3. VILLAGE LIFEIf the Hellenistic cities are disregarded, the distinction between towns andvillages in the Palestine of the 30's was minimal. Both town and village life willbe understood here under "village life." What defines the ambience of villagelife? In the first place, status and profession. In Palestine, the agriculturalpopulation was predominant, so that their daily schedule and seasonal workdetermined the divisions of hour and time. Commercial life, very different fromthat of today, deserves a special mention. We provide some details of themeasures, weights and monetary values then in force. The important scenes ofvillage life are the busyness at the gate, Jewish manners, and the service in thesynagogue.The inhabitants of Palestine can be divided in two groups: one with fixeddwelling, and one which lived in tents. The first comprises farmers, who formthe greater part, and following them, sheep and goat keepers, craftsmen andmerchants, thus no houses or farms were built in the open fields. Instead, therewere small houses, built close together in villages, preferably with water in thecentre or on the edge. Higher lying land was chosen where possible. That wassafer and cooler.A. CLASSES AND PROFESSIONSIt is natural for men to work, and work is respected (Gn.2:15; Pr.10:4; 22:29).God Himself did work in the creation. He brought the work to completion.Work is a punishment for sin, and a tiring feature of the human condition(Gn.3:17ff; 2 Th.3:10ff). Even for those awaiting the last judgement, work is partof a regulated life. Paul speaks frequently of work: he himself worked as atentmaker or leather-worker, to earn his keep while preaching the Gospel(Ac.18:3). Jesus identified His work, especially that of healing on the sabbath,with that of God. The law protects the salaries of workers (Lv.19:13, Dt.21:14f).The obligation to "eat bread in the sweat of your face," imposed on the firstman as a punishment for sin, was reinforced by the Jewish law. The Jewishtradition...