In Bible times wine and other liquids were stored in containers made of animal skins (read Matthew 9:17). These skins would eventually become brittle and develop cracks, particularly when exposed to the smoke given off by fires that burned in the tents and primitive houses of that time.
Continue reading BIBLE CUSTOMS AND CURIOSITIES (FINDING JOY IN THE LORD)
The New International Version renders the phrase “now we see through a glass, darkly” as “now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror.” Paul referred to mirrors of Bibles times that were made of highly polished metal (read Exodus 38:8).
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Sitting on the ground symbolized sadness and distress. So this is another image from Isaiah that expresses the fate of the nation of Judah if she continued on her present course (read Isaiah 3:24).
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These were some of the same religious who had succeeded in having Jesus executed. They started thinking that His disciples might remove the body from the tomb and claim that Jesus had been raised from the dead.
Continue reading BIBLE CUSTOMS AND CURIOSITIES (SEALED AND SURE)
At the annual celebration of the Passover in Jerusalem (see note on Matthew 26:19), the Roman governor released on Jewish prisoner who was selected by the people. This was a gesture of goodwill to the Jews, who resented the Roman occupation of their country.
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This may refer to sowing grain in flooded areas. Or it could refer to ships that carry goods over the seas to distant places for sale or trade.
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Naomi’s deceased husband. Elimelech, had some land in Bethlehem that she had been forced to sell because of her poverty conditions (Ruth 4:3). Elimelech had a relative who, as his next of kin, had the right to buy back or redeem this property to keep it in the family.
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This verse uses humor to show that no house is big enough to accommodate two people who don’t get along. If the husband and wife are always quarreling, each one could say with equal justification to the other, “I would rather be living up on the roof than in this house with you.”
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This verse refers to the humiliation of the nobility of Judah by the army of Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem. Were these princes, or nobles, executed and then hung up by their hands as a public example? Or were they tied and hung up by the hands as a form of torture? We don’t know.
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God promised Moses that when the Israelites were released from slavery, their women would carry from the land jewelry of silver and gold given to them by the Egyptians.
Continue reading BIBLE CUSTOMS AND CURIOSITIES (JEWELRY FOR ISRAELITE WOMEN)