Old Testament Culture Report

 The Israelite contemporaries viewed the world as a big disk, with mountains circling it that held in the seas and held up the sky. The sun went around the disk, going underneath it into the underworld at night and coming over the world at day. 

Abraham likely led a very lonely life. The pastures and water that he required for his flocks would not be along any trade routes or major cities. News from the outside world would come very rarely from occasional travelers. His conversations with God were decades apart. 

Villages in the Ancient East were tiny. A village usually consisted of only three acres, with 100 people crammed onto each acre. A clan usually all lived in the same building. Houses were usually two floors, the lower floor being used for storage and the upper floor being used for living in.