THE FOOD IN BIBLICAL TIMES (1200-587 BC)

The Israelite family invested most of its efforts in making a living, whether by tilling the land, herding, or a combination of the two. Other activities were related to maintaining and improving the quality of life. These included providing shelter, food preparation, making tools and clothes, and more mundane things such as doing laundry (Jer 2:22) and similar tasks. A discussion of the Israelite household and family life revolves around several topics, including daily routine, diet and food preparation, health, family structure. life cycles. and related customs and legal frameworks.

Since not much can be done without nourishment, food will be the first matter to be discussed.

THE ISRAELITE DIET

It is assumed that the ancient Mediterranean diet was a healthy one, and many modern references are made to this effect. Although there is evidence that some of the ancient inhabitants of the region were not slim and trim, most of the available information suggests that most people were not overweight, due to their diet and the strenuous physical activities in which they were engaged. In discussing the ancient diet. I assume that throughout the ancient Mediterranean world conditions were almost the same as in Palestine and the diet was very similar: therefore, materials from different cultures and sources will be consulted in the following study.

Eating well and right was always important, as implied by the Deuteronomic statement: "You shall eat, be satiated, and bless YHWH your God for the good land he has given you" (Deut 8:10). The latter reference leads us to the first topic of our investigation. food resources.

FOOD RESOURCES

The Bible considers Eretz Yisrael to be a land "flowing with milk and honey" (Exod 3:8 and elsewhere), two foods that some scholars consider to be wholesome. On other occasions, the Bible considers "cereal, wine, and oil" as the main food elements. However, written and archaeological evidence indicate that the ancient menu was much more diverse. The daily menu can be divided into two groups: (1) products of field plants and fruit trees, and (2) animals and animal by-products. The Israelite menu was closely related to cultic practices because most of what was allowed as sacrifice could also be eaten, and certain foods were consumed mainly at cultic events and were not part of the normal daily diet. Therefore, an investigation of the Israelite diet should commence with the examination of the sacrificial lists.

It has been suggested that "food is one of the primary symbols manipulated by people seeking to maintain their cultural identity and group solidarity, but for whatever reason we are in possession of only the Israelite detailed dietary lists. For the Israelites, food was one way for self-definition. While it is impossible to know how closely the dietary laws were observed. self-definition is most likely the basis for certain biblical lists enumerating different kinds of animals permitted or forbidden for consumption.

In addition, some taboos do not relate to the source of the food but to the mode of preparation, as it1 the case of boiling a kid in its mother's milk (Exod 23:19: 34:26: Deut 14:21). There are no lists containing forbidden plants, so we can assume that there was no prohibition against eating any plant or fruit, and the limitations on their consumption would haw been dictated by taste and toxicity (2 Kgs 4:39-40) and the fulfillment of religious injunctions such as tithe.

Only native growth was considered fit for sacrifice. However, as seen from zooarchaeological studies, certain wild animals and fish were eaten but were not listed in any sacrificial list. Although some Israelites must haw been engaged in fishing, this activity was probably introduced after the basis for the sacrificial lists was formed, which is the reason for fish not being listed. Since certain birds (dove,turtledove) are listed on the sacrificial lists (Lev 1:14: 5:7), we can safely assume that they, too, were raised domestically. To them, we can add as fit for food the wild quail and rock partridge.The birds that could not be eaten are identified by name (Deut 14:12-18), and it seems that their common characteristic is that most of them are birds of prey and carrion eaters. As far as mammals are concerned, the general rule permitting their consumption is stated in Deut 14:6: "any hoofed animal that has cloven hoofs and also chews the cud."

This definition fits well the ruminants available for the Israelites. The most common animals to be consumed, as seen from biblical references and zooarchaeological evidence, included small and large cattle, in this order. The rule for water fauna was simple: "Of all that live in water these may be eaten: whatever has fins and scales" (Deut 14:9). Creatures that "swarm on the ground" (Lev 11 :29-30), such as rodents and lizards. as well as insects (Lev 11:41-44) were prohibited: however, the locust was permitted (Lev 11:20-23) and even considered a delicacy.

THE MENU

Food the Israelites consumed can be divided into two categories: daily meals and festive or ritual foods. Most of the biblical and extrabiblical sources record festive occasions and celebrations such as welcoming guests or civic and cultic celebrations. Among the latter we can count the inauguration of the temple by Solomon (1 Kgs 8:63-66: Chr 7:5-9). To get an idea what might have been consumed then, one should note that Solomon's daily provisions included thilty kor of fine flour, sixty 'kor' of flour, ten fat oxen, twenty oxen, a hundred sheep, as well as stags, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl (1 Kgs 5:2-3 [Eng. 4:22-23]). When Ashurnasipal II inaugurated the palace in Calah, he wined and dined 69.574  men and women for ten days. It is obvious that what was eaten on these occasions was not daily fare, but these descriptions illustrate the available resources.

One example for a complete meal is that of Abraham feeding the three messengers (Gen 18:6-8). On this occasion Abraham offered cakes, a well-prepared young calf, curds, and milk. Although this meal was prepared in haste and was meant for guests, it is similar to what is described in the story of Sinuhe (ca. twentieth-nineteenth century B.C.E.), an Egyptian nobleman who resided in Canaan for a time: "Bread was made for me as daily fare, wine as daily provision, cooked meat and roast fowl beside the wild beasts of the desert, for they hunted for me and laid before me, beside the catch of my (own) hounds. Many ... were made for me, and milk in every (kind of) cooking. Both Sinuhe and Abraham were members of a well-to-do social class: thus, what was available to them might not have been typical. Certain descriptions in the book of Ruth will serve for comparison with the working class. During the day, the workers who were harvesting ate the following items in the field: bread,. which they dipped in vinegar, and parched or roasted grain (Ruth 2:14). They drank water to quench their thirst (Ruth 2:9). Quite similar to what Ruth and her cohorts ate, simple yet nourishing, is a traditional breakfast in many Middle Eastern agrarian societies, which includes 'pita' (flat, round, "pocket" bread) dipped in olive oil, za'atar (a Middle Eastern condiment), and onion.

Sometimes a hard-boiled egg dipped in oil or fat is added. The traditional vegetarian nature of the Near Eastern diet is well exhibited also in the typical Druze meal which may include olives, bread, eggplant, cauliflower, chickpeas, rice, wheat, potatoes, salad, yogurt, and fruit. Although some of the listed components are relatively new to the region, the vegetarian principle has been maintained.

BAKED GOODS. 

Cereals and legumes were the basic food elements that could be consumed in various ways. They contain a variety of minerals and vitamins highly important to maintain good health. In season, grain could be eaten fresh (whole or mashed), and when dry it could be parched or roasted for immediate consumption. Whole or cracked grain could be used in gruel (Gen 25:29,34) and stew. Using grain in this manner is very healthy because it retains the bran and germ. However, the most versatile way of using grain is by first grinding it to flour. Grinding was done in stone mortars with pestles made mostly of stone and with grinding stones. Mortars could be portable or carved in bedrock, and grinding stones were made of a pair, with the upper rubbing against the lower while the grain was placed in between. The product was whole flour, but this flour had one thaw: it contained a high amount of grit that, when consumed, ground down the tooth enamel and the teeth themselves, thus contributing to problems with oral health.

Flour is a raw substance that can come in various grades. When mixed with liquids and spices, it can be made into different products, the most common of which is dough that, in turn, can be made into a variety of baked goods. Baked goods can be divided into leaved and unleaved. Given enough time and proper conditions, the preference would be to make leavened bread. Bread was a major component of each meal: thus the same term ('lehem') was applied to food in general and to food processed from grain. Besides bread, several baked goods are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Bread can be made in two ways, with a tray on an open fire (Lev 7:9: Isa 44:19 and in a covered oven (Lev 26:26). Many archaeological excavations yielded remains of bread ovens ('tabbún') made of clay, while in several excavations fragments of bread trays were found.

DAIRY PRODUCTS. 

The meal served by Abraham to his guests (Gen 18:8) illustrates well that fresh milk was an important component of a sumptuous meal. Furthermore, fresh milk was also a thirst-quenching drink, as is depicted by the Jael and Sisera incident: "He [Sisera] said to her [Jael]. 'Give me some water to drink. for I am thirsty.' She opened a skin of milk [and] gaw him a drink" (Judg 4:19).

Fresh milk cannot be stored for long without refrigeration. especially in the warm climate of the Near East. Therefore, to preserve it, milk has to be processed. The Mediterranean economy relied heavily on herding, and the herders learned to process the milk and turn it into several products, as hinted by the pre-Israelite story of Sinuhe, who was fed "milk in every (kind of) cooking".This included yogurt, different kinds of butter, different kinds of cheese, and more.

Processing milk starts by churning, which separates the fat from the whey. This is done by using a container made of goatskin or clay. The vessel still used in some present-day societies, is hung in a way that allows it to swing back and forth, a motion that separates the fat and permits the making of various products. Highly nutritious daily products made and consumed by the Israelites were butter, cheese, and yogurt.

MEAT DISHES. 

Meat available for the Israelite kitchen included beef, veal, mutton, lamb, pork, fowl and fish. The latter two are discussed separately below. Pork was prohibited for the Israelites but was consumed during certain periods by particular groups such as the Philistines. especially in the Iron Age. For the average Israelite, meat was not a daily fare. When served, meat was mostly of domesticated animals, although hunted animals were also available, as seen from certain biblical lists (Deut 14:15) and from zooarchaeological evidence. That hunted animals were considered a delicacy can be presumed from Isaac's request of Esau: "Take your hunting gear, your quiver and bow, and go out into the country and get me some game. Then make me a savory dish, the kind I like, and bring it for me to eat" (Gen 27:3-4). Game animals were sold to those who could not hunt or trap them, as evident from zooarchaeological data recovered in a market at Ashkelon. Domestic animals were available directly from the herd (Gen 18:7: 27:9: Judg 6:18-19) or were kept close to the house and fattened for special occasions (1 Sam 28:24).

There were several ways for preparing meat, and they were determined by the occasion. Extra-biblical sources and ethnographic studies indicate that for long storage meat was either smoked, dried, or salted. However, there is no mention in the Bible of such practices. Any biblical references to meat preparation relate to immediate consumption, usually on festive occasions such as hosting guests or during cultic festivals. One way of preparing meat was boiling it in water in a large pot. A by-product of this process was broth, which was considered good enough to serve to honored guests (Judg 6:19-20). Another way of cooking meat was roasting it on an open fire. That this was not reserved just for festive occasions is suggested by references in Isa 44:16, where the prophet mocks idol worshipers for using part of the same tree for carving idols and the rest for roasting meat.

Studies of culinary customs made in traditional Middle Eastern societies, such as bedouin and Druze communities, can demonstrate how meat was prepared and under what conditions. The observation that "despite their varied geographical origins, Bedouin sacrificed sheep and goat in similar ways strongly suggests that these customs are old and might illustrate biblical modes of behavior, Bedouin families sacrifice at certain shrines, in a way reminiscent of what is described in 1 Sam 1:3. Furthermore, although the bedouin head of the family is the one to slit the animal's throat, others help in the butchering, and often a professional butcher ('asbar') similarly to the 'tabbab' in 1 Sam 9:2:-24, is entrusted with the dismembering. The preferred sacrificial animal is a young male sheep or goat (6-12 months) and not older than 2.5 years, similar to certain biblical prescriptions.

In traditional Middle Eastern societies, as it used to be in ancient times, meals with meat dishes signify special occasions, such as weddings and hosting guests, and are full of symbolism. Invitation, acceptance or refusal and the protocol observed during the meal serve as means of communication. The choice of meat served, the choice of dish served, and the order in which the guest(s) are served signal the recognition of social status, the importance of the occasion, and the seriousness of intent on the part of the host. The host sits with the guests to encourage them to eat and see to all their needs, as with Abraham, who "there under the tree waited on them himself while they ate" (Gen 18:8). Nevertheless. no business should be discussed untiL at the end of the meal the host communicates his readiness.

Nowadays, the food is served on a large communal tray. During the Iron Age, large krater-bowls fulfilled this function. The order in which guests are served is representative of the social hierarchy perceived by thehosting society. While everyone eats from the communal tray, no one will take food from the tray or eat before the guest. Special parts are reserved for the guest. All these customs are well reflected in the way Samuel treated Saul on his visit:

"Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the dining-hall and gave them a place at the head of the invited company, about thirty in number. He said to the cook. "Bring the portion that I gave you and told you to put on one side." The cook took up the 'hole haunch' and leg and put it before Saul and Samuel said. "Here is the portion of meat kept for you. Eat it: it has been reserved for you at this feast to which I have invited the people." (1 Sam 9:22-24)"

As demonstrated in this passage, certain parts of the animal such as the breast and the right thigh, were considered choice and were reserved for the honored participants in the meal who could be guests or priests. Other parts, such as the fat, kidneys, and liver, were always given to the priests.

SEAFOOD. 

Zooarchaeological and textual evidence indicate that the ancient Mediterranean diet included fish. We know that the Egyptians ate and exported fish and that the Israelites also ate fish. How often or how fish were prepared cannot be determined from present archaeological data. What can be determined is that not all the kinds of fish consumed at Israelite sites were in adherence to the biblical rule. Biblical instructions dictate that:

"of creatures that live in water these may be eaten: all "'·whether in salt-water or fresh, that have fins and scales: but all whether in salt or fresh water, that have neither fins nor scales. including both small creatures in shoals and larger creatures, you are to regard as prohibited... Every creature in the water that has neither fins nor scales is prohibited to you. (Lev 11:9-10. 12: see also Deut 14:9-10)."

The Hebrew Bible refers to fish only in the collective 'daga'. No fish is mentioned by name, but zooarchaeological data from sites identified as Israelite show that the inhabitants of these settlements consumed a variety of fresh and saltwater fish. Remains of fresh and saltwater mollusks were discovered in smaller numbers at several sites, and it cannot be determined whether they were used as food or for other purposes such as jewelry and decoration. The small numbers of shells suggest that they were not the byproducts of dyeing.

To be consumed, fresh fish can be boiled, fried, or roasted. Many inland sites haw yielded fish remains, including bones and scales, and it is obvious that because of the distance from their source no fresh fish were consumed there. Although the Hebrew Bible does not mention anything concerning actual fish consumption or preparation, it does make references to fishing. Fishermen from Palestine as well as from other places such as Egypt supplied fish to inland settlements. Attesting to the lively market in fish is the fact that one of the gates in Jerusalem was named the Fish Gate (Zeph 1:10: Neb:3:3: 12:39: 2 Chr 33:14). To enable the transport of fish they first needed to be processed either by smoking or by diying and salting, written and artistic extrabiblical sources illustrate that fish were processed before shipment. Egyptian sources demonstrate fish processing by first cleaning and then salting and drying them.

FOWL. 

As with other living things, the Hebrew Bible contains prescriptions concerning the consumption of fowl. From the Iron Age and earlier, no architectural evidence is available showing that fowl were domesticated. Evidence, like columbaria (dove-cotes), is known from the later Hellenistic and Roman periods. However, the inclusion of certain birds in the sacrifice lists strongly suggests that pigeons and turtledoves were raised under controlled conditions. Bone remains of chickens, geese, and ducks from excavations at the Ophel in Jerusalem and other Iron Age sites show that these domestic types were available. Biblical references and zooarchaeological evidence demonstrate that cenain wild birds were hunted. The consumption of birds was probably not different from what is practiced in the region today, which is similar to the consumption of other meats. Furthermore, like other animals, birds were fattened for consumption on special occasions, as suggested by the reference to 'barburum abusum'. "fattened fowl" that were served on Solomon's table (1 Kgs 5:3 [Eng. 4:23]). Until the domestication of the chicken, eggs must have been available in limited quantities and thus were considered a delicacy. Two biblical references (Deut 22:6: Isa 10:14) suggest that eggs were available from the wild. That eggs were considered a delicacy is illustrated in Egyptian art where images depict the offering of bowls filled with large eggs, possibly ostrich and pelican.

FRUIT AND FRUITS PRODUCTS. 

While the valleys were suitable for field crops, the hill countly was not as convenient for their cultivation. An efficient way of using the slopes was by building terraces and using the artificially created leveled plots for planting fruit trees of different kinds. Trees native to this region, which were planted and harvested, included figs, pomegranates, grape, vines, apricots, date palms, apples, and olives. With the exception of the latter all these trees yield fruit that can be used in similar ways. In season, fruits of these trees can either be eaten fresh and their fresh juice drunk.

Other native fruit trees included the carob, which was probably very popular. The sweet-tasting pods are used today as chocolate substitute and might have been eaten in antiquity by those who had a sweet tooth. A poor person's fruit was the sycamore, which resembles a fig. This tree was quite common in Egypt, where the fruit was eaten and the wood was used for construction. Black mulberry and citron, a member of the citrus family, are also trees native to the region, but there are no references or any other evidence to the use of the fruit of these trees.

Processing fruits for future consumption depends on the nature of each. Because of their high content of sugar, all the fruits mentioned above could be processed into alcoholic drinks. The most common for this purposewere grapes, followed by pomegranates. One other use for fruits was boiling them to make a thick, sweet syrup referred to in the Bible as 'dabas' (honey). Grapes as well as figs, dates, and apricots can be dried, and the fruit can be preserved individually or put on a string or pressed into cakes. Dried fruit such as raisins were eaten as such when sweets were desired. Because of their high sugar content, they are the most efficient source of energy and were taken on long marches to provide energy. Trail mix has a long tradition.

DRINKS. 

The most common drinks for quenching thirst were water and milk: the latter was drunk sometimes in its processed form of yogurt (Judg 4:19: 5:25). A second drink made of a daily by-product was whey. In season, fresh fruit juices were available. For long-term use. juices had to be preserved as alcoholic beverages, namely, wine. Grapes were the most common fruit to be made into wine, which could be used for secular purposes as well as on cultic occasions. Other fruits, such as pomegranates and dates, were also processed into wine. Beer was another alcoholic beverage common in the ancient Near East. Since Egypt and Mesopotamia were well known as beer producers, it can be safely assumed that beer was also known in Israel which is located between the two. Most scholars suggest that the biblical term sekar refers to beer, while a few postulate that the reference is to grappa, a very strong distilled drink. Since there is no other term available for beer: one can conclude by process of elimination that biblical references to sekar are quite possibly to beer. A different alcoholic beverage was mead (possibly 'sup' Prov 16:24: Ps 19:11), which is made by mixing water and honey, then fermenting with malt, yeast, and other ingredients.

OTHER FOODS. 

The olive tree was considered one of the most important natural resources of Palestine because of its ability to provide oil (Deut 8:8). There were other oil-producing plants, such as sesame,but olive oil was considered better tasting, more versatile, and had a longer shelf life. Palestine was a major producer of olive oil not only for its inhabitants but also for other parts of the ancient Near East, such as Egypt and Mesopotamia. Olive oil can be used for a variety of purposes, such as lighting, cosmetics, medicine, and more. However, while one of its major uses is for food, written evidence does not provide us with much information in this respect. Remarkably little is said in the Bible concerning the use of oil in the kitchen. Although oil is used to a large extent in frying, this use is described mainly in relation to sacrifices, when recipes containing oil as an important component are listed: "one tenth of an 'epa' of flour, the usual grain-offering, half of it in the morning and half in the ewning. It is to be cooked with oil on a griddle. Bring it wellmixed and present it crumbled in small pieces as a grain-offering, a soothing odor to YHWH. (Lev 6:13-14 [Eng. 20-21]: see also 7:9-10.12). While this recipe is for a "whole offering" and is not supposed to be eaten, it must reflect certain practices in the ancient Mediterranean kitchen.

Another food group that is not well known from the written and archaeological records is vegetables. The Bible talks little about wgetables, and when they are mentioned the attitude is mixed: at times they were considered a delicacy or even a must, and at times the lowliest food. Whatever was the attitude in some written documents, certain vegetables are native to this region and have been cultivated and eaten for millennia. These include carrots, cucumbers, musk and watermelons, onions. garlic, and more. Many leafy plants (field greens) and root plants were gathered in the wild and consumed as part of the meal. Dandelion greens are still picked by the locals for salads.

Other, mostly wild plants used in the diet included nuts and berries. Among the nuts, we can include pistachios, walnut, pine nuts, and domesticated almonds. Among the berries native to this region, most prominent are the black mulberry and blackberry. A totally different food category is insects. According to Lev 11 :20-23 certain grasshoppers were allowed to be eaten. They could be grilled on skewers or fried, and Assyrian reliefs demonstrate that these insects were considered a delicacy.

SPICES AND CONDIMENTS.

Most foods do not taste good without seasoning.This can be done with either minerals, such as salt, or floral. The latter could be either cultivated or gathered in the wild. Some spices whether minerals or floraL had to be imported. Salt, an important spice (Job 6:6), is a deposit found where salt-water evaporates: it originates in limited locations, so most communities had to purchase it. Its importance is demonstrated by the fact that it was also used as a sacrifice (Lev 2:13). Sources of salt were on the seacoast, whether the Mediterranean or the Dead Sea, and had to be transpolted to other parts.

Cultivated and wild-plant spices native to the region included cumin, black cumin, dill, coriander, thyme, black mustard, saffron, hyssop, mint, marjoram, fitches, capers, salt bush, dwarf chicory, reichardia, and more. Imported plant spices included myrrh, galbanum, and cinnamon. Many plants were used for medicinal purposes and as perfumes and incense. Although dried fruit were consumed as sweets, the most common sweetener was bee honey, from wild or domesticated bees. Other fruit-based sweeteners were thick syrups produced by boiling different kinds of fruit (e.g dates) until the desired consistency was attained.

By Oded Borowski in "Daily Life in Biblical Times", editor Andrew G. Vaughn, Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, USA, 2003, excerpts pp.63-72. Digitized, adapted and illustrated by Leopoldo Costa.