Life in Bible Days

I had a dream.

The year was 3,000 B.C. (so said the calendar on the wall.) It was my third day in Tel-Aven, a suburb of Jericho, and I was going to town.

As I walked to the marketplace, it seemed a little odd that everybody I saw wore bathrobes and carried sticks. Most of the older men had beards, yet somehow the hair didn't seem natural. One fellow, who called himself Bob, (a strange name for a sheepherder), said his wife bought his beard at a flea market.

The women were barefoot-every last one of them. But the strange thing was, there was no dirt on their feet. . .another mystery.

I continued on. Looking around, I was amazed by all the sheep and horses grazing. They were quietly nibbling, never making any noise, not so much as a bleat.

And everybody was mellow. . .like it was the day after a really wild party kind of mellow. You would think that being a middle-eastern country, everyone's skin would be dark. . .or at least olive-skinned.

Not so. All the Tel-Avenites looked like natives from some future society where everyone's skin is white. . .scandinavian white.

An angel showed up. Apparently, they were more common in 3,000 B.C. I knew it was an angel because he was wearing a white toga with a golden sash and had a halo around his head.

"Hark!" he cried. (Another giveaway. . .nobody else ever said hark, except angels).

"Who hast given thou permission to tread upon the land of Aven?"

"Nobody really," I replied. "Actually, I'm just dreaming."

Then, like the vanishing hitchhiker, the angel disappeared.

Did I mention how incredibly quiet everything was? No planes, trains, or automobiles. No cell phones, computers, timers, buzzers, microwaves. A lot less people. The only music people played were these quirky little tunes on small harps and flutes. Long drawn out music too. . .reminded me vaguely of an opera.

It was funny seeing women wearing no make-up. For reasons I am unable to explain, some of the guys put this dark make-up stuff on their faces. . .like tanning cream. . .but only on their faces. Then they went around looking more somber than usual.

At this time I woke up.

"Was this really how people lived back then?"