Footnote 9 – The Song of Deborah—Why Some Tribes Answered the Call and Others Did Not

In contrast to the central room, the stable side-rooms never had hearths, ovens or cisterns. At Iron I settlements not built directly on bedrock, the floors of the central room were frequently plastered; the side rooms were usually paved with flagstones. At Ai the side rooms were sometimes entered through small, arched passageways no higher than 2.6 feet, suitable only for sheep, goats and smaller animals. For the criteria established for stables in both public and domestic contexts, see the definitive study by John S. Holladay, Jr., “The Stables of Ancient Israel: Functional Determinants of Stable Construction and the Interpretation of Pillared Building Remains of the Palestinian Iron Age,” in The Archaeology of Jordan and Other Studies (Siegfried Horn Festschrift), eds. Lawrence T. Geraty and Lawrence Herr (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews Univ., 1986).