Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

HOUSEHOLD

The basic unit of social structure in the ancient world. The household was more extensive than in modern times and included not only immediate family but a wide spectrum of kinship groupings and retainers.

In Judaism as in gentile society, the household was the primary place for inculcation of traditional belief and morality, but in two important respects it differed. First, it was the primary means of maintaining the link between faith and ethnicity, and second, there was no distinction between the domestic and public spheres of religion. To recite the Shema was to acknowledge the sovereignty of the one Lord and to observe the commandment to teach this to one’s family (Deut. 6, 11). Likewise observance of Torah governed the pattern of life both within the household and in public (the preparation of food, whom one might marry, and the rhythm of work in relation to the sabbath and festivals). The patriarchal ethos of the household is reflected along gender lines in Ps. 127; 113:9 (cf. Matt. 7:9-10; Mark 6:24; Matt. 10:35-36 par.; 1 Tim. 2:15; 3:4; 5:14).

In the early Church the household continued to play a central role as the meeting place (Acts 2:46; 5:42; 1 Cor. 1:16; Phlm. 2; ; cf. Acts 16:15; 18:8) and as a self-descriptive metaphor, “the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10; cf. Eph. 2:19; 1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Pet. 4:17). That description can extend in its domestic imagery to stewardship (2 Tim. 2:20; cf. 2 Cor. 4:7). The metaphorical understanding of the Church as a household may in part derive from references to Israel as a house (Num. 12:7 [Heb. 3:2, 5]; Jer. 31:31 [Heb. 8:8, 10]; Amos 5:25-27 [Acts 7:42-43]; Amos 9:11 [Acts 15:16]). The household as the primary place for the expression of faith informs the Church’s recollection of Jesus’ sayings about family life and domestic settings “in the house” (e.g., Mark 10:2-31). For Jesus the kingdom of God takes precedence even over family loyalty (Mark 3:31-35; Matt. 10:37; Luke 14:26), but equally it is not a means to avoid the filial duty of honoring one’s parents (Mark 7:10; 10:19). The household, therefore, is both subject to and yet the context for the claims of discipleship. Indeed, the missionary pattern of the disciples (and in Luke the Seventy) in using the household as a base (Matt. 10:11 par.) would reinforce the household as a locus of evangelism (1 Cor. 7:12-16).

In the domestic code in 1 Pet. 3:1-6 the proportionate number of verses devoted to advice for wives is expressive of the delicate relationship in the patriarchal structure of the household brought about by the conversion of the wife. The Tables of Household Duty here and in Eph. 5:21–6:9; Col. 3:18–4:1 reflect the emerging Christian ethic within the household. The frequently occurring phrase “in the Lord” continues to serve as a reminder of the transcendent claims of the gospel. The sequencing of the pairs, e.g., wives-husbands, children-parents, slaves-masters, whereby the inferior is mentioned first, reflects a distinctive valuing of the example of service, no doubt aided by the particular “egalitarianism” of the Lord’s Prayer (“Our Father”; cf. Matt. 23:9-12). In such ways as these one may discern the influence which Christian faith was beginning to exert upon family life and the household.

Bibliography. D. L. Balch, Let Wives Be Submissive: The Domestic Code in 1 Peter. SBLMS 26 (Chico, 1981); J. F. Gardner and T. Wiedemann, eds., The Roman Household (London, 1991).

James Francis

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

HOUSEHOLD

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)