Description
Houses in biblical times had flat roofs. These were often surrounded by a low wall or parapet (see Parapet, retaining wall) that prevented people or objects from falling off. They were made of a base of heavy wooden beams. These were overlaid with branches or grass, which was then covered with dirt, sometimes mixed with lime or stone. The dirt was pounded flat or rolled down with a heavy stone roller. The roof was normally reached by outside stairs along a wall of the house. See the illustrations at House, permanent dwelling and Crossbeam, rafter.
Usage
The roof of the house served several purposes. Certain produce was dried there in the sun. In the evening people sometimes sat on the roof in order to enjoy the cool breeze at the end of a hot day. The roof could also serve as a storage area. It was much more commonly the focus of activity than is true in many cultures today.
Translation
In view of the various types of activities described as taking place on the housetop, it may be important in some languages to indicate, either in the text or in a marginal note, the fact that such housetops were flat and that there was usually easy access to the roof. This will be especially true for JOS 2:6; JOS 2:8; JDG 16:27; 2SA 11:2; 2SA 16:22; JER 19:13; JER 32:29; MAT 24:17; MRK 13:15; LUK 17:31; ACT 10:9.
Where the normal term for “roof” suggests a pitched roof, the expression will have to be adjusted with a descriptive phrase, such as “top of the house” or “flat house top.”
GEN 19:8: At the end of this verse the literal expression “they have come under the shadow of my roof beam” will probably not be understood. As Lot’s guests, the men are under his protection. Even the rendering “they have come under the shelter [or, protection] of my roof” (so RSV) may not be clear or convey the full significance in some languages. The short Hebrew phrase here is expanded by GNT to “they are guests in my house, and I must protect them.”
Several Old Testament verses speak of grass growing on the housetop. To make this understandable, it may be necessary to explain in a footnote how roofs were constructed. Three Old Testament passages compare human beings to “grass on the housetops” (2KI 19:26; PSA 129:6; ISA 37:27). The basis of comparison is the fleeting, transitory character of the life of the people involved. In many cultures, however, grass is used as a roofing material, and it is precisely the grass that has lived long and grown strong that is selected for such thatch. In those languages where a literal rendering would present difficulties to certain readers, the translator should try to find a more natural figure of speech without the word “housetop” in it; for example, “grass in the gutters” or “grass growing in the walls.”
MAT 10:27; LUK 12:3: The phrase “proclaim from the housetops” (NJB in MAT 10:27) is an idiom meaning “proclaim publicly.” Compare the following model in A Handbook on The Gospel of Matthew: “you must announce to all the world” (page 306).
For more discussion on how to translate the words “roof” and “housetop,” see John Ellington’s article “Up on the Housetop.”