Dwellings

Dwellings in the ancient Near East ranged from the tents of nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples to the mudbrick and stone houses of settled agricultural communities. In Canaan and Israel, the standard domestic dwelling was constructed of sun-dried mudbrick on stone foundations, with a flat roof of timber beams covered with packed mud—a construction type attested archaeologically from the Early Bronze Age onward. Leviticus 14:40–45 prescribes detailed procedures for houses afflicted with spreading mildew or fungal growth, requiring removal of infected stones and replastering, or demolition in severe cases—evidence that stone-and-plaster construction was standard in Israelite settlements.

Ezekiel 13:10–12 uses the image of a wall poorly built and whitewashed—plastered over with untempered mortar to conceal its weakness—as a metaphor for false prophets who cover over the people's spiritual condition with superficial assurances of peace when there is no peace. The prophetic contrast between the sturdy house built on rock and the flimsy house built on sand (Matt. 7:24–27; Luke 6:47–49) uses domestic building as a metaphor for the foundation of one's life in relation to Jesus's teaching.