Manners(courtesy, etiquette)
Summary
Customs of social behavior and courtesy practiced in ancient Near Eastern culture, with specific protocols for hosts, guests, and social interactions.
☩Obeisance and Greeting
Oriental custom required respectful gestures when meeting others. Abraham bowed to strangers at Mamre (Genesis 18:2). Lot prostrated himself before the angels at Sodom (Genesis 19:1). Such obeisance demonstrated honor and welcome, setting the tone for hospitable interaction.
☩Host and Guest Protocols
Hosts were expected to attend to guests personally. Abraham stood by while the three visitors ate, ready to serve (Genesis 18:8). Proper manners required guests to be given water for their feet, rest, and refreshment. The host's duty of protection was sacred—Lot offered to sacrifice his own daughters rather than violate hospitality to his guests.
☩Respect for Superiors and Elders
Deference to authority was fundamental. Rachel did not rise before her father because of her supposed condition (Genesis 31:35). Job recalled how young men 'saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up' (Job 29:8). The Law commanded: 'Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man' (Leviticus 19:32).
☩Rules for Guests
Wisdom literature provides guidance for guest behavior: 'When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite' (Proverbs 23:1-2). Paul advised: 'If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake' (1 Corinthians 10:27).
☩Christian Courtesy
Peter commands: 'Be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous' (1 Peter 3:8). Good manners in the Christian sense involve making others comfortable through considerate behavior. Pride, ill-nature, and lack of wisdom are the sources of poor manners, while humility and love produce genuine courtesy.
