CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST
February 15, 2009
25424 Aldine-Westfield, Spring, TX. 77373
www.geocities.com/adon77373/cypresswoodbulletin.htm
www.cypresswoodchurchofchrist.com
KEEP IN YOUR PRAYERS THE FOLLOWING:
God’s will for our congregation Various friends, relatives and co-workers
Our leaders, nation, and military Missionaries
BUSINESS SIGNS AND GRAFFITI
“He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea” (Acts 10:6).
Have you ever wondered how Simon was known in Joppa? Was it by word of mouth? Did he have a sign over his house, or next to it, that he was a tanner? How many houses were by the sea? Did the servants of Cornelius have to ask when they got there? Was his place of business out of his house or in another location?
“Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street…” (Acts 9:11). This was in Damascus. Most local people know where streets are in their neighborhoods and basic travels. But what if Straight Street was across town? Was there some markings that indicated that it was Straight Street and not another street?
In a vacation Bible school I was involved with, we decided to have a market area like one would find in Jerusalem. People would be dressed up as citizens of the first century. We would have an area for cooking, and other areas where we would show various activities that could include wood work, pottery, etc. I suggested that we put up signs for the businesses and for the streets. I was told that we could not do that because the Bible didn’t mention such things.
Ten years ago most people would have agreed with the above and let it slide as I did. The common consensus is that only about ten to fifteen percent of the people of the ancient world were able to read and write. The New Testament scholar, Ben Witherington, has stated this as recently as last year. However, new information has caused him to take another look at this view.
In recent papers presented at the Society for Biblical Literature, new information has come to light that signs and graffiti were more prominent than once thought and that while many people might not have been able to write, more could read than had been thought by scholars. Two basic types of signs or graffiti have been found (1). The first type are advertisements for politicians or for various sorts of businesses, often for the sex trade or for the sale of property. There is nothing new under the sun, is there? We here complaints about billboards and what is on them, and politicians attempting to regulate them today. One wonders what they did back then? And politicians have not changed in two thousand years either. They found some ten thousand political ads in Pompeii alone! These were often chiseled into stone. At least our elections end and wait a few days before starting again. Okay, that is a little cynical.
Then there were official and public writings, inscriptions on tombstones, columns, and walls, and writings on pottery such as “made by Publius.” Today we just nationalize a lot of this: made in China, made in Japan, made in the USA. A fellow named Erastus was the director of public works in Corinth. An inscription was found in a road with this fellow’s name on it indicating that he was involved in the building of the road (2). It reads “Erastus in return for his audileship laid [the pavement] at his own expense” (3). We name roads and buildings after politicians as well. Surprised? One scholar thinks that this boom in inscriptions began at the beginning of the Empire under Augustus as a propaganda tool to benefit Rome.
We today have complained about ads on television, billboards and papers for years. The ads in the ancient world were pretty specific, especially in advertising for sex. Of course, some of these were found just off the dock area of cities known for their prostitution. There were ads for real estate that included high rise apartments (4). There were also ads for villas and baths. Various items were for sale such as drawings of vases and wine. Political ads were often painted in bright colors on white washed walls. There were also ads for the gladiatorial games.
The second group of graffiti and signs related to religion. According to Witherington, one can learn much about Greek and Roman theology, about the afterlife from grave art and epitaphs. Christian signs and graffiti have also been found. In Smyrna, in a public building or hall, walls were covered with graffiti that included sex, love, civic pride, politics, and religion all mixed together. In the midst of it, one scholar found “LOGOS ONOMA” which means “The Name of the Word” and “KYRIOS” which means “Lord.” Another inscription found had this: “the one who has given the Spirit.” Some of these that included numbers could be used as codes for the insiders, Christians who faced persecution from the Romans. They could draw attention to the fact that their were fellow believers meeting in the town. “The finding of the Christian graffiti in Izmir (Smyrna) can only be called very significant, as it confirms both the presence of Christians there early on, and their need to communicate in code.”
It appears that many more people could read than was once thought. While writing required a special skill and training, reading was much easier. With the massive amount of ads found in certain places, citizens and travelers appeared to be able to read so as to find things, good or bad. So when we read about Straight Street and a tanner or carpenter, maybe an ad or two and a sign were used to locate these things. In more peaceful times, maybe a church advertised just like we do today. It certainly gives us a better perspective of the first century world.
George B. Mearns
(1) Material for this articles comes from Ben Witherington, Graffiti at the SBL!, http://benwitherington.blogspot.com 12/16/08. All quotes from this article.
(2) See Romans 16:23-24.
(3) An aedile is an elected official.
(4) Rodney Stark mentions these apartments in his book, Cities of God, often made of wood, with little ventilation, and dangerous, for once they caught fire, it spread rapidly. We only have to think of an apartment complex today.