Archæology and the BibleBarton, George A. (George Aaron)
Religion
Archæology and the Bible
Barton, George A. (George Aaron)
Bible -- Antiquities; Egypt -- Antiquities; Middle East -- Antiquities
UTENSILS AND PERSONAL ORNAMENTS
UTENSILS: Ovens. Baking-trays. Bowls, etc. Feeding-bottles. Glassware.
Spoons. Forks or Flesh-hooks. Needles. Spinning “Whorls.” Lamp-stands.
Keys. Knives. Saws. Chisels. Awls. Axes. Adzes. Whetstones. Files.
Hammers. Nails. Baskets. Arrows. Spears. Swords. Fish-hooks. Styli.
Seals. The “Pipe.” Harps. The Dulcimer. Lyres. Children’s toys.
PERSONAL ORNAMENTS: Combs. Perfume-boxes. Spatulæ for eye-paint, etc.
Fibulæ. Beads. Necklaces. Bracelets. Anklets. Rings.
=1. Utensils.=--The term “utensil” is of wide application. The utensils of
agriculture and the hand-mills for grinding grain have been described in
Chapter VII. Among the devices used in connection with Palestinian houses
one of the most important was the oven.
(1) _Ovens._--The ovens of ancient Palestine were of the same kind as
those used by the peasantry of that country today. Each consists of a
cylinder of baked earth about 2 feet in diameter and 1½ inches thick. It
is closed by a cover of the same material, in which a stone or lump of
clay has been embedded as a handle. There is rarely any bottom except the
bare earth. The loaves, which were flat discs, were usually placed inside,
either on the ground covered with clean pebbles or on a baking-tray.
Sometimes the loaves were plastered over the outside of the oven. In this
case the fire was built inside and might consist of grass (Matt. 6:30;
Luke 12:28). The fire was usually heaped about the outside of the oven,
and often consisted of dried manure. It is this use of manure as fuel that
is alluded to in Ezek. 4:12-15--a passage that has sometimes been greatly
misunderstood. Such ovens were frequently found in all the strata. In Fig.
133 two varieties of ovens are shown. The one at the left hand is made of
plain tile; the other is covered over with potsherds, to make it retain
the heat longer. Sometimes in large houses groups of several ovens were
found together.
Ovens are frequently referred to in the Bible, sometimes as symbols of
things that are hot. (See Lev. 11:35; 26:26; Psa. 21:9; Hosea 7:4, 6, 7.)
Once a much-used oven is a symbol of blackness (Lam. 5:10).
(2) _Baking-trays_, consisting of discs of baked clay about 10 inches in
diameter, were also found. These were usually turned up at the edges, and
frequently perforated in order better to admit the heat to the under side
of the loaf. One specimen was found burnt through with constant use. These
trays were most numerous at Gezer in the second and third Semitic periods.
They were found at Jericho in the Jewish stratum; (see Fig. 134).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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