The Temple Gates

Chapter 11

Cities and Towns

"We were unopposed during the entire campaign." Josiah's smile infected the entire council. The group had grown in number since the king had invited Jeremiah, Zephaniah, and Habakkuk to become advisors. "We now have control over the entire territory once governed by the Kingdom of Israel."

"That's wonderful." The Prime Minister had a grin on his face so broad that it appeared his lips were about to split. "Finally, the rebellion that Jeroboam started has been brought to an end."

"We had very little to do with it," reminded Jeremiah. "The Assyrians left the country wide open for the taking. Yahweh made it possible for us to step into the void the enemy left open by pulling out their army."

"That's true," replied the King. "God has blessed us by giving us control over it."

"And He gave us the courage to rid the area of idolatry too," put in Shaphan.

"Amen," chorused the group.

"That's a large area to govern," suggested the Prime Minister. "Have you considered how to protect it?"

"Yes," returned Josiah. "We'll need to plant brigades of our troops in all the fortress cities. Most of them already exist and they'll need little repair. All we need to do is to step in and take them over."

"Which cities are we talking about?" asked the Commanding General.

"Beth Shemesh, Shechem, Gezer, Hazor and Tirzah, replied the King. "Megiddo will need to be rebuilt."

"We really need a fortress city down by the great sea," observed the Commanding General. "Perhaps in the area of Mezad."

"That's a good suggestion," replied the king. "Perhaps we should send survey crews to these sites to find out what kind of work each city will need."

"And I'll organize army platoons to man the existing fortresses," offered the Commanding General.

"That's good. This is all we have time for today," announced Josiah. "It's nearly time for the evening sacrifice."

"I've sent a group of surveyors with a heavy guard," said Joah, the royal recorder. "They'll survey the area around Mezad in order to decide where would be the best location for a fortress in that area. I've also sent a group to Megiddo to survey the area and assess the materials that we will need for rebuilding that fortress."

"Good," replied Josiah. "You should also send surveyors to Gezer, Shechem, Beth Shemesh, and Tirzah to assure that their walls and bulwarks are up to our standards."

"Yes, Sir."

Josiah considered the work on the cities of chief importance. He wanted to be sure that these fortress cities would be able to withstand attacks from the gigantic armies often fielded by Egypt and the empires of Mesopotamia.

"If the fortress cannot stop an army," Josiah told Hamutal, in her rooms that evening, "then it's of no use to us."

He had married Hamutal two years after his marriage to Zibidah as a political necessity, to assure that her city, Libnah, would remain loyal to His kingdom. The city lay only three miles from the border of Gaza which was controlled by Egypt. The King intended to make Libnah one of his fortresses--to guard the highway that led from the coast up to the central highlands and Jerusalem.

In time he came to love Hamutal, just as he had learned to love Zibidah. And the two women became the best of friends, and both adored Jedidah, the Queen Mother. Josiah felt he had been blessed with such a happy family.

"That's true," Hamutal replied to his remark about the fortresses. "My father told me what happened during the reign of Hezekiah when the Assyrians destroyed Lachish. They would have broken into Libnah too, if it hadn't been for the loss of their army at Jerusalem."

"Grandfather described to me how God killed 185,000 Assyrians in one night," Josiah replied. "But it must have been frightening for your people in Libnah!"

"It was," Hamutal gasped. "Hundreds of our soldiers were killed on the walls, as they fought to defend our city. I lost two of my uncles in the war."

"I'm sorry," consoled the king. "But it was better to sacrifice those soldiers than for the whole city to be destroyed."

"I guess your right." She lay her head on his shoulder and sighed. "But still . . . ."

Reports came regularly from the surveyors of the different cities.

"Your majesty, Hazor needs very little work," announced a messenger. "The surveyors found that the walls have been rebuilt since the Assyrian invasion, and are sufficient to defend the city. All around the city walls there are outsets that afford defenders some protection as they send their arrows and rocks down onto the enemy during an assault.

"The walls are 75 cubits in height, and about 45 cubits thick. They are made of stone on the outside, and reinforced on the inside with mud brick. It looks as though at some time in the past, the houses that had been built next to the wall have been removed in order to have better access to the wall. The surveyors felt this to be a wise plan."

The messenger stopped to clear his throat. He looked at the pavement, and then back to the King. "It seems that at one time, the walls were hollow, with rooms for warehouses and shops. But the space has been filled in so as to provide greater strength for the wall. The gates appear to be in-order as well, my lord."

"Very good," replied Josiah. "Take word to the surveyors that I'm pleased to know about their findings. Tell me more about the gates."

City gates had six chambers that provided rooms for business and legal matters, and for garrison space needed by watchmen and defenders. The gate itself was made of wood and swung on metal hinges. The gateway was the first line of defense as this would be the first area an enemy would attack. So it was flanked by battlements that jutted out from the wall. Defenders stationed there would be positioned to shoot arrows or throw things at anyone approaching the gate.

In peacetime, the area outside the gate became a gathering place for merchants. Stalls and booths were set up by craftsmen and hawkers, produce markets, bakers, potters, leather workers and tailors. Jewelry from Egypt, Phoenician furnishings, perfumes from Arabia, ingots of metal from Cyprus and Anatolia; these were all available at the Bazaar.

The gate area also became a courthouse when people needed legal advice or had to deal with criminal activity. Communal executions of criminals took place here as well. This type of criminal justice helped the people realize that crime was not just an individual matter: it endangered the entire community.

At the gate too, judges heard testimonies and made pronouncements of their decisions in matters public or private. All of their decisions were based on the law. Among the crimes of murder, theft, and idolatry, however, one of the greatest crimes involved a judge who perverted justice in order to receive bribes. Such a person, when found out, received execution.

The city itself, with a few exceptions, had a fortress of only five to ten acres. The only ones who actually lived within the walls consisted of the Mayor and his nobles. Everyone else had to build their houses outside the city walls. They would flee into the walls only in the case of the approach of invaders. Often the sections outside the walls became so much a part of the city that walls had to be extended around them for their protection. Hazor enlarged it's walls so that, eventually, the city grew to over 200 acres!

Inside the walled fortress, space was at a premium. There would be little open space for public assembly and market activity. Any open space in the city could usually be found in front of important buildings, such as the City Hall, or near the gate. (Hezekiah had marshaled his troops in an open place near the East Gate when hostile armies lurked about.)

The majority lived in small, unwalled villages. These towns had more space than cities, as they were not "incarcerated" within city walls. The people in the towns farmed the surrounding land and, on occasion, took their produce to the Bazaar.

In the town of Shechem, houses were built much like that found elsewhere in Judah. Lacking any substantial timber supply, they constructed their houses of stone and mud-plaster. The entrance . . . led to an open courtyard, which served, among other things, as an open-air kitchen. Flanking the courtyard were two rooms with cobblestone floors for the family's domestic animals and two slightly smaller rooms for the family. Across the back of the house . . . stretched a living room, six by twenty-one feet. Timber ceiling beams supported a second floor, reached by a ladder and probably used for sleeping. Another ladder allowed the family to go up onto the roof, where the family kept large jars n which were stored grain and oil. In the summer, families could sleep on the roof to catch a welcome breeze. All the houses were of uniform size and layout.^*

The entrance into a house usually led into an alleyway, and often stairs on the outside of the house led to the roof. If the house sat next to a city wall, the stairs would be built against the wall.

Sanitary conditions were very unhealthy. Homes had poor ventilation. Odors from decayed food and feces coupled with the heat, made it possible for the bacteria to grow and spread disease. People often burned frankincense and other sweet-smelling substances to keep down the offending odors and drive away insects.

Dung and other waste often found its way into the streets, and civil servants made a living collecting it and disposing of it into a communal dung heap--usually outside the city. Houses of wealthier people had stone-lined drainage systems for sewage and excess rain water.

The higher class usually lived in the western part of town. This allowed them to catch the breeze, and to let the wind carry their smoke and odors away. But these wafted over the rest of town, polluting the air even more. Western houses were also much larger and built of better materials than those of the poor. They had pillars with stone foundations, and a few window openings. A central courtyard contained the oven and cooking storage jars, and often became a gathering area for family and friends.

Since space was so precious, streets were no more than narrow paths between buildings, sometimes ending in blind alleys. They were often choked with traffic, carts, booths, and accumulated garbage.

At the Bazaars in Jerusalem, Lachish, Megiddo, and Hazor people could buy all kinds of things. Most farm families tried to visit them at least once or twice a year.

Families enjoyed a number of yearly holidays. The people ate the Passover meal at home. This supper helped them remember the time when the destroying angel killed all the first-born in Egypt, but passed over the families of Israel. Passover took place on the evening of Nisan 14, at the beginning of barley harvest.

Men had to visit Jerusalem three times a year to celebrate important religious holidays. The Feast of Unleavened Bread began on the morning after Passover and lasted for a full week. The Feast of Weeks, often called Pentecost, began fifty days later at the beginning of wheat harvest. The Feast of Tabernacles, in the middle of the 7th month, took place at the close of the olive and fruit harvest, and became a festive occasion in Jerusalem. People used tree limbs and other materials to make "tents"--tabernacles--in which to stay for the holiday. It reminded them of the 40 years that Israel lived in tents while they wandered in the wilderness.

These feasts often became family affairs, filled with camping, good food, and Temple services. They allowed children and adults to make new friends from other places in Judah. They also allowed the entire family to learn from the Levites who taught them about the law.

"I like going to Jerusalem," a girl told her mother as they walked toward home. "There are so many things to do, and other children to play with."

"Yes," replied her mother, smiling. "And I learned a lot more about how important it is to be faithful to Yahweh."

"That's right," put in Papa. "When they sacrificed the lamb, I couldn't help but think that the poor creature died for my sins."

"But doesn't the lamb represent the coming Messiah?" asked their teenage son.

"Yes."

"Will Messiah die for our sins?"

"I don't know, but perhaps your right about that, son." The man seemed puzzled. "It doesn't make sense to me, but . . . I guess God's ways are beyond our understanding."

"That's true," replied Mother. "So very true."

^* This section was based on information taken from the Reader's Digest Atlas of the Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the Holy Land. Editor: Joseph L. Gardner; (Reader's Digest Association, Inc., Pleasantville, NY/Montreal) Copyright 1981. p. 134