What was it like during biblical times? How authentic was the movie Jesus of Nazareth in depicting that era?

Question

I'm interested in learning about that era in particular. Do you know of a relevant website?

Jesus of Nazareth the movie depicts people of that era as literate, relatively advanced and living in houses.

How could it be? The Native Americans at 1500 AC were still living in tents, while Jews at 40 AC were living in houses?

Answer 1

What was life like during Biblical times?

"Mean, nasty, brutish, and short".

Answer 2

At this time the Jews mostly lived in houses, although sheepherding was still popular and shepherds sometimes live in tents or shelters for a season.

Every movie I've seen of the period ignores the fact that the Jews were polygamous (they didn't become monogamous until nearly a thousand years later).  They were fairly literate, though it's unlikely that many women were.

It's difficult to make cross cultural comparisons - some Native Americans in 1500 AC lived in tents but others lived in longhouses, adobe houses, and houses made of wattle and daub.

Answer 3

The movie, probably the best ever made about Jesus and his life, is quite accurate.  You're comparing different cultures.  The Chinese, for instance, have been living in "houses" for over 4 thousand years; there are still Pacific Ocean Islanders and South American rain forrest indiands who live in grass huts to this day.

Answer 4

First, I just want to make clear that Native Americans were not living in "tents."  As a matter of fact some tribes from way before the contact period had extremely complex civilizations on the same levels of the ancient Greeks and Romans (Aztecs, Mayans, etc.)  with all the "houses", temples and similar infratructures.  Second, biblical times span thousands of years, so are we talking about Old Testament, New Testament or Revelations.  Also, remember, in the New Testament, the Romans were occupying Israel.  Alot of Jewish religious leaders kept their literacy secret.  But I think people do not give the ancients credit.  They were very advanced for their time.  Without any of the electronics and digital bombardment we have today (my response is case in point)  they had ample time to study and became very skilled and were encouraged to do so.  This is also an extremely loaded question that could go on for hours.  While I do not think any modern human can make an objective depiction of life in ancient  times, a better movie is "The Last Temptation of Christ."

Answer 5

The movie seems to be accurate for the era. I don't know of any websites but here's a couple books: "Handbook of Life in Bible Times" by JA Thompson, "The Bible Almanac" by JI Packer, Merrill C. Tenney & William White Jr. are helpful.

Answer 6

Try a different and fresh route to the subject, by starting with fresh types of readings, not the stale, staid, threadbare stuff...  

A very interesting book that you might find interesting:  

' Voices From Ancient Bethlehem... A Dialogue with Jesus and the Twelve Apostles ',

'Costs $19 on Amazon.com.