VILLAGE LIFE IN THE HOLY LAND 



253 



lem, are still perpetuating the life of 

 Abraham and the customs and ways of 

 the people who lived here at the time of 

 Christ. 



To know the heart of the land, to have 

 learned the hospitality of its people, 

 which is always offered, no matter how 

 primitive or simple, makes it easy to pic- 

 ture Mary and Joseph returning from the 

 inn, already filled with guests, and turn- 

 ing aside into a home such as we have 

 described, the regular dwelling portion 

 of which may have been none too large 

 for the family which occupied it. It may 

 have been crowded with other guests, but 

 they find a welcome and a resting place 

 for the babe in a manger. 



Such a use of the rowyeh, or stable 

 portion of the house, by human beings is 

 not the exception, but an every-day occur- 

 rence. You can occasionally find men 

 working their primitive looms there or 

 the mother preparing the food or doing 

 her little sewing near the door, where 

 there is more light on a dark winter's day. 



We have all perhaps noticed that in the 

 two Gospel narratives where the birth of 

 Jesus is dwelt upon* neither of them 

 mentions a stable, barn, or anything equiv- 

 alent, while Matthew, speaking of the 

 wise men, says : "And when they were 

 come into the house, they saw the young 

 child with Mary his mother." 



Many of these dwellings, placed as they 

 are on ancient sites, are built over old 

 caves or caverns which are incorporated 

 into the lower or stable portion. Today, 

 in Bethlehem's church, such a cave is 

 shown as the actual birthplace of Jesus. 

 Its walls are covered with costly tapes- 

 tries and paintings, and from its ceiling 

 hang lamps of gold and silver (see page 

 304). 



the: guest-chamber of the: village: 



Each village has an upper room or 

 guest-chamber (see page 254). During 

 the summer the shade of some large tree 

 is often substituted for this room. How- 

 ever, in either case this guest-chamber or 

 tree is the social center for all the village 

 men, where many spend the evening or 

 the entire day when they have nothing 

 with which to occupy themselves. Socia- 



*Matt. 2: 1-12; Luke 2: 1-20. 



bility is one of their characteristics ; they 

 love to gossip and chat about the local 

 news. Of course, not a single newspaper 

 is to be had ; so all their information is 

 derived from those who have been last 

 to town. 



A servant is hired to attend to this 

 guest-chamber, and every day, by turn, 

 one of the villagers furnishes the coffee 

 beans and sugar for the coffee to be 

 served to the men thus congregated ; he, 

 too, supplies the food and bedding if some 

 ordinary guests come along. 



They are, of course, great respecters 

 of persons ; so that if a common man 

 happens in, a couple of fried eggs with 

 bread and olives will do for him. If a 

 more important personage arrives, a pair 

 of roast chickens is provided for his sup- 

 per ; but if a still more honored one, a 

 sheik of a village, or a large company of 

 men appear, a lamb or kid is killed, and 

 in all cases horses are furnished with 

 nose-bags full of barley. The supplying 

 of these more expensive meals is appor- 

 tioned among the various men by turn, 

 while they furnish barley according to 

 the amount of land possessed. 



In the possession of the man attending 

 the guest-chamber are three small wooden 

 bows, on the cord of which are strung 

 slips of paper, each bearing the name of 

 one of the men of the village. The slip 

 first in order indicates the name of the 

 person whose turn next comes to serve, 

 and in this simple way the proper ac- 

 counts are kept, since one of the bows 

 represents chickens, the next lambs and 

 kids, while the third is for the barley. 

 As each one fulfills his obligation the 

 paper representing it is torn off, and 

 when all are gone, a new set is written 

 and the turns begin again. 



Let us now watch a company of dis- 

 tinguished visitors arrive at the village 

 guest-chamber. 



The young men run to help the guests 

 dismount, and, leading the animals away, 

 tie them in the courtyard or in the stable, 

 which is below the "upper room." Oth- 

 ers hasten to spread rugs and mats on 

 the floor and mattresses around the wall, 

 furnished with cushions, for on them the 

 guests sit cross-legged or recline. Many 

 of the men of the village now join the 



