Glimpse of Jesus

Bible Story Links

Bible Dictionary

Customs and Culture of the Bible

The Bible was written in cultures very different from our own. Explore customs, institutions, daily practices and figures of speech that help explain what biblical writers and their first readers would have understood.

Keyword

Category

Culture

Period

Type

Clear Search

188 customs found

Palm Branches in Celebration

Festivals and Holy Days • Social Practice • Judean/Jewish

Palm branches could be used in Jewish festival celebration and became associated with rejoicing, victory, and national deliverance in the Second Temple period.

Primary Scripture: John 12:12-13

Passover Pilgrimage and Festival

Festivals and Holy Days • Religious Practice • Israelite • Judean/Jewish

Passover commemorated Israel's deliverance from Egypt and, after worship was centralized, drew pilgrims to Jerusalem. The festival setting shapes the final week of Jesus' earthly ministry.

Primary Scripture: Exodus 12:1-28

Patron-Client Language and Friendship

Social Groups and Relationships • Social Practice • Greek/Hellenistic • Roman • Judean/Jewish

Greco-Roman society was shaped by networks of patrons, clients, benefactors, and friends who exchanged protection, access, honor, loyalty, and material assistance.

Primary Scripture: Luke 22:25-26

Patronage, Benefactors and Clients

Honor, Shame and Social Status • Social Practice • Greek/Hellenistic • Roman

Greco-Roman society was shaped by networks of patrons, clients, benefactors, and reciprocal obligations. Public generosity could bring honor and loyalty.

Primary Scripture: Luke 22:24-27

Perfume, Spices and Costly Ointments

Clothing and Personal Appearance • Material Culture • Ancient Near Eastern • Mesopotamian • Israelite • Judean/Jewish • Greek/Hellenistic • Roman

Perfumes and aromatic spices were valuable commodities used in grooming, hospitality, worship, medicine, and burial.

Primary Scripture: John 12:1-8

Pharisees, Scribes and Teachers of the Law

Social Groups and Relationships • Institution • Judean/Jewish

Pharisees, scribes, and teachers of the law overlap in the Gospel narratives but are not interchangeable labels: one denotes a movement, while the others primarily describe expertise or function.

Primary Scripture: Matthew 23:1-7

Phylacteries and Garment Fringes

Clothing and Personal Appearance • Religious Practice • Israelite • Judean/Jewish

Jewish men could wear Scripture-containing phylacteries and commanded garment fringes as visible reminders of God's law. Jesus criticized ostentatious use of these practices, not the biblical commands themselves.

Primary Scripture: Matthew 23:5

Physicians and Ancient Medical Care

Medicine, Health and Disability • Occupation • Ancient Near Eastern • Mesopotamian • Israelite • Judean/Jewish • Greek/Hellenistic • Roman

Biblical people sought treatment from physicians and used medicines, bandaging, oils, wine, and other therapies available within ancient medical traditions.

Primary Scripture: Mark 5:25-26

Pilgrimage to Jerusalem

Travel and Transportation • Religious Practice • Israelite • Judean/Jewish

Israelite law called for males to appear before the Lord at major annual festivals, and by the Second Temple period Jerusalem drew pilgrims from Judea, Galilee, and the wider Jewish diaspora.

Primary Scripture: Deuteronomy 16:16

Prayer Postures: Standing, Kneeling and Prostration

Synagogue, Teaching and Prayer • Religious Practice • Israelite • Judean/Jewish • Early Christian

Biblical prayer was offered in several bodily postures, including standing, kneeling, bowing, lifting hands, and falling prostrate.

Primary Scripture: 1 Kings 8:54

Priestly Divisions and the Incense Offering

Temple, Priesthood and Sacrifice • Religious Practice • Israelite • Judean/Jewish

Temple priests served in organized divisions, and particular duties could be assigned by lot. This background makes the opening scene of Luke's Gospel with Zechariah much more vivid.

Primary Scripture: Luke 1:5-23

Priestly Garments and the High Priest

Clothing and Personal Appearance • Material Culture • Israelite • Judean/Jewish

Israelite priests wore prescribed garments for sanctuary service, while the high priest had distinctive vestments including the ephod, breastpiece, robe, and inscribed headpiece.

Primary Scripture: Exodus 28:1-43

Prostration and Bowing

Honor, Shame and Social Status • Social Practice • Ancient Near Eastern • Mesopotamian • Israelite • Judean/Jewish • Canaanite • Egyptian • Assyrian • Babylonian • Persian • Greek/Hellenistic • Roman

Bowing or prostration could express respect, submission, homage, supplication, or worship. The meaning depends on the person addressed and the surrounding context.

Primary Scripture: Genesis 33:3

Public Acclamation and Crowd Responses

Honor, Shame and Social Status • Social Practice • Ancient Near Eastern • Judean/Jewish • Greek/Hellenistic • Roman

Crowds could publicly honor, condemn, petition, or acclaim rulers and prominent people through shouted formulas, songs, gestures, and processions.

Primary Scripture: Matthew 21:8-11

Public Honorific Titles and Greetings

Honor, Shame and Social Status • Social Practice • Judean/Jewish • Greek/Hellenistic • Roman

Public greetings, titles, prominent seats, and visible recognition communicated social rank and honor in the ancient Mediterranean world.

Primary Scripture: Matthew 23:5-12

Select Pages

1 … 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Customs & Culture

Understanding the customs and culture of the biblical world can clarify passages that otherwise seem unfamiliar to modern readers.

Entries distinguish historically supported practices from later traditions and popular claims whose evidence is uncertain.

Explore by: