The Judean Home

The Incarnation of Hesed
Hesed is Hebrew for the indescribable, undeserved love of God.

Dear friends,

On the first day of our tour in Israel after we stopped at the Sheep Fold (see blog post), we journeyed to Taybeh (pronounced Tie-bay’) northeast of Jerusalem. We saw sheep along the road finding grass amidst the rocky terrain.

All photos in this blog were taken by me (Beth Ann). 

Taybeh was formerly Ephraim (see John 11:54). In Old Testament times, Taybeh was called Ophrah, a city of the tribe of Benjamin (see Joshua 18:23). Today, Taybeh is a small Christian village in the middle of Muslim and Israeli villages where Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and other communities live and celebrate together peacefully. At this time of year, we saw lots of Christmas decorations.

We stopped in the courtyard of a Roman Catholic church where, behind an old door, there is an entrance to a 3-level home (claimed to be 2,000 years old) that would have been a typical 1^st century Judean dwelling similar to where Mary would have given birth to Jesus. If you look closely to the photo (below), you can see these 3 levels:

1. Main floor – You can see 3 steps that lead up to the main living area on the left side of this dwelling. This is where the entire family would live and sleep.
2. Upper room – Then, you can see a doorway on the left-middle near the shaft of light. This doorway leads to an upper room where guests would stay.
3. Lower level – If you look at the path at the entrance that goes back on the right, you’ll see a large arched doorway. This door leads to a large, lower area with a dirt floor where the family would keep their animals during the night. The animals would most likely include sheep.

1^st Century Judean Home

A closer look at the 1^st-century upper room

In the two photos below, you can see the entrance to the lower level, as well as the lower-level room:

The upper room was called the Aliyah. Aliyah is a Hebrew word meaning the act of going up or elevated place. Hospitality was infused into the Jewish culture, so every home had steps leading up from the main floor to an Aliyah that was used for guests and travelers.

Luke 2:7 reads, “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped Him in cloths and laid Him in a manger [feeding trough] because there was no room for them in the inn.” The Greek word for inn is kataluma meaning guestchamber. The guestchamber in this culture was the Aliyah in each Jewish home. It was not a hotel.

Many people would have been travelling during that time, either to their cities for the census or on their way to Jerusalem through Bethlehem for the Passover feast weeks later. The Aliyahs in all the homes would likely have been full. Joseph and Mary may have been offered what was left – the lower level where the family’s animals were kept at night.

Scripture doesn’t say, but it is likely that women attended Mary and offered blankets and other provisions from the main floor of their homes. The lower-level room was hidden around and underneath the main floor, so it would have been private and perfect for such an intimate time as the birth of a child. Maybe the Lamb of God was born surrounded by resting sheep at night, possibly donkeys, too. Maybe the sheep in the enclosed area gave warmth until they could find a home of their own nearby. Wool is warm and bacteria cannot live in it.

At this point in our tour, I loved how our tour guide, Dr. David Miller, spoke of the difference between blessings and gifts. He said, whether we get the job or don’t get the job, we are blessed, because God’s presence and fellowship in our lives is THE ultimate blessing. But then God gives gifts. Sometimes when we want to say, “Are you serious, God, really? Are you kidding me?” as we might have said in Mary’s circumstances, God ends up surprising us with a gift, a perfect provision.

Is my unwelcome circumstance actually a gift, a provision? Is there anything in my life that tempts me to say, “Really God? This doesn’t make sense,” or “This doesn’t seem right or fair.” Could it actually be His perfect provision for His purpose to flourish in my life, in His desire to fellowship with you/me/us? Could it be His love instead? His hesed?

Blessings, rest, warmth and love in Him,
Beth Ann

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