Copyright: 1998

Publisher: Oxford University Press

ISBN: 019509882X

This book might seem out of character for my reading list, however history is a hobby of mine.  This particular period of history fascinates me as I grew up with church and Christianity as a large part of my life.  Understanding the day to day life during this time period in history makes the life of Christ more realistic.  In The City in Roman Palestine,  Daniel Sperber does an excellent job of using both archeology and the historical record of Jewish historians of the time to paint a very detailed and incredibly well-researched picture of the daily life in the cities of Palestine.

Notes

Markets

Sperber describes the market place in detail.  He explains how the various layouts worked and the significance of the placement of the merchants.  Some markets were open markets with the merchants arrayed around an open space.  Others were street markets where each side of a long street had places for merchants.

He points out that the 2nd floor of most buildings was used for storage because of the difficulties of carrying water to the second level.  For this reason, many fires started in these storage areas.  With our modern plumbing we don't even think twice about living on the second floor!

There were statues in many of the markets and the rabbis debated whether it was OK to walk by these statues.  They feared that some might see them near the statue and think they were worshipping an idol.  As a compromise they agreed that it was OK to walk by but they must avert their eyes while doing so.

Bath Houses

The discussion bath houses was fascinating!  Apparently the bath houses had a series of pools with cold, tepid and hot water.  The process of bathing in each in the correct order, along with the proper application of oils and fragrances would allow for the removal of the dirt and grime accumulated in everyday life but would also replenish the oils that were lost in the dry climate. 

Bath houses were apparently dangerous places at times.  Newly constructed ones were warned against by rabbis as the floors might cave in and drop the unsuspecting bather into the hot fires below.  Apparently the entire place was built over passageways where fires were stoked to heat the floors along with the water in the baths. 

In addition, bathers were not allowed to bring their own oils for fear of dropping the containers.  The combination of water, oil, steam and marble floors along with the naked bathers was not a good place to have broken shards floating around. 

Streets

The streets in towns were narrow and quite often not straight.  While our towns today benefit from surveyors and urban planning, ancient Palestine had no such luck.  The streets were so narrow in fact that often the second floor balconys would reach out almost touching each other across the street. 

In areas away from the markets where second floor spaces were not used for storage, the rabbis had lengthy discussions about passing objects from one balcony to the next on the Sabbath.  Moving objects around in the public domain was prohibited by the Sabbath law but the rabbis decided that passing things across from balcony to the next didn't constitute a violation.

Conclusion

If you like watching the History Channel like I do, this book is probably right up your alley.  It is chock full of interesting tidbits that reveal what life was like several thousand years ago, around the time of the stories we heard in Sunday School growing up!