The Trowel and the Truth: A Guide to Field Archaeology in the Holy Land

by Scott Stripling

The four-room house reflects the biblical concept of mišpāḥâ, the father’s house or the extended family dwelling (cf. Judges and Samuel). The four-room house may mirror the special arrangements of the tents in which the Israelites lived for forty years.53 While scholars remain divided on whether early houses reflected special arrangements carried over from nomadic living, the theory merits consideration. If the hypothesis proves true, the layout of the four-room house, which appears similar to that of the tabernacle and later the temple, may reflect an anthropological progression from tent dwelling nomads to a stable and settled people. Yahweh, the god of the Israelites, moved from a tent (tabernacle) to a building (temple) with the same layout. The Israelites possibly built their houses on the same basic floor plan so that each family’s home was seen as a temple to Yahweh. Figure 6.1 shows the standard floor plan. Two rooms flank the central courtyard, and a broad room spans the back of the residence. Recreated four-room houses are on display at Tell el-ʿUmayri, the Harvard Semitic Museum at Cambridge, and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.