A Peek into Ancient Homes: The Unique Design of Israelite Dwellings

Balaam, the notorious sorcerer, envied the Israelites, remarking, "How goodly are your tents, Jacob." He couldn't grasp this culture of modesty, where tents or houses are built so doorways don't face each other. This desire for privacy isn't about showing off beautiful lamps or expensive furniture to everyone who passes by...

But did this tradition start only with the tents in the desert? What about the Israelites' homes in the Land of Israel? Or even before that, in Egypt?

Archaeologists digging through layers from the era of Israelite settlement have found a house style unlike any other in neighboring lands or other historical layers. Back then, there weren't schools for architecture or designers crafting different construction styles. Building was straightforward and functional, with known rules leading to common construction traits across regions. Differences arose mainly from the landscape: Egyptians built on sand, Babylonians lacked stones and thus used clay bricks, and so on.

Yet, the four-room house stands out. Its living quarters, located deep inside, are separated from the main entrance by a wall. Access to these areas is through an unroofed open space, like an inner "courtyard," ensuring complete privacy in the living quarters.

These houses are key identifiers of Israelite settlements, lacking pig remains—animals the Canaanites consumed abundantly but the Israelites did not. They also lack the pagan inscriptions and drawings found in other ancient cultures.

Researchers (perhaps inheriting Balaam’s skepticism) who disliked the notion of modesty attempted to offer various explanations for the Israelite construction technique, but those theories were dismissed as modern ideas incompatible with ancient realities. Notably, they fail to explain why only the Israelites adopted these concepts.

Recently, remains of similar houses were discovered in the Nile Delta area—what is likely the "Land of Goshen," inhabited by our ancestors. As the Nile flows from the Victoria Falls through major Egyptian cities, it splits into countless small streams before reaching the sea, creating a vast green pasture ideal for shepherding, as Joseph described to Pharaoh when he settled his brothers there. This separation shielded them from the corrupt Egyptian culture, allowing them to build homes that preserved Israelite modesty and tradition.