Manners and Customs in the Bible

by Victor H. Matthews

• How did the Exile change Israel's religious life?
• Why would Lot even think of throwing his daughters to a mob?
• What exactly were the differences between Herodians, Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes? Lots of questions crop up when you read the Bible. For answers, you need insight into the Bible's culture, its people and how they lived. What people wore, what they ate, what they built, how they exercised justice, how they mourned, how they viewed family and legal customs—all are "manners and customs" and all vary from period to period throughout Israel's history. Fortunately, this book is a lot more than just nice pictures—although there are a lot of those, too. Each chapter furnishes an introduction to the political and physical setting of the period in Israel's history and outlines the basic structure of its social world. Then specific scenes drawn from the biblical text are studied in a way that sheds light on the daily life of the people of that time. Drawing from a variety of sources to recreate the society of ancient Israel—extrabiblical sources and archaeological data as well as the biblical text itself—Dr. Matthews helps the reader to see the ancient world of Israel as never before. Once seen in this way, it will never look the same again. Now in a new, revised edition, Dr. Matthews offers even more helpful insights into the biblical world. Over a hundred Scripture passages have been placed alongside the text to complement the discussion and to keep the relevant biblical passages in view. More than twenty new illustrations and photos help to give an even better "feel" for the world of Abraham, David, Jesus, and Paul.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Christian, Theology, Old Testament, History, Religion

320 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1988

About the author

Victor Harold Matthews (PhD, Brandeis University) is dean of the College of Humanities and Public Affairs and professor of religious studies at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. He is the author of numerous books, including Manners and Customs in the Bible, Studying the Ancient Israelites, Old Testament Turning Points, and The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Genesis–Deuteronomy.

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is split into five chapters that move chronologically through the Bible:

1. Patriarchal period
2. Exodus/settlement period
3. Monarchy period
4. Period of exile and return
5. Intertestamental and New Testament period

Each chapter is then further broken down into subsections that consider different aspects of the culture: agriculture, marriage customs, burial customs, warfare, clothing, medicine, social and political organization, legal practices, economics, family life, religious customs, etc. Other than using the biblical text itself, the author sources contemporaneous texts from the surrounding cultures, archaeological evidence, and anthropological research. Maps, photographs, and illustrations throughout.

The book does an excellent job of fleshing out some of the things that are mentioned in passing in the text of the Bible and provides an excellent picture of what it would have been like to live in those time periods. One minor quibble: the intertestamental and new testament periods could have benefited from being split into separate chapters.

For a mere 283 page book (with wide margins to boot), the author managed to pack an awful lot of information in this book. How much information? Well, I imagine nobody has ever really wondered what kind of ingredients Jezebel used in the making of her cosmetics but if you ever have – well, it's in here.

[Mike DePue, OFS · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a review of the title’s Revised Edition. In writing the original edition, the author “tried to answer in a readable and informative way the sort of questions I have heard from my students.” After going through several printings, the Revised Edition received a few design changes and an updated bibliography that reflects a “substantial amount of new scholarship.” (pp. xi-xii)

The author’s goal of “readable and informative” has been achieved admirably. The text is augmented by such features as a table of archaeological and biblical periods, a Jewish and Christian festal calendar, and a 587 BC – AD 135 timeline. The line drawings, maps, and b/w photos are well-chosen.

Here to be found is a wealth of information on the developmental periods of Israel’s history. Although I’ve been learning and teaching in this subject for decades, I still found new information and insights in this book. A very satisfactory treatment, indeed!

[Sae-chan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last chapter, Intertestamental and New Testament Period, was really interesting. I really enjoyed reading the history around the holy land through non-biblical source.

Too bad for the other chapters, the sources given were very limited. I think it was even non-existent in Exile and Return chapter. Probably the sources available were not in agreement with the bible, but in my opinion it is still necessary to include them.

[Nicholas Maulucci · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dry. Dry.

[sistaotey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This made many scriptures become so much more clear when the historical influences are revealed.

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sure this would be a great resource, but it just wasn't that interesting to read cover-to-cover.

[Glyn Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

An invaluable book for any Bible scholar.

[Covenant Presbyterian Springfield Ohio]

Call Number: 220.9 MAT

Available.