Eva Herbst - Tales and Customs of the Ancient Hebrews

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or retransmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher.

This edition, first published in 2010 by Yesterday's Classics, an imprint of Yesterday's Classics, LLC, is an unabridged republication of the work originally published by A. Flanagan Company in 1903. This title is available in a print edition (ISBN 978-1-59915-292-9).

Yesterday's Classics republishes classic books for children from the golden age of children's literature, the era from 1880 to 1920. Many of our titles are offered in high-quality paperback editions, with text cast in modern easy-to-read type for today's readers. The illustrations from the original volumes are included except in those few cases where the quality of the original images is too low to make their reproduction feasible. Unless specified otherwise, color illustrations in the original volumes are rendered in black and white in our print editions.

T O-DAY, boys and girls, as we look about us, and see how we live and what we enjoy, let me tell you about some people who lived almost three thousand years ago. That seems a long, long time, as we look back, but there were many people on this earth as long ago as that. Some of these people were called Hebrews.

I am going to tell you how the Hebrews lived, and what some of them did. Now, you know, in all times men must have food to eat, and civilized people must have clothes to wear. So many of these people were shepherds and farmers. They raised thousands of sheep, to use the wool for clothing. There were no factories then, as there are now, and so the people themselves had to weave the cloth for their clothes.

The men who took care of the sheep were called shepherds. Among these shepherds could be found persons of every rank, from members of the king's family down to the poorest people. Even the daughters of the king sometimes tended the flocks. Each morning the shepherd led his sheep into the open pastures. At night he put them into a place surrounded by a fence. This place was called the fold. A rod was held up at the gate of the fold, and as the sheep passed under this they were counted, one by one. The shepherd led them to the wells to drink. These wells were dug in the ground. They were covered, so that no one but the shepherd who had dug them should know where they were. The brim of the well was underground, and steps led down to it. The shepherd drew the water from the well and poured it into troughs for the flock.

In the country where the Hebrews lived water was very scarce. There was a wet and a dry season. During the wet season, which was also the cold or winter season, wells were sometimes dug and filled with snow and water. They were then covered over until the next warm, dry season, or summer. In the cold, wet season, the flocks were taken down into the valleys, and in the warm, dry season they were led into the mountains. The sheep were kept in the open air, day and night. This made their wool so much finer.

Sometimes the shepherds lived in tents. Some of these tents were small and were supported by three poles. The larger ones had seven or even nine poles to hold them up. The tents were oblong. Over the poles was a covering of cloth, made of goat's hair. The tent was fastened to the ground by means of cords and pegs. The larger tents were often divided into three parts. The women and children had the inside room; next came the men, and in the outside room were the servants and the young animals.

These tents had no floors but the bare ground. Carpets and mats were laid down and on these the people sat, as they had no chairs. They had pots, kettles and cups made of brass, and bottles made of leather. In the middle of the tent a small hole was dug in the earth-floor. Around this three stones were placed to form a triangle. Here the fire was kindled and pots were placed over it, resting upon the stones. In this way their cooking was done.

In the tent-poles were driven nails, on which the people hung their clothing and their weapons. The shepherds took their tents with them, as they roved from place to place. They carried them folded and laid upon their camels, oxen or donkeys.

They also built tabernacles. The four sides of a tabernacle were made of branches of trees placed close together, upright in the ground. The branches were bound together at the top, and there was a covering of leaves and branches over this. Sometimes over this covering flat stones were laid. These tabernacles were a protection against the heat and cold.

What made the people think of making these tabernacles? Why, Mother Nature gave them this idea. They saw trees about them, with the heavy foliage meeting and overlapping, and so they made their places of shelter in the same manner.

There were robbers in those days, and, so that the sheep could be guarded, a watch-tower was built near the tent. Some of the shepherds owned thousands of sheep. They often had goats, also. Not only was the wool of the sheep of use to them, but they used the milk of both sheep and goats for food. At sheep-shearing time the people had a great feast.

The shepherds were not always men, for often young boys were sent out to take charge of the sheep. Now we shall hear of one of these Hebrew shepherd boys. His name was David. That was the only name by which he was called. He had been given this name when he was eight days old, for such was the Hebrew custom. David watched the sheep in the fields near the city of Bethlehem. Bethlehem is across the sea, in the Far East.

DAVID, THE SHEPHERD BOY

It would take us many weeks to travel to the beautiful country in which David lived. It was known for its fertile fields and rich pastures. Beautiful trees of many kinds grew there: among them were the palm, fir, cypress, fig, and olive. In the valley the air was fragrant with the sweet odor of flowers, which were everywhere to be seen.

David was a handsome boy, with bright eyes and long red hair. You would think his dress very queer if you could see him now. He wore a white garment of linen, called a tunic. It reached to his knees and was fastened around his waist with a leathern girdle. His arms, legs, and feet were bare. His head also was bare, and he carried in his hand a staff with a crook at the end. Hanging from his girdle was a shepherd's pouch, in which he carried food and other things. This pouch was made of kid's skin and had a strap fastened to each end.

DAVID'S POUCH AND GIRDLE

As David watched his sheep there, day after day, out in the open air, he grew to be a strong, healthy boy. He was fond of using his sling, and many and many a smooth pebble was thrown from it. But do not think he spent all of his spare time in this way. He was never idle, but tried in many ways to learn, and to improve himself. He was alone among his flock, with the blue sky above him and the olive trees, with their green branches, about on the hills. Around him were the high mountains. All this beauty of nature made David feel very happy. So he sang and played upon his harp (kinnor) , which he always carried with him, and many hours of the day were spent in this way.