I do not believe anyone would question the fact that the Bible is an Eastern book. However, many may not realize just what that means when it comes to studying the Word of God in order to gain an understanding of the scriptures. In this article we look at the field of Orientalisms.
An orientalism is an Eastern way of thinking or an Eastern cultural expression that would have been very clear to those of the lands and times of the Bible. Since many people in the Western World (or Occident) do not know the various customs of the East, it may be difficult at times to understand the details of what the Word of God means. I trust that a few examples will help to clarify this for you.
The Bible declares in Isaiah 1:3,
“The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.”
In the East young boys are hired to tend the animals of a village. In the morning they take the animals to the grazing grounds and then in the evening the animals are brought back to the village. However, the boys only bring the animals back as far as the village entrance. From that point the animals find their own way back to their stalls (a crib is where donkeys are kept). Isaiah here was writing that even an animal knows where it belongs and yet Israel would not come back to God. The orientalism to the Eastern mind would be obvious but to those unfamiliar with the customs it may be somewhat strange.
The Bible discusses Eastern life and unless one understands Eastern life it is difficult to understand many things in the Bible. In Acts 10:9 we have,
“… Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour.”
This is one of many references made to being up on a roof top. In the East the houses have flat roofs and it is a very common thing to go and sit up there. During the summer months, many people sleep on their roofs. With this understanding it becomes very clear why Peter would go up on the roof to pray. It also becomes very clear why a man in another record (Luke 5:18) is lowered through the roof in order for Jesus Christ to heal him. This would all seem quite strange in the West.
In Isaiah 40:31 is a very familiar verse of scripture,
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles…”
In the East there is a certain kind of eagle which about every five years or so will go up to a very high altitude and then dive down into the water with the result that it loses all of its old, dirty feathers. It then “renews it strength” as it waits for the new feathers to grow. As we come to God we must wait upon Him (just like the eagle waits) in order to renew our strength. We must shed all the old reliance on ourselves and our own ways and walk according to the Word of God. This analogy of the eagle would have been very clear to the Eastern mind.
These are but a few examples to illustrate the wealth of understanding of God’s Word that is possible when we understand the field of Orientalisms.