The first aspect of the biblical model is that the home is to be considered the center of both education and spiritual growth. Children are to receive parental instruction in the safety of their own homes. As Proverbs 4:3–4 states: When I was a boy in my father’s house, still tender, and an only child of my mother, he taught me and said, “Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live.” This passage clearly outlines two facts about education at that time: First, learning took place in my father’s house; and second, the head of the household did the teaching (he taught me).

Deuteronomy 6:6–7 declares: These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them upon your children when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Emphasis mine).

In biblical times, the family home was set apart for something special. In the original Hebrew language, the word used for sanctuary is the word miqdash,4 which means a consecrated thing or place, a holy place, a hallowed part. Another term used for the word sanctuary in the Bible was tabernacle. In Exodus 25:8, God said to Moses: And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. The Hebrew word ma`at (meh-at’) means “little” (see Ezekiel 11:16).5 The home was referred to as the miqdash me’at, or a little sanctuary. The home was to be a house of prayer, worship, and the study of both academics and spiritual life.

From early biblical times, the center of education was found in the home. Both parents shared responsibility in this task, although the father bore the chief responsibility for the instruction of the children (see Deuteronomy 11:9). In biblical times, it was the father—not textbooks, audiovisual aids, or brightly colored bulletin boards—that was the main focal point of the learning process. As the primary teacher of his children, the father served as a living and dynamic communicator of divine truth.

Christians need to reassess this concept. The primary sphere of religious activity should be in the home, not in the Church. The dinner table was meant to be a place to gather, not just for food, but to study God’s Word, to pray, to praise, and to worship (see Deuteronomy 8:3). The home was more important in Jewish culture than even the synagogue: it was the center of all training—religious, academic, and familial.

The Hebrew word for parent is very similar to the word for teacher. It is horeh, which is from the root word yarah,6 and it means to cast, to throw, or to shoot. The Bible commands the father, the priest of this little sanctuary, to instruct the children (see Deuteronomy 6). The father is to diligently impart both knowledge and wisdom to his children.

"Education According to the Bible" Articles