From Jean Doubdan: Outside Jerusalem - "We spent a great part of the night nearby (some) ruins of this city, not without great inconvenience of cold, which was as violent and rough as the heat of the day was burning."  ("The Voyage of the Terre-Sainte", p 614.  Published, Paris 1657.  Translated from French.)
 
From Sir John Chardin:  In Casbin (Persia), "The Air is very hot in the Summer…by reason of the high Mountain that lies to the North.  But on the other side, the nights are so cold, that if a man expose himself ever so little to the air, after he is undressed, he is sure to fall sick."  ("Travels of Sir John Chardin into Persia and the East Indies", Vol 1., p. 380.  Published, London 1686.)
 
In the ancient world, these extremes in weather made it nearly impossible for folks to go about their daily routines.  To cope with the incapacitating temperatures, they moved back and forth between winter and summer houses (aka parlors or porches); which might include a sojourn to a different geographical area entirely or a simple move to another room of their house.  Relocating for the sake of comfort was not based on class, wealth, occupation, status, or any other such distinction, but was rather a necessity of life.
 
From Rabbi David Kimhi (also Kimchi or Qimḥi) (1160–1235): "Kings and great personages had houses in the city in the winter season…and others in the country in the summertime.  Or, they had, in one and the same house, a summer and a winter parlour." ( From John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible", Commentary on Amos 3:15. Written 1748-63.  Published, London)
 
From Bishop Richard Pococke: " We crossed the Euphrates at Romkala into Mesopotamia...and came to a summer village of country people, whose huts were made of loose stones covered with reeds and boughs; their winter village being on the side of a hill at some distance, consisting of very low houses." ("A Description of the East and Some Other Countries", Vol 2, Part 1, p.157.  Published, London 1745.)
 
From Jan Aegidius van Egmond van de Nijenburg  and John Heyman: "Catpha, as we have already said, lies at the foot of Mount Carmel, on the shore of the Mediterranean, and directly opposite to St. John d'Acri, the sea having formed a bay betwixt them. The houses are small, and flat-roofed, where during the summer, the inhabitants sleep in arbours made of the boughs of trees." (Travels through Part of Europe, Asia Minor, Several Lands of the Archipelago, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Mount Sinai, etc.",  Vol. 2, p.4. (Translated from Low Dutch) . Published, London 1759 
 
From Dr. Thomas Shaw: "The hills and valleys round about Algiers are all over beautified with gardens and country seats whither the inhabitants of better fashion retire during the heats of the summer season.  They are little white houses, shaded with a variety of fruit trees and evergreens, which beside shade and retirement, afford a gay and delightful prospect toward the sea."  ("Travels or Observations…Barbary and Levant", Vol. 2, p. 34.  Published, London, 1757.
 
From Bayard Taylor: Taurus Mountains  - "Still further, we came to orchards of walnut and plum trees, and vineyards There were no houses, but the inhabitants, who were mostly Turcomans, live in villages during the winter, and in summer pitch their tents on the mountains where they pasture their flocks." ("Land of the Saracen", p. 245.  Revised version.  Published, New York, 1864.)
 
From Sir Robert K. Porter:  "On the more northerly and western mountainous tracks, towards the Lake Van (Anatolia, Turkey), and also to the east of that body of water, dwell the Rewandoozi tribe…(who) amount to upwards of a hundred thousand families.  In the winter, they live amongst their embattled rocks ; but in the milder months, roam about, pitching their tents from valley to valley."  ("Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, Ancient Babylonia ", Vol 2, p. 470.  Published, London, 1821.)
 
From Horatio B. Hackett:  "At the present time, the people of the east bury (their dead), for the most part, in graves dug in the earth ; so that the rock tombs are seldom used for their original purpose.  Their size, since they are as large often as a commodious room, and their situation near the traveled paths, cause them to be resorted to as places of shelter for the night.  During the winter season, the wandering Arabs sometimes take up their permanent abode in them."  ("Illustrations of Scripture as suggested by a Tour of the Holy Land";  Section: Gardara Identified*, p. 101; Eighth edition.  Published, Boston 1857.)  

From Sir Gastson Maspero:  "The character of the ancient Armenians was that…during the greater part of the year, obliged to seek pasturage in valley, forest, or mountain height according to the season, while in winter they remained frost-bound in semi-subterranean dwellings similar to those in which their descendants immure themselves at the present."  ("History of the Ancient Peoples of the East",  Vol. 3, p. 56.  Published, London 1900.
 
From Abraham Parsons: "On visiting Bussora (Arabia), "The mosques and houses are all built of burnt brick, like those at Bagdad, but are not so handsome; yet many houses belonging to the principal men, as well as those of the merchants, are large and convenient, being only one story high above the ground floor, which consists of a hall facing the gate, on each side of which are magazines and warehouses for the reception of merchandize. This hall, in the winter, serves for little more than a passage, but in the summer, it is the most frequented part of the house, where the family dine and sup, as they have not the advantage of subterranean apartments,
like the inhabitants of Bagdad." ("Travels in Asia and Africa", p. 156-157.  Published, London 1808.)
 
SUMMER
 
From John W. Parker:  "The Hebrews at a very ancient date, like the Orientals, had both summer and winter rooms (in one building),  and also spacious summer residences (palaces).  The front of these buildings (both houses and palaces) faced the north to secure the breezes… lower stories were frequently underground…and supplied with a current of fresh air by means of ventilators, which consisted of large perforations made through the upper part of the northern wall that diminished in size as they approached the inside of the wall. "  (Paraphrase) (The Bible Cyclopedia or Illustrations of the Civil and Natural History of the Sacred Writings Description of Houses, Vol.1 ,  p. 609.  Published, London, 1841.)
 
From Saint Jerome (347-420):  "Wings of the house have doors and windows with fins that are sized to dispel cold weather."**  (Explanation for Jeremiah 36:22.)(Translated from the Latin:

 From Dr. Richard Pococke:  "(At Tiberius) provisions were sent from the sheikh's kitchen (and) we supped on the top of the house for coolness…and lodged there likewise in a sort of closet, about eight feet square, of wicker work, plastered round towards the bottom, but without any doors; each person having his cell." (A Description of the East and Some Other Countries",  Vol 2, Part 1,  p.69.  Published, London 1745.)

 WINTER
 
From Dr. Thomas Shaw D.D.:  (Algiers) In the winter rooms and houses, the windows faced the south in order to render them warmer.  These dwellings are now heated in two different ways, both of which are mentioned in Scripture.  Sometimes the fuel is heaped into a pot that is placed in a hollow space left for that purpose in the center of the paved floor, and sometimes the fire is placed directly in the hollow space or hearth in the middle of the floor.  ("Travels or Observations…Barbary and Levant", Vol 2, p. 34.  Published, London, 1757.)
 
From Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin: On visiting Ispahan (Isfahan) Iran.  "They Persians make in the parlours, or winter porches, and in the rooms adjoining, small Chimneys, the mantle-trees of which arc three foot high and about two foot broad, in the shape of a semi-circle, and which reaches down low enough to keep in the smoke; they burn the wood upright in them… those holes are covered over in summer with boards, under the carpets, and are not seen; in winter they uncover them and set over them a wooden table a foot high and a foot wider than the hole on which it stands, and they spread on the table one or two stitched coverlets, which hang down half a yard round the table…then they draw near the table close to the hole and lay the end of the coverlet in their laps as high as their waist."  ("Travels in Persia",  p.261-262, English Edition.  Published, London 1686.  (Original publication:  "Journal du Voyage...de Chardin in Perse et aux Indes Orientales".  French edition. )
 
 From Sir Robert K. Porter:  Encounter with a caravansary that accommodated both summer and winter travelers.  "The extent of this building is an exact square of one hundred yards on every side and flanked by four towers, of a diameter so dis-proportioned to the length of the intervening walls, as not to exceed nine feet.  Within these walls are the buildings which form the accommodations of the caravan.  On entering the great gate…is a piazza…or court.  These piazzas are subdivided (on three sides) into lofty arched apartments, open in front, and all neatly paved.  At ten feet within each of these, (there) is another chamber fifteen feet deep and containing, at its farther end, a fire-place; besides several little compartments cut out of the thickness of the wall, called topshehs (cupboards).  This interior chamber is seldom resorted to before winter; the outer one, open to the court, being considered the summer apartment."  ("Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, Ancient Babylonia," p.199.  Published, London 1821.)
 
Winter or summer residences are referred to in two other places in the Bible:  In Judges 3:20,24, King Eglon was sitting alone in his summer parlor when murdered by Ehud; and,in Jeremiah 36:22, King Jehoiakim in his winter-house near the hearth when Jehudi read him the three leafs of the scroll.
 
The action taking place in Amos 15:3 are God's continuous words in his instructions to the prophets that they should announce to the ten tribes of Israel their impending complete and utter destruction for their wickedness; especially for their idolatry.

*Gadara in the Bible- Matt. 8:28, Mark Mark 5:1, and Luke 8:26-39.
**"Domum pinnatam, eo quod ostiola habeat per fenestras, et quasi pinnas, ad magnitudinem frigoris depellendam." (Original text.)

Copyright by Ancient Bible History - Eden Games Inc.

Luke 2:7. "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."

At Christmas, thoughts of a starry night and a snowy stable scene come to mind. Joseph and Mary, along with a variety of animals, all huddled cozily in the straw. Shepherds and wise men all gathered around to worship a swaddled baby Jesus sleeping peacefully in a warm, hay-filled, wooden box. While not exactly the Bible's  account of the birth of Christ, nor historically accurate in detail, it is still a beautiful tradition.

However, for those interested in the story of Christ's birth that scripture tells, here are some historical insights into that event.

The Inn.

The Greek word for Inn is "kataluma" and means "the dissolution or breaking up of a journey"; by implication a lodging place, guesthouse or guest chamber - as inside a dwelling. What is being described in Luke 2 is a common traveler's hostel. But in Bible times, Inns were much different from what we now expect them to be.

An ancient inn was also called caravanserai. This comes from a Persian word that translates to mean a caravan's palace.  While these inns were nothing as elegant as the word "palace" evokes, they were considered good and adequate shelters that provided a night's rest out of the elements and in safety from wild beasts.

For centuries, Inns could be found both above ground and underground. They might be a man-made structure built of rocks, sticks or bricks. Or, they might be a cave containing several chambers that could separate travelers from their animals.

All inns contained a water supply. Some provided a few amenities; such as firewood, mats, and animal fodder. Some sold flour and oil. And some even afforded the weary traveler a little personal privacy from other travelers. 

As early as the seventeenth century, scholars were undertaking expeditions into the Holy Land to help them discover the Bible's past, and to better understand the history and culture described within its pages. During their travels, they encountered a variety of inns and found them little changed since ancient times.

From Rev. George Bush:  "It will be proper here to give a full and explicit account of the inns or caravansaries of the East, in which travelers are accommodated. They are not all alike, some being simply places of rest, by the side of a fountain if possible, and at a proper distance on the road. Many of these places are nothing more than naked walls; others are more considerable establishments. ("Illustrations of the Holy Scriptures Philadelphia", p. 600. Published in Philadelphia, 1850.)

From Alfred Campbell *:  "At night they lodged in a caravanseraum, which is a large open building erected at the public expense and providing shelter and refreshment; in that respect differing from a khan, which is likewise a kind of inn, but provides only a place of rest." ("Alfred Campbell, The Young Pilgrim...Travels in Egypt and the Holy Land," by Barbara Hofland, p. 26-27. Published in London, 1825.)

From Comte Constantin de Volney: "Commonly the villages have a large building called a kan (khan) or kervanserai (caravanserais) which serves as an asylum for all travelers. These houses...consist of four wings around a square court, which serves by way of enclosure for the beasts of burden. The lodgings are cells where you find nothing but bare walls. Others (inns) are more considerable establishments where families reside and take care of them (the travelers) and furnish the necessary provisions.  ("Travels Through Egypt and Syria in 1783-1785", Vol. 1, p. 250. Published in New York, 1798.)

From Edward Robinson: "Close by on the left of the path…stands a quadrangular building… that has more the appearance of a castle…having towers at the corners; and were erected for the accommodation and protection of caravans, passing upon this great high road between Damascus and Egypt. In the Khan is a spring of water." ("Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Peterea…1836", Vol. 3, p. 236. Published in Boston, 1841.)

From James Morier:  "At Kpnar-a-Tackta (a village near Khist in southwest Persia) … there is a caravanserai…(with) an arched gate (that) introduces the traveler into a square yard, around which are rooms, and behind which are stables. There is also a small suite of rooms over the gateway. In the center of the court, is an elevated platform, the roof of a subterraneous chamber called a zeera zemeon whither travelers retire during the great heats of the summer, and…is a very refreshing habitation. Behind the building is a tank or reservoir for rain-water. ("A Journey Through Persia, Armenia, and Asia Minor and Constantinople in the years 1808-1809", p. 90. Published in Philadelphia, 1816.)

From Abraham Parsons: "At eleven…being excessively hot, and seeing a village with many low houses or rather huts, we struck out of our path and arrived there about noon, when, instead of houses, we found them to be caverns dug in the earth, and vaulted, with only the upper part appearing above ground. The people received us kindly: (allowing us,) both men and horses to descend into one of the largest of them, (caverns) and immediately felt such a comfortable coolness as was extremely delightful. The cavern which we were now in was more than one hundred feet in length, and near forty wide…divided into apartments on each side, in some of which were grain…in others cows were kept, in some goats and sheep, and some served as places to sleep in; the middle part was kept clear as a passage to each room or division." (Travels in Asia and Africa"**, p. 38. Published in London,1811.)

From James Buckingham: "We came to a sort of caravanserai, built before a fine cave… We entered, and found it to be a well-hewn chamber, cut entirely out of the rock, and squared with great care; being twenty paces long, twelve broad, and from fifteen to eighteen feet high. It has a cell on the left…roughly hewn; and around the south end, and west side, runs a low bench of stone. A kind of altar, in a high recess, stands at its further end, immediately opposite to the door of entrance, before which (was) a curtain and a lamp. Beneath were mats and carpets, for the accommodation of visitors. It thus forms a comfortable halt for travelers, as it affords shelter and shade, and has a cistern of excellent water, a place for horses, and a coffee-house adjoining. It (the inn) is called the " School of Elias," from a notion that the prophet taught his disciples there. ("Travels in Palestine", p. 120. Published in London, 1821.)

The Manger.

Whether Mary and Joseph spent the night in a constructed stable or a cave, scholars might not ever know for certain. But one particular detail that scripture makes clear is that the baby Jesus was placed in a manger after his birth.

From Sir John Chardin***: "Mangers like those in England, the Eastern people have not, for they have no hay; but in their stables, they have stone troughs in which they lay the fodder. When they tie down their horses in the Court yard or campagnia, they use sacks." (Dr. Adam Clark. "Hamer's Observations on the Scriptures", Vol. 2, p. 202. Published in London, 1816.)

From John MacGregor: "Stone is everything here. The walls of the houses are four or five feet thick, sometimes six feet, of roughly hewn basalt. Many are of two stories high, and a few three stories. The joists and rafters of the great rooms are all of stone. The doors are large slabs of stone, the stables have stone mangers, and the spouts on the roofs are stone. (p.149) In most houses in Syria, whether of stone or mud, the very same plan is adopted at the present day. In the stable below the mangers are recesses of this kind, and the oxen eat their fodder from this sort of recessed shelf, the lower ones being open to allow the sheep and goats to pass. (p. 154) ("Rob Roy on the Jordan", pp.149,154.  Published in London, 1876.)

From Sir Robert Porter: "General custom (is to) feed and waters them (horses) only at sun-rise and at sun-set, when they are cleaned. Their usual provender is barley, and chopped straw, which, if the animals are picqueted, (picketed) is put into a nose-bag and hung from their heads; but if stabled, it is thrown into a small lozenge-shaped hole left in the thickness of the mud wall for that purpose, but much higher up than the line of our mangers, and there the animal eats at his leisure." ("Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, Ancient Babylonia -1817-1820", Vol. 2, p. 536.  Published in London, 1822.)

From William Loftus: "Entering (the tomb of Daniel in Shushan), beneath a low doorway, the visitor is ushered into the great court, the opposite side of which is supplied with mangers and rings for the reception of horses and beasts of burden, for it is unsafe to leave them outside, on account of lions and other wild animals, which abound in the neighbourhood." ("Travels and Researches in Chaldea and Susiana -1849-1852", pp. 321-322. Published in New York, 1857.)

The Nativity.

The early church fathers had their opinions as to the details of Jesus' birth. And since they lived within one to two hundred years of His birth, their opinions must be given considerable weight.

From Justin Martyr****; "He, Joseph, was likewise commanded to take Mary and go into Egypt, and to continue there with the young child, until it should be again revealed to him that he might return into Judea. The child was born at Bethlehem; and Joseph, because he could find no place in the town where to lodge, went into a certain 'cave near the town. And while they were there, Mary brought forth Christ, and laid him in a manger.'" ("Dialogue with Trypho the Jew", Vol 2, Section LXXVIII, p. 20-21.  Written between 155-167 AD.)

From Origen: "With respect to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, if any one desires after the prophecy of Micah and after the history recorded in the Gospels by the disciples of Jesus, to have additional evidence from other sources, let him know that, in conformity with the narrative in the Gospel regarding HIs birth, there is shown at Bethlehem the cave where He was born, and the manger in the cave where He was wrapped in swaddling-clothes.)("Against Celsus"; Written about 248 AD.)

 The opinion of the Holy Land Travelers.

From William Thomson: "It is not impossible, to say the least, but that the apartment in which our Saviour was born was in fact a cave. I have seen many such, consisting of one or more rooms, in front of, and including a cavern, where the cattle were kept. ("The land and the Book", Vol 2, p. 503-504. Published in New York, 1860.)

From Rev. John Kitto: "Many of these caravanserais have no stables, the cattle of the travelers being accommodated in the open (central court or common) area. But in the more complete establishments of the kind, there are very excellent and spacious stables...on the same level with the court…and below the level of the tenements (open cubicles) which stand on the raised platform.

This platform is allowed to project behind into the stable, so as to form a bench (overhanging shelf) to which the heads of the cattle are turned, and on which they can, if they like, rest the nosebags of hair-cloth in which their food is given to them, to enable them to reach the bottom (of the bag) when the contents get low. Though small and shallow, these convenient retreats (beneath the overhanging shelves) are for servants and muleteers. "

Such a recess we conceive that Joseph and Mary occupied, with their ass or mule —if they had one. The recess at the upper end would not be passed by any one, and it might be rendered quite private by a cloth being stretched across the lower part. This the explanation with which our own mind has been satisfied since the opportunity of actual observation in Eastern travel has been presented to us." ("The Cyclopedia of Bible Literature", Vol.1, p.397. Published in New York, 1880.)

The action taking place in the introductory text is the account of the birth of Jesus Christ. To most, it seems a humble and unsatisfactory way for Jesus to begin HIs human life.  But for the time and age in which this event took place, the sleeping accommodations offered to Joseph and Mary were not uncommon and considered acceptable under the circumstances.

Zephaniah 1:4  "I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarim with the priests."

The original Hebrew word for Chemarim is kamar ( כָּמָר ) and is found in the Old Testament in  3 places.  (See also 2 Kings 23:5 and Hosea 10.5). The word is plural, and the primitive root of kamar means to intertwine, shrivel (as in to shrink), be affected as in passion or piety, or to be black.

Chemarim (kamar) also occurs in ancient Phoenician, Palmyrene, Nabataea, Akkadian and Egyptian texts. The Elephantine Jews used the word to describe the Egyptian priest of Khnum. And, in the Amarna Letters,  the word appears in the form of Kamiru.

In the Bible, the word is used to identify a certain class of Baal priests. But when it comes to understanding who and what these chemarim priests were, scholarly opinion is divided.
 
Dr. Karl F. Keil (1807-1888) in his "Handbuch der Biblischen Archaologie - Commentary in loco" stated that the term chemarim should not be applied to all priests of Baal, but rather its application be limited to those priests, as appointed by the Kings of Judah, to officiate in the worship rituals practiced in the high places for Baal, and also for the idolatrous worship of Jehovah.

Wilhelm Gesenius (1786-1842) the Orientalist-Historian, believed that the word chemarim as derived from 'kamar', meant to be burned. And, it also meant to be sad. He believed the name of these priests referred to the black garments worn by priests, such as in mourning or other specific dark rites.
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Kiel, in his argument with Gesenius' conclusions, said that since neither the priests of heathen idols or of the high places were ascetics or monks, and that in ancient times the priests from India to Gaul wore robes of white, and whenever possible these white robes were of a brilliant white, thus chemarim (kamar) could not be applied to black robe wearing priests.

Some other opinions:

From John W. Parker: "Chemarims were an order of priests of Baal, probably so called from wearing black garments while sacrificing; or as others think, because they painted their faces black." (Bible Cyclopedia or Illustrations of the Civil and Natural History of the Sacred Writings – Vol 1. p.274. Published in London, 1841.)
 
From John Gill: "Some take them (chemarim) to be a sort of servants or ministers to the priests of Baal who waited on the priests at the time of service; and so are distinguished from them (priests of Baal) in this (text) clause. The Vulgate Latin version renders it, the name of sextons with the priests." (Exposition of the Old Testament in Six Volumes – Commentary on Zeph.1:4. 6 vols., Published 1748–1763.)
 
From Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset, and David Brown: "Chemarims were idol priests who had not reached the age of puberty; meaning ministers of the gods. This is the same name as the *Tyrian Camilli…and is interchangeable. (The Hebrew root kamar means “black”; from the black garments which they wore or the marks which they branded on their foreheads.)" (Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. - Commentary on Zephaniah 1:4; First publication, 1871.) (*Tyrian Camilli – see Servius on Aeneid, Book 11, p.543, 558.)
 
Historical Experiences:

From Julius Caesar: "Throughout all Gaul there are two orders of those men who are of any rank and dignity...one is that of the Druids, the other that of the knights. The former are engaged in things sacred, conduct the public and the private sacrifices, and interpret all matters of religion. To these a large number of the young men resort for the purpose of instruction, and they [the Druids] are in great honor among them." ("Caesar's Gallic War. Translator". Translators: W. A. McDevitte  and  W. S. Bohn. 1st Edition.  Published in New York, 1869.)
 
From Rev. Alfred C. Smith: "Soon after a bishop of the Syrian Church attracted our notice; he was clad in violet robes, and wore a violet veil over his face, and he was attended by a priest in black robes, and with a black veil. But I need not enumerate costumes, with which all Eastern travelers, and all readers of Eastern travel, are familiar." ("Narrative of a Modern Pilgrimage Through Palestine on Horseback and with Tents", p.37. Published in London, 1878.)
 
From E. M. Berens: "Aides, who was universally worshipped throughout Greece, had temples erected to his honor in Elis, Olympia, and also at Athens. His sacrifices, which took place at night, consisted of black sheep, and the blood, instead of being sprinkled on the altars or received in vessels, as at other sacrifices, was permitted to run down into a trench, dug for this purpose. The officiating priests wore black robes, and were crowned with cypress." ("The Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome",  p. 136. Published in London, 1880.)
 
It is most likely that the chemarim were a specific class of Baal priests, serving as apprentices or assistants to the fully initiated priests. They were young, male, and dressed in robes of a distinct color from the older priests. And because the Bible text names them specifically, they held a place of significance or importance in the idolatrous worship of Baal.

The action taking place in this verse is God speaking to Judah and the inhabitants of all Jerusalem. He is enraged at their practice of idolatry and he is promising severe punishment for doing so. In his anger, he has called special attention to His priests who have turned to Baal worship, and have been doing so in His name, and the chemarim who assist them. These two groups were to be utterly destroyed.

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The following are several interesting experiences of travelers who encountered the Salt Covenant.

Isaiah 60:8  "Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows."

In ancient times, Doves were a highly-prized commodity. 

The Bible often speaks of these birds interchangeably with the better known and easily tamed pigeon, but doves were in fact their own wild species known for their gentle, sweet-tempered, nature.

According to Jewish law, Doves could be eaten and were one of the acceptable sacrificial offerings for sin and purification. They were actively traded in the market place, kept in cages as adored pets, a delight with their soft cooing, given great latitude when roaming free, and most importantly, guarded and treasured for the important byproduct they naturally produced--dove dung. In Bible times,  dove excrement was considered so valuable that ancient folks went to great lengths to attract migrating birds into domesticating, reproducing and delivering their product (poop).

Most doves came in shades of blue, gray and brown, and  as noted in Psalms 68:13, a rare silver dove with yellow-gold tipped wings could be found in Damascus. However, it was the white dove that was most admired.

From Thomas Harmer:  "But though pigeons or doves are in common blue in the East, yet there were some, even anciently, that were more' beautiful --witness those lines of Tibullus: 

     "Quid referam, ut volitet crebras intacta per urbes, Alba I'alsestino sancta columba Syro ?" 
 
Translation:  "Why should I say, How thro' the crowded towns the milk whitedove, in Syria sacred, may with safety rove?*  (From Book VII, "Messalla’sTriumph" -- A poem questionably attributed to Tibullus the Latin Poet, 55 BC–19 BC.)

Here we see some of the doves of Palestine were white, their wings covered as with silver; they were treated with great respect like the blue pigeons of Mecca." "Observations on Various Passages of Scripture", (with additions by Adam Clarke) p.229. Published 1815, London.] 

From the accounts of eighteenth and nineteenth century travelers, the Holy Land was filled with doves. They inhabited a wide area that included Turkey, Syria, Persia, Saudi Arabia, Palestine and Egypt. Many geographical locations were named in their honor. And interestingly, one such place was the high rocky terrain where Noah's ark came to rest after the flood.  

From Agustin Calmut:   "The coast of Canaan was denominated the Coast of the Dove.  ("Scripture Illustrated by Means of Natural Science", p. 124. Published 1850, Charlestown.)

From Joseph Wilson: "The mountains of Coh-Suleiman (Ararat) are sometimes called by the natives the Mountains of the Dove: the whole range as far as Gazni is called by Ptolemy the Paruetoi Mountains, probably form the Parvata or Paravat, which signifies a dove."  ("A History of Mountains: Geographical and Mineralogical"; Vol 3, p. 611. Published 1810, London.)

In the wild, Doves preferred to nest in trees or in nooks among the rocks.  However, due to the earnest endeavors of the people to domesticate them, many of these birds adapted to both city and farm dwelling.

From W.M. Thompson: "I found the air cool in June and all agree that the city (Gaza) is healthy. The houses are full of sparrows and the gardens alive with doves and other birds, which keep up a constant roar of music, aided by rook in abundance, from the tops of the feathery palms." ("The Land and the Book"; Vol. 2, p. 337. Published 1860, New York.)

When it was discovered that migrating flocks defecating on seeded fields caused the plants to grow more rapidly and produce a finer quality of vegetables and fruits, farmers quickly began to build colorful and ornate birdhouses hoping to catch the birds attention and entice them to settle and nest.

From Henry Maundrell: "Kefteen (Syria) itself is a large plentiful Village on the West side of the Plain. And the adjacent fields, abounding with Corn, give the Inhabitants great advantage for breeding pigeons (doves): insomuch that you find here more Dove-Cots than other Houses.  ["A Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem at Easter (in 1697)", p.3. Published 1703, Oxford Theatre, London.]

From James Morier: " The dung of pigeons is the dearest manure that the Persians use; and as they apply it almost entirely for the rearing of melons, it is probable on that account that the melons of Ispahan (16th Century Capital of Persia) are so much finer than those of other cities. The revenue of a pigeon-house is about 100 tomauns per annum; and the great value of this dung, which rears a fruit that is indispensable to the existence of the natives during the great heats of Summer, will probably throw some light upon that passage in Scripture, when in the famine of Samaria, the fourth part of a cab of doves' dung was sold for five pieces of silver. 2 Kings, vi. 25." 


And…"In the environs of the city to the westward, near the Zainderood (Persia),are many pigeon-houses, erected at a distance from habitations, for the sole purpose of collecting pigeons' dung for manure. They are large round towers, rather broader at the bottom than the top, and crowned by conical spiracles through which the pigeons descend. Their interior resembles a honeycomb, pierced with a thousand holes, each of which forms a snug retreat for a nest. More care appears to have been bestowed upon their outside, than upon that of the generality of the dwelling houses, for they are painted and ornamented. The extraordinary flights of pigeons which I have seen alight upon one of these buildings afford a good illustration for the passage in Isaiah, "Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?" (ls. Lx. 8.) Their great numbers and the compactness of their mass, literally look like a cloud at a distance, and obscure the sun in their passage." ("A Second Journey Through Persia, Armenia and Asia Minor", p.140-141. Published 1818, London.)

 There are two distinct interpretations of Isaiah 60:8, both of which are expressed in the following Targum. 

From the Chaldee Paraphrase - Isaiah 60:8-9:  "Who are these that are coming openly like swift clouds, and tarry not? the captives of Israel, who are gathered together, come to their land, lo, as doves which return to their dove-houses.  Surely, the isles shall wait for my Word."

The first interpretation is that this verse is describing the culmination of the prophecy concerning the Children of Israel's release from Babylonian captivity. Isaiah, in his vision, beholds the now liberated throng of Israelites returning to their homeland in such great haste that they remind him of a large mass of doves rapidly flying in their migration.

The second interpretation is that this passage is describing events found in the New Testament, namely that of the rapid success of the Apostles in spreading Christianity throughout the Gentile world. From that success, Gentile converts came to Christ in such great numbers that they were metaphorically said to be flocking in cloud-like mass to the redemptive doors of the church.

No matter how this verse is interpreted, one cannot fail to appreciate the striking animation and beauty of  language used to create such  impressive visual imagery.


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