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Understanding Orientalisms from the Bible

I found several explanations for some scriptures in the Bible. Feel free to post your thoughts about it. This will be a way to understand better the Eastern Culture and some words and phrases that we may not fully understand from the Bible.

Luke 11:11-13  

"If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

"Bread in the East is not like what you are familiar with in the western world. Each piece is round and flat, about the size of a dinner plate. It is very thin and is cooked on both sides. . . When the bread is done it is placed on a stone which is about the same size as the bread. Ordinarily there would be several Chappatis as we call the bread, in one stack. Then another stone would be placed on top to protect the bread. The women use ghee, which is like butter, in cooking the bread. Over a period of time the stones soak up the ghee and actually take on the appearance of the bread.
. . Obviously, any Eastern father would know the difference between the stone and the bread, and he would never give the stone when his son has asked for bread."

"There are all kinds of fish in Eastern waters, and there are many serpents which look like fish. One who is unfamiliar with the fish and the serpents could easily mistake one for the other. But the Eastern fisherman knows the difference and will throw out of the net all serpents or anything else that is not fit for human consumption. The father would not think of giving his son a serpent instead of a fish."

"The body of a scorpion looks like an egg. The white scorpion, especially, could be mistaken for an egg. And if one would cut open its body, the inside is white and yellow just like an egg. So, you see, it is conceivable
that a child would not know the difference. But his father knows, and the son has absolute confidence that he would not give anything that would harm him."

"The whole point is that Father knows best. . . There is also another lesson we can learn from this scripture: nothing that is harmful to us comes from God. He is more concerned about his children than earthly fathers are for theirs."  

From 'Orientalisms of the Bible' by K.C Pillai

Bible the Orientalisms Understanding

Matthew 17: 24-27

"And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not
your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee."

"In Western culture, the idea of finding money in the mouth of a fish is rather far-fetched, but not so in the East. Although neither Simon nor Jesus had money to pay the tribute, Jesus knew how and where to get it. In the middle east, there is a fish called Musht.
It is about 6 inches long and has a large head with a bag under its mouth. This fish will pick up shiny and sparkling items like gold coins and jewels from the bottom of a lake or river, and hold them in the bag. The Musht is very difficult to catch however. Some may fish in the waters for years and never catch one. Some men have become rich by hooking just one of them. It all depends on the blessing of God.

How do money and jewels end up in the water, you may ask. That is another eastern custom. Five times a day, on the hour, eastern people pray to God. Part of praying is also making an offering to God. In order to give an offering in secret, and not receive the praise of men, valuables are often thrown into the water. This is how the Musht gets the money in its mouth.

Peter was a fisherman, and he knew how difficult it was to catch such a fish. He had probably never caught one before in his life. Yet he did not doubt Jesus or make an argument. He went out with his hook and caught a fish. That fish was a Musht, and it had enough tribute money in its mouth for both him and Jesus."

From 'Orientalisms of the Bible' by K. C Pillai

Understanding Orientalisms from the Bible Revealed Bible The

Mark 10: 46 - 52

" And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they called the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith [believing] hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way."

In order to understand the importance of this record, we need to first understand the concept of 'beggar' in the East. A beggar would normally go to the back door of a house and ask for help in meeting his or her needs. This is how they would receive food and drink.
Most of the so-called beggars seen in public places are not there to beg for money or food. They usually have a physical challenge, such as being, blind, lame, or having a disease like leprosy. They have no hope of a cure from doctors, so they place their believing on a cure from God. So they go to public places to find a holy man of God who can heal them.

The last place someone may go for deliverance is just by the roadside. If a holy man passed by even his shadow may heal the sick and lame. This is where Bartimaeus was that day. He was not begging for bread, but for healing. There is nothing in the record to indicate that Bartimaeus was a poor man, but he was blind, and he wanted to see. Imagine how he felt when he heard that the famous Jesus of Nazareth was walking down that very road. That is why he cried out so loudly. He embarrassed some of those standing nearby, and they told him to be quiet, but he cried out all the louder. He knew that it was his time to be healed, and he wasn't going to let it pass. When Jesus stopped and called for him, Bartimaeus tossed aside his robe and went to him. The robe is a symbol of a man's status in the community, which is another indication that Bartimaeus was not a poor beggar. But he laid it aside when he went to Jesus, to show he was willing to lay aside his earthly status in order to be made whole. This is a lesson for every believer to this day, to lay aside earthly symbols and go to God with a believing heart. This is the lesson we learn from the 'beggars' in the bible.

We see similar records like Bartimaeus in the bible, and note that there are certain places people go to seek healing. One place to go is to holy waters:

John 5: 2, 3 -- Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

Here a man, sick for 38 years, found healing by Jesus Christ, and he didn't even have to go into the water! [Read
the rest of the record from verse 4 to 9].

Another place people go to be healed is the gate of the temple. There are always crowds of people about, and one
of them may be a holy man, like the record in Acts.

Acts 3: 1 - 7  Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour
[3:00 p.m.]. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms [ask for help] of them that entered into the temple. Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ancle bones received strength.