Many of the Israelites began dwelling in the houses of the dispossessed Canaanites and likely followed similar construction methods for years afterward. (De 6:10, 11) Apparently stone houses were preferred (Isa 9:10; Am 5:11), as these were more substantial and safer from intruders than those built of mud brick. Robbers could readily gain access to mud houses by simply digging through a wall. (Compare Job 24:16.) However, in the lowlands, where little good-quality limestone and sandstone was available, sun-dried or, sometimes, kiln-baked mud bricks were used for the walls of dwellings.

Some houses were built atop wide city walls. (Jos 2:15) But preferably they were constructed on a rock-mass (Mt 7:24), and generally mud-brick work was not started until two or three rows of stone had first been laid. When a house could not be erected on a rock-mass, often a solid foundation was laid, its depth below ground being equivalent to the height of the stone wall above ground. Some foundations were built with large uncut stones, and the cracks were filled with small rocks; others were constructed of hewn stones. The ruins of one mud-brick house excavated by archaeologists had stonework to a height of over 0.5 m (1.5 ft); in another the stone construction rose to a height of about 1 m (3 ft). The walls of some houses were about 1 m (3 ft) thick. Often a kind of whitewash was applied to the exterior walls (Eze 13:11, 15), and mud-brick walls on the street side were sometimes faced with pebbles to protect their surface.

Building stones were aligned and bonded with carefully smoothed and fitted cornerstones. (Compare Ps 118:22; Isa 28:16.) A mixture of clay and straw commonly served as mortar. At times this mixture included lime, ashes, pulverized pottery fragments, pounded shells, or limestone. It was applied to the bricks or stones to hold them together, and it was also used as a plaster for interior walls. (Le 14:41, 42) In some cases, however, stones were so accurately cut that mortar was not needed.