Everyday Life in Ancient Israel

Overview

Life in Ancient Israel: Beyond Palaces and Temples

What was it like to wake up, work, worship, and raise a family in ancient Israel? In this immersive four-part course, Dr. Cynthia Shafer-Elliott—archaeologist, biblical scholar, and expert on household archaeology—takes you beyond the palaces and temples to uncover the daily rhythms of ordinary people living in Iron Age Israel.

Drawing on decades of excavation experience, Dr. Shafer-Elliott brings the archaeological record into conversation with the biblical text. You’ll explore the concept of the “tell,” the layers of life hidden beneath the soil, and the tools archaeologists use to uncover ancient homes, tools, shrines, and foodways. Through artifacts, architecture, and real-life examples from fieldwork, you’ll come to see the Old Testament not as a remote, abstract world but as something tangible—rooted in soil, sweat, family, and faith.

Each session focuses on a key aspect of daily life: household structure, food production, domestic religion, and social dynamics. The result is a vivid, textured understanding of how ancient Israelites lived—and how that context can deepen our reading of Scripture today.

What You'll Learn

• The foundational principles of field archaeology and how archaeologists identify and excavate ancient tells.
• How stratigraphy and material culture help reconstruct the lives of ordinary people in ancient Israel.
• The distinction between monumental and mundane in biblical and archaeological records—and why daily life matters.
• What an ancient Israelite household looked like, who lived in it, and what everyday life entailed.
• How food was grown, prepared, and consumed—and how it reflected identity, gender roles, and theology.
• Insights into domestic religion, including the use of figurines and household shrines in spiritual practice.
• How skeletal remains, animal bones, and organic residues contribute to our understanding of ancient health, economy, and belief.
• Ways that archaeology and biblical studies can work together to illuminate the historical and cultural world behind the biblical text.