Housetop. This was fiat, and used as a place of rest, meditation, and familiar concourse (Matthew 10:27). Come down … house. The roof was accessible by two staircases, one external leading from the street or the country, the other mounting from the apartments.
The householder was not to descend by this latter to carry off anything from his chambers within, but to escape at once by the outer staircase (setup. Luke 5:19). The flight was to be precipitate, like that of Lot from Sodom (cf.
Luke 17:32). The warning was necessary, as, when the Zealots and assassins bad the upper hand, they allowed no one to leave the city. The warning, however, applied to dwellers in any part of Judaea.