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.
188 customs found
Family Tombs and Being Gathered to One's Fathers
Family identity continued in death through ancestral burial places, family tombs, and biblical language about lying with or being gathered to one's fathers.
Primary Scripture: Genesis 49:29-33
Fasting
Fasting involved abstaining from food for a religious purpose such as mourning, repentance, prayer, crisis, or preparation for service.
Primary Scripture: Matthew 6:16-18
Fathers, Sons and Household Authority
Biblical households were strongly shaped by kinship, descent, inheritance, and paternal authority. Fathers carried major responsibilities for household identity, provision, discipline, instruction, and inheritance.
Primary Scripture: Luke 15:11-32
Feast of Booths and Temporary Shelters
The Feast of Booths was an autumn pilgrimage festival in which Israelites rejoiced before God and lived in temporary shelters in remembrance of the wilderness period.
Primary Scripture: Leviticus 23:39-43
Firstfruits
Firstfruits were the first portion of agricultural produce offered to God in acknowledgment that the whole harvest came from Him.
Primary Scripture: Deuteronomy 26:1-11
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