Houses in the Bible

• Houses of stone, with cedar beams and fir raftersAmos 5:11, Song 1:17
  The verses

  Amos 5:11Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact from him a tax of grain, you will never live in the stone houses you have built; you will never drink the wine from the lush vineyards you have planted.

  Song 1:17The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are fragrant firs.
• Walls were plastered with mortarLev 14:42, Dan 5:5
  The verses

  Lev 14:42So different stones must be obtained to replace the contaminated ones, as well as additional mortar to replaster the house.

  Dan 5:5At that moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. As the king watched the hand that was writing,
• Foundations of large, costly stones ten and eight cubits long1 Kgs 7:9–10
  The verses

  1 Kgs 7:9–10All these buildings were constructed with costly stones, cut to size and trimmed with saws inside and out from the foundation to the eaves, and from the outside to the great courtyard. The foundations were laid with large, costly stones, some ten cubits long and some eight cubits long.
• Solomon takes thirteen years to build his palace1 Kgs 7:1
  The verses

  1 Kgs 7:1Solomon, however, took thirteen years to complete the construction of his entire palace.
• David lives in a house of cedar2 Sam 7:2
  The verses

  2 Sam 7:2he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”
• Paneled housesHag 1:4
  The verses

  Hag 1:4“Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?”
• Rahab’s house is built into the city wallJosh 2:15
  The verses

  Josh 2:15Then Rahab let them down by a rope through the window, since the house where she lived was built into the wall of the city.
• Churches met in the houses of believersActs 12:12, Rom 16:5, Col 4:15, Phlm 1:2
  The verses

  Acts 12:12And when he had realized this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered together and were praying.

  Rom 16:5Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my beloved Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.

  Col 4:15Greet the brothers in Laodicea, as well as Nympha and the church that meets at her house.

  Phlm 1:2to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets at your house:

Roofs

• Rahab hides the spies under flax laid out on her roofJosh 2:6
  The verses

  Josh 2:6(But Rahab had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had laid out there.)
• Samuel talks with Saul on the roof, and Saul sleeps there1 Sam 9:25–26
  The verses

  1 Sam 9:25–26And after they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof of his house. They got up early in the morning, and just before dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get ready, and I will send you on your way!” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went outside together.
• David strolls on the palace roof in the evening2 Sam 11:2
  The verses

  2 Sam 11:2One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.
• Booths are built on rooftops and in courtyards for the feastNeh 8:16
  The verses

  Neh 8:16And the people went out, brought back branches, and made booths on their own rooftops, in their courtyards, in the court of the house of God, and in the squares by the Water Gate and by the Gate of Ephraim.
• About three thousand people on the roof of the Philistine templeJudg 16:27
  The verses

  Judg 16:27Now the temple was full of men and women; all the lords of the Philistines were there, and about three thousand men and women were on the roof watching Samson entertain them.
• Friends open the roof and lower a paralyzed man through the tilesMark 2:4, Luke 5:19
  The verses

  Mark 2:4Since they were unable to get to Jesus through the crowd, they uncovered the roof above Him, made an opening, and lowered the paralytic on his mat.

  Luke 5:19but they could not find a way through the crowd. So they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
• Whispers in inner rooms are proclaimed from the housetopsLuke 12:3
  The verses

  Luke 12:3What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.

Rooms, doors and windows

• King Eglon sits alone in his cool upper roomJudg 3:20
  The verses

  Judg 3:20Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in the coolness of his upper room. “I have a word from God for you,” Ehud said, and the king rose from his seat.
• Elijah stays in the upper room of the widow’s house1 Kgs 17:19
  The verses

  1 Kgs 17:19But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.
• A large upper room, furnished and ready for the PassoverMark 14:14–15
  The verses

  Mark 14:14–15and whichever house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is My guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”
• Joseph goes to a private room to weepGen 43:30
  The verses

  Gen 43:30Joseph hurried out because he was moved to tears for his brother, and he went to a private room to weep.
• Ahaziah falls through the lattice of his upper room2 Kgs 1:2
  The verses

  2 Kgs 1:2Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers and instructed them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury.”
• Sisera’s mother looks through the window latticeJudg 5:28
  The verses

  Judg 5:28Sisera’s mother looked through the window; she peered through the lattice and lamented: ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? What has delayed the clatter of his chariots?’
• Eutychus falls asleep in a window and falls from the third storyActs 20:9
  The verses

  Acts 20:9And a certain young man named Eutychus, seated in the window, was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell from the third story and was picked up dead.

In the Law

• A new house needs a railing around its roofDeut 22:8
  The verses

  Deut 22:8If you build a new house, you are to construct a railing around your roof, so that you do not bring bloodguilt on your house if someone falls from it.
• Words of the Law written on doorposts and gatesDeut 6:9
  The verses

  Deut 6:9Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.
• Mildew in a house: stones replaced and walls scraped and replasteredLev 14:40–45
  The verses

  Lev 14:40–45he must order that the contaminated stones be pulled out and thrown into an unclean place outside the city. And he shall have the inside of the house scraped completely and the plaster that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the city. So different stones must be obtained to replace the contaminated ones, as well as additional mortar to replaster the house. If the mildew reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house has been scraped and replastered, the priest must come and inspect it. If the mildew has spread in the house, it is a destructive mildew; the house is unclean. It must be torn down with its stones, its timbers, and all its plaster, and taken outside the city to an unclean place.
• A house sold in a walled city could be bought back within a yearLev 25:29–30
  The verses

  Lev 25:29–30If a man sells a house in a walled city, he retains his right of redemption until a full year after its sale; during that year it may be redeemed. If it is not redeemed by the end of a full year, then the house in the walled city is permanently transferred to its buyer and his descendants. It is not to be released in the Jubilee.
• Houses in unwalled villages return to their owners in the JubileeLev 25:31
  The verses

  Lev 25:31But houses in villages with no walls around them are to be considered as open fields. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee.
• A man with a new house not yet dedicated is sent home from warDeut 20:5
  The verses

  Deut 20:5Furthermore, the officers are to address the army, saying, “Has any man built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him return home, or he may die in battle and another man dedicate it.

Sayings

• A wise man builds his house on the rock (a parable)Matt 7:24–27, Luke 6:48
  The verses

  Matt 7:24–27Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its collapse!”

  Luke 6:48He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
• By wisdom a house is builtProv 24:3
  The verses

  Prov 24:3By wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established;
• Every wise woman builds her houseProv 14:1
  The verses

  Prov 14:1Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.