Typical Israelite Home of the Iron Age

Typical Israelite Home of the Iron Age

ca 1300 BC - ca 600 BC

1.ENTRANCE

2.CENTRAL COURTYARD

A.Fire pit

B.Cistern

3.LIVING QUARTERS (“LONG ROOM”)

4.STORAGE/WORKSHOP/KITCHEN

5.ROOFTOP (EXTRA AREA FOR EATING, WORKING, AND SLEEPING DURING WARM WEATHER)

C.Roller - for recompacting clay roof following rain. Man shown is patching roof.

6.ANIMAL PEN

Israelite four-room house. Some interpreters believe Jephthah lived in a four-room house that was common in Israel during the Iron Age. Many such houses had a room for the family’s animals. If Jephthah lived in such a house, his vow (11:30) may have been based on the assumption that one of his animals would be the first to greet him when he returned from victory over the Ammonites. For a different view, see the note at 11:29-33.