Daily Life in Biblical Times (Archaeology and Biblical Studies) (Archaeology and Biblical Studies)

How did ancient Israelites live? What did they eat, and what affected their health? How did the family function? To answer these and similar questions, Borowski describes the natural setting and the people who occupied the land as well as the rural and urban economic activities in which ancient Israelites engaged, especially as they related to the family and social-political structure. The book addresses cultural, social, and religious activities as well as art, music, and the place of writing in Israelite society. Drawing on textual and archaeological evidence and written in nontechnical language, this will be a standard text for undergraduate Hebrew Bible courses and of particular interest to scholars, graduate students, pastors, rabbis, and nonspecialists. La 4e de couv. indique : " While the history of Israel during the period from ca. 1200 to 586 B.C.E. has been in the forefront of biblical research, little attention has been given to questions of daily life. Where did the Israelites live? What did people do for a living? What did they eat and what affected their health? How did the family function? These and similar questions form the basis for this book. The book introduces different aspects of daily life. It describes the natural setting and the people who occupied the land. It deals with the economy, both rural and urban, emphasizing the main sources of livelihood such as agriculture, herding, and trade. These topics are discussed in relation to the family in particular and the social structure in general. Other topics include urban society, the bureaucracy and the military. Beyond material culture, the book delves into daily and seasonal cultural, social and religious activities, art, music, and the place of writing in Israelite society. Drawing on textual and archaeological evidence, and written with nontechnical language, the book will be especially helpful for undergraduates, seminarians, pastors, rabbis, and other interested nonspecialist readers as well as graduate students and faculty in Hebrew Bible. " While the history of Israel during the period from ca. 1200 to 586 B.C.E. has been in the forefront of biblical research, little attention has been given to questions of daily life. Where did the Israelites live? What did people do for a living? What did they eat and what affected their health? How did the family function? These and similar questions form the basis for this book. "Daily Life in Biblical Times" introduces different aspects of daily life. It describes the natural setting and the people who occupied the land. It deals with the economy, both rural and urban, emphasizing the main sources of livelihood such as agriculture, herding, and trading. These topics are discussed in relation to the family in particular and the social structure in general. Other topics include urban society, the bureaucracy and the military. Beyond material culture, the book delves into daily and seasonal cultural, social and religious activities, art, music, and the place of writing in Israelite society. -- From publisher's description

This book draws on textual and archaeological evidence to introduce different aspects of daily life in ancient Israel. It describes the natural setting, the people, urban and rural economy, the family and social structure, bureaucracy and military.

Paperback edition available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org).

ch. 1. Introduction: the land and its people ch. 2. Rural life ch. 3. Urban life ch. 4. The household and life cycles ch. 5. Ancient Israelite arts ch. 6. Writing private and official ch. 7. A day in the life of the Ahuzam family. When coming to discuss the daily life of any people, it is important to identify and define the factors and conditions that caused and influenced the formation, and later sustained, the culture of that group.