IT ALL COMES OUT IN THE WASH

History teaches us when we walk through the looking glass of time, we see faces much like our own.

It is the details of everyday life that differ. The type of house the family lived in – three bedrooms, two bath or one-room mudbrick with a courtyard housing a goat. The kind of music – streaming service or lyre. The kind of food – chips and dip or lentil stew and flatbread.

Bathing is an everyday occurrence to moderns, not so much, the ancients. Over time, innovations such as canals, pumps, and piped water to homes have changed how humans are able to wash themselves and their clothes.

One interesting point. In Old Testament times, it was a man’s job to wash the dishes. Or at least to dry them.  

2 Kings 21:13 ~ And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.

        

WASHING AND BATHING

Ahem. Back to washing in ancient times. Because I write biblical novels, I’m interested in many aspects of everyday life in biblical times. People washed themselves and their clothes for hygienic and ritual cleansing, using rivers and springs when they were available, lavers, jugs, and basins when they were not.

For example, Pharaoh’s daughter was bathing by the river when she discovered Moses (Exodus 2:5). King Ahab’s blood was washed from his chariot “near the pool where the prostitutes bathed" (1 Kings 22:38). Elisha told the leper Naaman to wash in the Jordan River seven times to be healed (2 Kings 5:10).

SOAP AND PERFUME

Sometimes soap is mentioned. “No amount of soap or lye can make you clean. I still see the stain of your guilt.”  (Jeremiah 2:22). According to Easton’s Bible Dictionary, the Hebrew word borith, often translated soap, refers to a cleansing agent made from ashes of wood or plants, particularly salsola kali (salt wort), abundant on the shores of the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean.

Hyssop, Hebrew ezov, is also mentioned in regard to cleansing, “Purge me with ezov and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow" (Psalm 51:7). Identified with Syrian Hyssop, the plant is popular as a spice or tea, with a pleasing fragrance.

Naomi encouraged Ruth to bathe and perfume herself before presenting herself to Boaz at the threshing floor. (Ruth 3:3).

FOOT WASHING

When full-body bathing was not possible, washing the hands, face, and feet could be accomplished with water, jug, and basin. Most people wore only sandals and their feet became dirty on the unpaved roads. It was customary for a person to wash his feet before entering his home. In a wealthy person’s home, a servant met guests at the door to perform this service.

Many are familiar with the story of Jesus acting as the servant and washing the feet of his disciples. This occurred during the Passover, when spring rains would have been falling and the streets of Jerusalem especially muddy. In this instance, Jesus humbly portrayed both physical and spiritual cleansing.

Geologists have uncovered many interesting artifacts related to washing in ancient times.

• A tenth-century BC tub in the sacred precinct at Tel Dan.
• Terra-cotta bathtubs from Philistine sites at Ashdod and Ekron.
• An 8th-century BC figurine of a woman bathing in a shallow tub from Achzib.
• Pottery basins for foot-washing at Samaria, Megiddo, and Lachish.

For further reading: 

Insights Into Bible Times and Customs, G. Christian Weiss

Daily Life in Biblical Times, Oded Borowski

Dictionary of Daily Life in Biblical & Post-Biblical Antiquity, Yamauchi & Wilson

Plants of the Bible, Michael Zohary

RAIN ~ Whispers in the Wind Book 1

Aban yearns to join the priesthood of Ba'al, unlock the power of the rain god, and hear the deity's voice. But first, he must survive a perilous initiation ceremony. 

When the mysterious prophet Elijah interrupts the rites, overturns the idol, and curses the land with drought, Aban must choose a side in Yahweh's war against the Ba'als - and it may cost him his life.

Book 2, working title WHIRLWIND, coming February 2023.

Dana McNeely dreamed of living in a world teeming with adventure, danger, and romance, but she had a problem—she also needed a lot of peace and quiet. She learned to visit that dream world by stepping into a book.

Inspired by the Bible stories of Elijah, Dana wondered about the widow of Zarephath and her son. Who were they? What was their life, before? How did the boy change after he died, saw the other world—and came back?

Those questions led to Dana writing RAIN, in which she built her dream world of adventure, danger, and romance. Peace and quiet, however, have remained elusive.

No stranger to drought, Dana lives in an Arizona oasis with her hubby the constant gardener, two good dogs, an antisocial cat, and migrating butterflies.

Learn more about Dana and her books at her website: DanaMcNeely.com 

Where Did Soap Come From?

We take beautiful handmade and even manufactured store-bought soap, in all it’s shapes and fragrances, for granted. But where did it come from?

Although scholars believe that soap was first made in ancient Mesopotamia, I like to think that perhaps even when Adam and Eve offered sacrifices to God and put out the fire after, that water poured over the ashes mixed with fat and they somehow noticed what was left was a good cleaning substance. Who knows? 

Pears' Soap ad, 1886, {PD}
Wikimedia Commons

There is evidence from 2500 BC that soap was made in ancient Babylonia. Vessels containing the substance, along with a recipe were found in that area. But legend has it that soap came from ancient Rome when sacrifices were offered at the top of Mt. Sapo and the ashes and fat from the pagan sacrifices flowed down the mountain and into the Tiber River where women washed their clothes. The women found that where the substances mixed washing their clothes became easier and the idea of soap was born and named Sapia after Mt. Sapo. 

The ancient Egyptians also used a soap-like substance for bathing on a regular basis, while the Romans only used it to treat skin conditions and apparently—laundry. 

Ivory Soap wrapper, circa 1800s, [cc]
Wikimedia Commons

Sadly, once the Roman Empire fell, the use of soap regularly somehow fell out of favor. For hundreds of years, people of the European continent lived in filth and endured plagues. Then, soap making began in earnest in England in the 16th century. Queen Elizabeth I is said to have bathed every four weeks whether she needed it or not. Unfortunately, soap making was heavily taxed and manufactured soap was available only to the well-to-do. It wasn't until the mid-nineteenth century that this tax was lifted.

In the 7th century they made soap from beech tree ashes and tallow from goats. The French began creating soap using olive oil as the fat portion. During the reign of King Louis the XIV, in 1688, the recipe of this "Marseilles" soap was officially recognized. Fragrances were later added and these soaps were enjoyed by the royals. 

Castile Soap

• CC BY-SA 3.0, 2013, Wikimedia Commons

Then, in the late 18th century, the French chemist, Nicolas Leblanc figured out how to make an alkali from common salt, called soda ash. Since alkalis were important to the manufacturing of not only soap, but many other items, this chemical process was a critical discovery. 

1922 soap ad, {PD} Wikimedia Commons

In the 19th century United States, rural homemakers still utilized a process used by Colonial settlers. Leeching lye from ash water and determining the correct strength was a long process for the soap-maker. Ashes had to be collected for months from wood fires. They were placed in a barrel on top of a filter made from natural materials and rain water was poured over the ashes and the liquid was drained from a hole in the barrel and collected. Lye was considered the right strength when a feather placed in it began to dissolve! When the hogs were butchered, leftover fat was used to combine with the lye to make soap.

During that century milder soaps were made and a clear division began between harsher laundry soaps and bathing soaps. And Louis Pasteur suggested that washing with soap with prevent the spread of germs.

Marseilles soap

CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.or

During the Great War, soap was in high demand for cleaning wounds and caring for victims of the war, but the natural supplies weren’t available en masse. This led to German scientists creating the first synthetic ingredients to use in creating soap. After World War I and until the 1930s, soap was manufactured in a hot process called kettle boiling in huge vats. By the 1930s, synthetic ingredients were used to create laundry detergent by the Tide company. 

Much of today’s soap comes from synthetic ingredients, though they may contain added natural ingredients such as aloe or vitamin E oil. They are often made through a cold process method developed by Proctor and Gamble rather than the hot method. Thankfully there is a current resurgence in natural, handmade soaps that can often be found in the health food store or your local farmer’s market. 

• A collection of decorative soaps, {PD}, 2006
•                Wikimedia Commons

I only scratched a little lather off the the topic of the history of soap, but now I have a better idea of the intensive process and work needed to make this substance that helps us stay clean. Next time I wash my hands or take a shower I can be thankful for the wonderful variety of soaps available so readily to me today, especially with having sensitive skin!

Kathleen Rouser is the award-winning author of Rumors and Promises, her first novel about the people of fictional Stone Creek, Michigan, and its sequel, Secrets and Wishes. She is a longtime member in good standing of American Christian Fiction Writers. Kathleen has loved making up stories since she was a little girl and wanted to be a writer before she could even read. She longs to create characters who resonate with readers and realize the need for a transforming Savior in their everyday lives. She lives in Michigan with her hero and husband of 30-some years. Connect with Kathleen on her website at kathleenrouser.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kathleenerouser/, and on Twitter @KathleenRouser.

The Versatility of Goats

So, let’s talk goats. I have a friend who raises goats, and she makes all kinds of goat cheeses, goat’s milk ice cream (it’s SO good!), soaps, and lotions. The heroine of my latest novel set in the 1790s Mississippi territory has a small herd of goats, so I decided to research the various by-products that can be produced from goats.

Obviously, milk is the first thing that comes to mind. We’re used to pasteurized milk these days, but back in the 18^th century, there were a lot fewer steps from milking to table. Milk the goat (or cow), strain the milk through a cheesecloth and drink. That was pretty much the entire process. They could keep milk cool in a crock in a root cellar or in a creek to make it last a bit longer, but if they weren’t going to drink it all before it spoiled, they made cheese, butter, and soap.

While goat’s milk cheese can be quite strong for some, I imagine our ancestors were quite used to strong cheese. Check out this cool video from The Townsend’s:  



I’d venture to say that a family with goats would make goat’s milk soap. I was surprised to find that making soap doesn’t require some magic ingredient or special containers. All you need is animal fat/grease—or vegetable/plant oil, water and ashes. And women in the past would have learned at an early age how to save their ashes and leach them to get lye. 

The primary ingredient is the potash or pearl ash from ashes. Pure potash can be achieved by leaching wood ashes. To do this under primitive conditions, take a small container with a small hole or holes punched through the bottom. Place a one-inch layer of gravel or sand in the bottom of the container, and a one-inch layer of sand on top of the gravel. The gravel and sand act as filters.

Fill the container with ashes from a cooled campfire. Place another container under the first container to catch the runoff and slowly pour about a gallon of water over the ashes allowing a brownish-gray water (the lye) to exit through the bottom into the second container.

Pour slowly. If the ashes start to “swim”, you are pouring the water too fast. During this process, if the lye coming out starts to lose its color, more ash can be added. Next, boil the lye water until more than half of the water has evaporated. The mixture may foam, and the resulting solution is potash or lye. Add lard, grease or animal fat to the boiling mixture and continue cooking for about 30 minutes.

When the desired consistency is reached, place the mixture into molds. The shape doesn’t matter: a wooden mold carved from a tree limb, a small coconut shell, seashells, anything will do. Let the mixture dry for about two days, then remove from the mold.

Can you think of a scent my 18th century characters would have added to their soap to give it a pleasing aroma? Wild honeysuckle is rampant in Mississippi and wild roses would be heavenly. In addition, there are over 50 different species of native orchids in Mississippi. I can imagine how wonderful that would smell. Do you enjoy homemade soaps? If so, what’s your favorite scent? What native flowers or other plants from your state would make a lovely scented soap?

These soaps on the left are made by my friends and they are lavender. Not only are they gorgeous, they smell divine!


The Crossing at Cypress Creek, Coming June 2019

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