It would make more sense for the house to be outside the settlement near a spring.
It was the time of year that my husband would normally have been making pottery, but the clay pit next to the house was empty. His trade was going to die with him for he had never taught Midyan (our son) to make pottery. It was a great way to feel wealthier, for the wealthy people in town would give us food for his pottery. We were never malnourished. I regret not making Midyan learn the trade. Now our whole settlement seemed useless. We had a kiln that just sits there in the yard, the entire clay pit, and a large supply of clay nearby that will not be used again. The times seem dire for us.
It was time to visit the leader of my husband’s Bet Ab who lived in Lachish. I wish I could go back to my family, but I must see his. He paid my family for the marriage, and had taken good care of me. We had delivered a son to our clan, and tried to have other sons and daughters of the clan. By law I was part of his Bet Ab now. I had a feeling about what he was going to say, where he wanted me to work in Lachish, and my son to help one of his uncle’s outside the settlement. I do not want to separate from my son.
Figure 5: An example of a kiln that could have been used to fire pottery. This is a vertical (updraft) kiln. -http://www.itarp.uiuc.edu/atam/teaching/gvexhibit.html
Figure 6: A reconstruction of Lachish.
- http://www.biblebasics.info/natcit/lachish.htm
Meyers, Carol. "The Roots of Restriction: Women in Biblical Israel." The Biblical Archaeologist 41.3 (1978): 91-103. JSTOR. Web. 04 Nov. 2011. <http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.corn ell.edu/stable/3209454?&Search=yes&searchText=%22family+life%22&searchText=widow&searchText=lachish&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoAdvancedSearch%3Fq0%3Dlachish%26f0%3Dall%26c1%3DAND%26q1%3Dwidow%26f1%3Dall%26c2%3DAND%26q2%3D%2522family%2Blife%2522%26f2%3Dall%26acc%3Don%26wc%3Don%26Search%3DSearch%26sd%3D%26ed%3D%26la%3D%26jo%3D&prevSearch=&item=1&ttl=6&returnArticleService=showFullText>.
Herrmann, Siegfred. A History of Israel in Old Testament Times. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1981. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment