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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comJamieson Fausset Brown Commentary - Deuteronomy 22:8 - 22:8
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thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence - The tops of houses in ancient Judea, as in the East still, were flat, being composed of branches or twigs laid across large beams, and covered with a cement of clay or strong plaster. They were surrounded by a parapet breast high. In summer the roof is a favorite resort for coolness, and accidents would frequently happen from persons incautiously approaching the edge and falling into the street or court; hence it was a wise and prudent precaution in the Jewish legislator to provide that a stone balustrade or timber railing round the roof should form an essential part of every new house.