syrup), seems to indicate that they knew the latter (compare <014311>Genesis 43:11; <262717>Ezekiel 27:17; and see HONEY).
Less prominent was the fruit of the mulberry figtree (or sycomore) (shiqmah), of the date-palm (tamar), the dates of which, according to the Mishna, were both eaten as they came from the tree, and dried in clusters and pressed into cakes for transport; the pomegranate (tappuach), the
“apple” of the King James Version (see APPLE), or quinch, according to others; the husks (<421516>Luke 15:16), i.e. the pods of the carob tree
[kera>tion, keration]), are treated elsewhere. Certain nuts were favorite articles of food — pistachio nuts (boTnim), almonds (sheqedhim) and walnuts (‘eghoz); and certain spices and vegetables were much used for seasoning: cummin (kammon), anise, dill (the King James Version) (qetsach), mint ([hJdu>osmon, heduosmon]) and mustard ([si>napi, sinapi]), which see. Salt (melach), of course, played an important part, then as now, in the cooking and in the life of the Orientals. To “eat the salt” of a person was synonymous with eating his bread (Ezr 4:14), and a
“covenant of salt” was held inviolable (<041819>Numbers 18:19; <141305>2 Chronicles 13:5).
than a lamb, was naturally the readier victim when meat was required (compare <421529>Luke 15:29).
The sheep of Palestine, as of Egypt, are mainly of the fat-tailed species (Ovis aries), the tail of which was forbidden as ordinary food and had to be offered with certain other portions of the fat (<022922>
Exodus 29:22;
Leviticus3:9). To kill a lamb in honor of a gue st is one of the highest acts of Bedouin hospitality. As a rule only the lambs are killed for meat, and they only in honor of some guest or festive occasion (compare <092518>1 Samuel 25:18; <110119>
1 Kings 1:19). Likewise the “calves of the herd”
supplied the daintiest food of the kind, though the flesh of the neat cattle, male and female, was eaten. The “fatted calf” of <421523>Luke 15:23 will be recalled, as also the “fatlings” and the “stalled” (stall-fed) ox of the Old Testament (<201517>
Proverbs 15:17). Asharp contrast suggestive of the growth of luxury in Israel is seen by a comparison of <101728>2 Samuel 17:28 f with
<110422>1 Kings 4:22 f. The food furnished David and his hardy followers at
Mahanaim was “wheat, and barley, and meal, and parched grain, and beans, and lentils, and parched pulse, and honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of the herd,” while the daily provision for Solomon’s table was
“thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred sheep, besides harts, and gazelles, and roebucks, and fatted fowl.” Nehemiah’s daily portion is given as “one ox and six choice sheep” (<160518>Nehemiah 5:18).
Milk of large and small animals was a staple article of food
(<053214>Deuteronomy 32:14; <202727>Proverbs 27:27). It was usually kept in skins,
as among the Syrian peasants it is today (<070419>Judges 4:19). We find a generic term often used (chem’ah) which covers also cream, clabber and cheese (<203033>Proverbs 30:33). The proper designation of cheese is gebhinah
(<181010>Job 10:10), but chalabh also is used both for ordinary milk and for a
cheese made directly from sweet milk (compare <091718>1 Samuel 17:18, charitse hechalabh, and our “cottage cheese”).
See MILK.
Honey (debhash, nopheth ha-tsuphim), so often mentioned with milk, is ordinary bees’ honey (see HONEY). The expression “honey” in the combination debhash wechalabh, for which Palestine was praised, most likely means debhash temarim, i.e. “date-juice.” It was much prized and
relished (<191910>Psalm 19:10; <201624>Proverbs 16:24), and seems to have been a favorite food for children (<230715>Isaiah 7:15).
Of game seven species are mentioned (<051405>Deuteronomy 14:5). The gazelle and the hart were the typical animals of the chase, much prized for their flesh (<051215>
Deuteronomy 12:15), and doubtless supplied the venison of Esau’s “savory meat” (<012528>Genesis 25:28; 27:4).
Of fish as food little is said in the Old Testament (see <041105>Numbers 11:5;
<241616>Jeremiah 16:16; <264710>Ezekiel 47:10; <210912>Ecclesiastes 9:12). No particular
species is named, although thirty-six species are said to be found in the waters of the Jordan valley alone. But we may be sure that the fish which the Hebrews enjoyed in Egypt “for nought” (<041105>Numbers 11:5) had their successors in Canaan (Kennedy). Trade in cured fish was carried on by Tyrian merchants with Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s day (<161316>Nehemiah 13:16), and there must have been a fish market at or near the fish gate
(<160303>Nehemiah 3:3). The Sea of Galilee in later times was the center of a
great fish industry, as is made clear by the Gospels and by Josephus In the market of Tiberias today fresh fish are sold in great quantities, and a
thriving trade in salt fish is carried on. The “small fishes” of our Lord’s two great miracles of feeding were doubtless of this kind, as at all times they have been a favorite form of provision for a journey in hot countries.
As to the exact price of food in ancient times little is known. From <120701>2 Kings 7:1,16 we learn that one ce’ah of fine flour, and two of barley, sold for a shekel (compare <401029>Matthew 10:29). For birds allowed as food see
<051411>Deuteronomy 14:11 and articles on CLEAN; UNCLEANNESS.
Pigeons and turtle doves find a place in the ritual of various sacrifices, and so are to be reckoned as “clean” for ordinary uses as well. The species of domestic fowl found there today seem to have been introduced during the Persian period (compare 2 Esdras 1:30; <402337>Matthew 23:37; 26:34, etc.). It is thought that the fatted fowl of Solomon’s table (<110423>1 Kings 4:23) were geese (see Mish). Fatted goose is a favorite food with Jews today, as it was with the ancient Egyptians.
Of game birds used for food (see <160518>
Nehemiah 5:18) the partridge and the quail are prominent, and the humble sparrow comes in for his share of mention (<401029>Matthew 10:29; <421206>Luke 12:6). Then, as now, the eggs of domestic fowls and of all “clean” birds were favorite articles of food (<052206>
Deuteronomy 22:6; <231014>
Isaiah 10:14; <421112>
Luke 11:12).
Edible insects (Leviticus11:22 f) are usually classed with animal foods. In general they are of the locust family (see LOCUST). They formed part of the food of John the Baptist (<400304>
Matthew 3:4, etc.), were regarded by the Assyrians as delicacies, and are a favorite food of the Arabs today. They are prepared and served in various ways, the one most common being to remove the head, legs and wings, to drop it in meal, and then fry it in oil or butter. It then tastes a little like fried frogs’ legs. In the diet of the Baptist, locusts were associated with wild honey (see HONEY).
As to condiments (see separate articles on SALT; CORIANDER, etc.) it needs only to be said here that the caperberry (<211205>
Ecclesiastes 12:5 margin) was eaten before meals as an appetizer and, strictly speaking, was not a condiment. Mustard was valued for the leaves, not for the seed
(<401331>Matthew 13:31). Pepper, though not mentioned in Scripture, is
mentioned margin the Mishna as among the condiments. Before it came into use, spicy seeds like cummin, the coriander, etc., played a more important role than since.
The abhorrence of the Hebrews for all food prepared or handled by the heathen (see ABOMINATION) is to be attributed primarily to the intimate association in early times between flesh food and sacrifices to the gods.
This finds conspicuous illustration in the case of Daniel (<270108>Daniel 1:8), Judas Maccabeus (2 Macc 5:27), Josephus (Vita, III), and their
compatriots (see also <441520>
Acts 15:20,29; <460801>
1 Corinthians 8:1-10;
10:19,28). As to sources of food supply and traffic in food stuffs, for primitive usages see <011807>Genesis 18:7; 27:9; <112102>1 Kings 21:2. As to articles and customs of commerce adopted when men became dwellers in cities, see <243721>
Jeremiah 37:21, where bakers were numerous enough in Jerusalem to give their name to a street or bazaar, where doubtless, as today, they baked and sold bread to the public (compare Mishna,passim). Extensive trade in “victuals” in Nehemiah’s day is attested by <161315>Nehemiah 13:15 f, and by specific mention of the “fish gate” (3:3) and the “sheep gate” (3:1), so named evidently because of their nearby markets. In John’s Gospel
(<430408>John 4:8; 13:29) we have incidental evidence that the disciples were
accustomed to buy food as they journeyed through the land. In Jerusalem, cheese was clearly to be bought in the cheesemakers’ valley (Tyropoeon), oil of the oil merchants (<402509>Matthew 25:9), and so on; and Corinth, we may be sure, was not the only city of Paul’s day that had a provision market (“shambles,” <461025>1 Corinthians 10:25 the Revised Version (British and American)).
LITERATURE.
Mishna B.M. 1:1,2 and passim; Josephus, Vita and BJ; Robinson’s
Researches, II, 416, etc.; and Biblical Dictionaries, articles on “Food,” etc.
George B. Eager FOOL; FOLLY
<fool> [lb;n;, nabhal], [lywia,], ‘ewil], [lysiK], kecil], [lk;s;, cakhal] and
forms; [a]frwn, aphron], [ajfrosu>nh, aphrosune], [mwro>v, moros]):