The most comprehensive, up-to-date, accurate information on life in Bible times available in one volume for the general reader.

This is a valuable resourse book through the Bible, explaining many customs practiced in Bible times. Not only is it easy to understand, but it is also filled with many helpful illustrations.

Any study of the Bible inevitably turns up situations that give us pause. We wonder: How could ancient peoples use slime for mortar? Why is lifting up your eyes a sign of respect? What were the images that Rachel stole from her father? Why would a grieving family hire mourners? How did people in biblical times cast lots? What made the housetop so important? Author James Midwinter Freeman (1827–1900) takes you through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, to explain different Oriental manners and customs that were common to people in ancient times, some of which are still evident in the East today. An Illustrated Reference to Manners & Customs of the Bible is a handy reference book filled with more than 140 helpful illustrations and fascinating information that you will turn to again and again. It will greatly aid anyone wishing to increase their understanding of the traditions, customs, and observances of biblical times.

Have you ever wondered how a camel can go through the eye of a needle? How the four men got their paralytic friend through the roof to Jesus? What it means to greet one another with a holy kiss? This book answers these questions and others. In it, you will learn who the magi were, how lots were used, and what it means to be engraved on the palm of God's hand. This valuable resource goes book by book through the Bible, explaining many customs practiced in Bible times. Not only is it easy to understand, but it is also filled with many helpful illustrations. This useful tool will greatly aid anyone wanting to understand more about the Bible.

In this new edition of a successful book (over 120,000 copies sold), now updated throughout, a leading expert on the social world of the Bible offers students a reliable guide to the manners and customs of the ancient world. From what people wore, ate, and built to how they exercised justice, mourned, and viewed family and legal customs, this illustrated introduction helps readers gain valuable cultural background on the biblical world. The attractive, full-color, user-friendly design will appeal to students, while numerous pedagogical features--including fifty photos, sidebars, callouts, maps, charts, a glossary of key terms, chapter outlines, and discussion questions--increase classroom utility. Previously published as Manners and Customs in the Bible.

This comprehensive volume provides detailed descriptions, illustrations, and context for many of the Bible’s historical and cultural references. Bible stories are full of objects, manners, and customs that would have been easily recognized by people living in the Middle East during ancient times. Towns have their walls and gates; agriculture has its threshing instruments and carts; the tabernacle has its altars and lavers of brass. But while the terms used to describe these items were once common knowledge, they leave many modern readers wondering about their specific meanings. This volume offers a clearer understanding of the Bible through accessible information about its many historical references. Organized by subject matter, it includes chapters on everything from vegetation to coinage, matrimony, weaponry, transportation, idolatry, and holy places, among many other topics. Based on archeological research, The Illustrated Dictionary of Bible Manners & Customs helps readers attain a more vivid sense of the Bible’s rich background and longstanding influence.