085. The House Top

The House Top

(Matthew 24:17) The homes in the East with their flat roofs offer a place of quiet, such as you find nowhere else. There is often an upper room on the roof reached only by an outside staircase. In a large well-to-do home these upper rooms would be the most spacious of the home, and the most suitable as guest chambers. At a great feast like the Passover many guests could be accommodated. As the natives do not remove their clothing at night, they do not need much privacy, and a large number of strangers would see nothing unusual in occupying a room in common.