1. What was the world like in first century Palestine?

2. Types of garments
The earliest undergarment was probably the kiltlike loincloth worn next to the skin, called ezor (II Kings 1:8; Matthew 3:4).
For religious functions, a shirt or apron was tied around the body (I Samuel 2:18; II Samuel 6:14).  In general, the most common garment was the tunic, the ketonet, chiton, or tunica (John 19:23).
Later on, evidence from the New Testament (Mark 6:9; Luke 3:11) suggests that at times people wore two coats.

3. Headgear
The Bible tells how fine linen was wrapped around the head of the High Priest as a turban or mitre — the saniph or kidaris (Exodus 28:39). 
Ordinary people wore a kerchief over the head, held tight by a cord reminiscent of the Arab headdress commonly worn today, the 'aggal. When bareheaded, men wore a fillet to keep their long hair in place (see right, drawing of one of the tiles from Medinet Habu). A skull cap or turban was also typical. The peasant or soldier seems to have wound a simple strip of cloth around the head, leaving one fringed end to hang over the right ear.

4. Housing in first century Palestine
Most people’s houses (commoners) had only one or two (1 or 2) rooms for the whole family. Generally they had dirt mud floors, flat roods, low and narrow doorways and front wooden doors.
People often slept on the roof when it was hot.  

5. If one were to walk through the front door they might see a child lying in a hammock wrapped in swaddling clothes, and a woman seated at her hand-mill. Inside you might also find lamps, stoves, beds, fireplaces, and windows and chimneys. The animals were kept in an enclosed area on a slightly lower level with no roof, the ox, the ass, the goats and other animals. There were stairs leading outside to the roof.

6. Economic setting 3 key job types:
Farming (agriculture) of olives, figs,
grains, dates, and vineyards
Trade
Building projects
There were big differences between the rich and the poor.

7. Languages spoken
Greek
Hebrew
Aramaic
Latin