Painting the Backdrop of Jesus

Many people assume details about the world surrounding Jesus and other Biblical figures. It's common to acknowledge they dressed funny, spoke another language, and wore long beards and/or hair. However, there's much, much more we might overlook.

First, we'll start with where Jesus grew up. He lived in Nazareth, a village in the Galilee. According to archaeological evidence, Nazareth was certainly a small village, but it stood on the edges of a thriving urban city, Sepphoris. In that time, the major cities, especially, were inundated with the Greek and Roman lifestyle: various forms of entertainment like theatres and amphitheaters, etc despite the fact it was a Jewish city. Jesus was raised between the ancient Hebrew world and the newer Greek/Roman world. He even possibly spoke a few languages (Hebrew, Aramaic - the everyday language, and Latin) as it was common for Jews to use all three.

Yet, he never really speaks in the New Testament like an urbanite. Also, interestingly, He never mentions (in the Bible) Sepphoris despite how close it existed to His home.

His family trade is typically seen as carpentry, but the Greek word used is "tectone," which simply means something close to artisan or craftsperson. Even farmers were higher class than an artisan. Those farmers who were forced from their lands might become an artisan in order to get by. Peasants typically disliked cities due to both social status and Jewish-Roman tensions. Yet, He uses the words and images of a peasant farmer (Nazareth was a farming village), someone very in tune with the earth and nature around Him.

He appears to avoid major cities in His travels. Landowners, government officials, judges, and other wealthy people lived in cities, with the countryside reserved for the poor. Maybe He preferred small towns and the countryside, or perhaps He found the peasants to be more willing to listen to His message.

A couple sources speak of what you'd expect to see walking down the streets of a town:

"Tradesmen would be instantly recognizable by the symbols they wore. Carpenters stuck wood chips behind their ears, tailors stuck needles in their tunics, and dyers wore colored rags. On the Sabbath, these symbols were left at home." (Christianitytoday)

"Houses were all-purpose 1-2 room squares, with dirt floors, flat roofs, low and narrow doorways, and front wooden doors. Often people would sleep on flat roofs during hot nights. The houses were arranged around a central shared courtyard where neighbors performed daily chores (cooking, laundry, etc.) in each other’s company. Water was carried in from a public well and stored in a courtyard cistern. Lighting was provided by earthenware oil lamps. People slept on mats, and owned limited personal goods." (JesusCentral)

Everyone became just people on the Sabbath. They ate two main meals a day with bread being the center point of both. Common places to meet up with others, beside in the courtyard, were the marketplace and the temple. During major feast days, they'd travel to Jerusalem if they could, where the population would swell from about 55,000 to 180,000. It was a bit crowded.

Children were children as always, and archeologists have found "whistles, rattles, toy animals on wheels, hoops, and spinning tops" with the occasional board game, such as a version of checkers. There were few portraits or images of living beings, as this was forbidden in Jewish culture (which is also the reason you won't find a drawing of Jesus). The only exception being dolls for children.

It's interesting, and sometimes helpful, to put context to Jesus' message. With the details on the down-to-earth lifestyle of the Jews in His time, we can more clearly see Him walk the streets spreading love. As I find more information, I'll share so we can fully paint the backdrop of Jesus.


Sources other than Bible:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/jesus/socialclass.html
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125394814
http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-59/life-times-of-jesus-of-nazareth-did-you-know.html
http://www.jesuscentral.com/ji/historical-jesus/jesus-firstcenturycontext.php