Parapets
When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it. (Deuteronomy 22.8)
Here’s an unusual law that makes no sense to us upon first reading. A parapet is a small wall built at the edge of a roof. Why would we want to add a small wall to the edge of the roof of our house? It makes no sense to us because we are accustomed to houses having steeply pitched roofs and we usually don’t go on our roofs unless we have to make repairs to them.
But houses in ancient Israel had flat roofs, and the roof often served as a sort of extra room. On hot nights, for example, people would sleep under the stars on the rooftop.
Once you understand the way Israelite culture worked—how houses were built and how roofs were utilized—the law makes very good sense. A parapet would prevent sleepers from accidentally rolling off the roof at night or small children from falling over the edge while playing during the day.
This particular law places the burden of responsibility on the homeowner to keep anyone going onto the roof safe from harm. If there were no parapet and someone fell off, God’s law says he has failed in his responsibility toward those who might fall off the roof. If there is a parapet, he has done his due diligence to protect others; if someone falls over the parapet, their injury (or death) is not the fault of the homeowner.
What does this law say to us—since we don’t go onto our roofs and don’t need parapets?
What is clear is the intent behind the law. A homeowner is responsible to do his due diligence to make his property and his home safe for anyone he welcomes onto his property. If someone is injured because he has failed to take sufficient protective measures, their injuries become his responsibility.
This law provides a particular way to live out God’s law and love your neighbors—build a parapet. But is God only concerned about falls from a roof and not falls elsewhere? Is God only concerned with falls and not other forms of injury, say—burns or poisoning? The law is case law and case law intends by its nature broader applications. Loving your neighbor means doing your due diligence to keep safe those welcomed onto your property.
We don’t utilize our roofs as living space, so we have no use for parapets. But we have stairs; having handrails on stairs is a way to keep people safe. Some people have swimming pools; building a fence around the pool to keep children from accidentally drowning is an application of the “parapet” law. Locks on closets or drawers containing dangerous poisons are another application of the law.
What I’ve just provided is an example of how biblical law works. It’s not that every law is able to be exactly applied; some are. But behind every law of Moses is a law of God—absolute good and evil—of which the law of Moses is a particular application. That particular application is a lens into God’s heart—real good and evil—which we then turn around and apply in our own context.
For Christians who believe in the authority of the Bible, this is the first step in understanding morality, i.e. good and evil applied in our daily context. We read the law of Moses, derive the principle that functioned there, and then reapply it in a culture that is nothing like Israel’s.
This process is admittedly difficult—hardly an exact science. Our perception of truth is dimmed by sin, and our understanding of the ancient laws is at times limited, making applications foggy. We do our best and our shortcomings in perception and understanding we trust to be covered by the patience, grace, and mercy of God.
Here’s an unusual law that makes no sense to us upon first reading. A parapet is a small wall built at the edge of a roof. Why would we want to add a small wall to the edge of the roof of our house? It makes no sense to us because we are accustomed to houses having steeply pitched roofs and we usually don’t go on our roofs unless we have to make repairs to them.
But houses in ancient Israel had flat roofs, and the roof often served as a sort of extra room. On hot nights, for example, people would sleep under the stars on the rooftop.
Once you understand the way Israelite culture worked—how houses were built and how roofs were utilized—the law makes very good sense. A parapet would prevent sleepers from accidentally rolling off the roof at night or small children from falling over the edge while playing during the day.
This particular law places the burden of responsibility on the homeowner to keep anyone going onto the roof safe from harm. If there were no parapet and someone fell off, God’s law says he has failed in his responsibility toward those who might fall off the roof. If there is a parapet, he has done his due diligence to protect others; if someone falls over the parapet, their injury (or death) is not the fault of the homeowner.
What does this law say to us—since we don’t go onto our roofs and don’t need parapets?
What is clear is the intent behind the law. A homeowner is responsible to do his due diligence to make his property and his home safe for anyone he welcomes onto his property. If someone is injured because he has failed to take sufficient protective measures, their injuries become his responsibility.
This law provides a particular way to live out God’s law and love your neighbors—build a parapet. But is God only concerned about falls from a roof and not falls elsewhere? Is God only concerned with falls and not other forms of injury, say—burns or poisoning? The law is case law and case law intends by its nature broader applications. Loving your neighbor means doing your due diligence to keep safe those welcomed onto your property.
We don’t utilize our roofs as living space, so we have no use for parapets. But we have stairs; having handrails on stairs is a way to keep people safe. Some people have swimming pools; building a fence around the pool to keep children from accidentally drowning is an application of the “parapet” law. Locks on closets or drawers containing dangerous poisons are another application of the law.
What I’ve just provided is an example of how biblical law works. It’s not that every law is able to be exactly applied; some are. But behind every law of Moses is a law of God—absolute good and evil—of which the law of Moses is a particular application. That particular application is a lens into God’s heart—real good and evil—which we then turn around and apply in our own context.
For Christians who believe in the authority of the Bible, this is the first step in understanding morality, i.e. good and evil applied in our daily context. We read the law of Moses, derive the principle that functioned there, and then reapply it in a culture that is nothing like Israel’s.
This process is admittedly difficult—hardly an exact science. Our perception of truth is dimmed by sin, and our understanding of the ancient laws is at times limited, making applications foggy. We do our best and our shortcomings in perception and understanding we trust to be covered by the patience, grace, and mercy of God.