FOOD
method
of
using
corn
was
to
pluck
the
'fresh
ears'
(Lv
23"
RV,
2
K
4«)
and
remove
the
husk
by
rubbing
in
the
hands
(Dt
23=',
Mt
12'
etc.).
When
bruised
in
a
mortar
these
ears
yielded
the
'bruised
corn
of
the
fresh
ear'
of
Lv
2"-
•»
RV.
A
favourite
practice
in
all
periods
down
to
the
present
day
has
been
to
roast
the
ears
on
an
iron
plate
or
otherwise.
The
result
is
the
parched
com
so
frequently
mentioned
in
OT.
Parched
corn
and
bread
with
a
light
sour
wine
furnished
the
midday
meal
of
Boaz's
reapers
(Ru
2").
The
chief
use,
however,
to
which
wheat
and
barley
were
put
was
to
supply
the
household
with
bread
(wh.
see).
Wheaten
and
barley
'meal'
(RV)
were
prepared
in
early
times
by
means
of
the
primitive
rubbing-stones,
which
the
excavations
show
to
have
long
survived
the
introduction
of
the
quern
or
hand-mill
(tor
references
to
illustrations
of
both,
see
MrLi,).
The
'
fine
flour'
of
our
EV
was
obtained
from
the
coarser
variety
by
bolting
the
latter
with
a
fine
sieve.
Barley
bread
(Jg
7'^
Jn
6'-
")
was
the
usual
bread,
indeed
the
principal
food,
of
the
poorer
classes.
<For
details
of
bread-making,
see
Bread.)
The
obscure
word
rendered
'dough'
in
Nu
1S">,
Neh
10",
Ezk
44™
denoted
either
coarse
meal
(so
RVm)
or
a
sort
of
porridge
made
from
wheat
and
barley
meal,
like
the
polenta
of
the
Romans.
3.
Next
in
importance
to
wheat
and
barley
as
food-stuffs
may
be
ranked
the
seeds
of
various
members
of
the
pulse
family
(Leguminosce),
although
only
two
leguminous
plants
(lentils
and
beans)
are
mentioned
by
name
in
OT.
The
pulse
of
Dn
1".
n
denotes
edible
herbs
generally
(so
RVm);
the
'parched
(pulse)'
of
2
S
17^8,
on
the
other
hand,
is
due
to
a
mistaken
rendering
of
the
word
for
'parched
corn,'
here
repeated
by
a
copyist's
slip.
Of
red
lentils
Jacob
made
his
fateful
pottage
(Gn
2529"),
probably
a
stew
in
which
the
lentils
were
flavoured
with
onions
and
other
ingredients,
as
is
done
at
the
present
day
in
Syria.
Lentils
and
beans
were
occasionally
ground
to
make
bread
(Ezk
4').
Next
to
its
fish,
the
Hebrews
in
the
wilderness
looked
back
wistfully
on
the
'
cucumbers,
melons,
leeks,
onions,
and
garlick'
of
Egypt
(Nu
11'),
all
ol
them
subsequently
cultivated
by
them
in
Palestine.
It
is
to
the
agricultural
treatises
of
the
Mishna,
however,
that
the
student
must
turn
for
fuller
information
regarding
the
rich
supplies
available
either
for
a
'dinner
of
herbs'
(Pr
15")
alone,
or
for
supplementing
a
meat
diet.
At
least
four
varieties
of
bean,
for
example,
are
named,
also
the
chickpea
(which
the
Vulgate
substitutes
for
the
'
parched
pulse'
above
referred
to),
various
species
of
chicory
and
endive
—
the
bitter
herbs
of
the
Passover
ritual
(Exl28)
—
mustard
(Mt
13"),
radish,
and
many
others.
4.
Passing
now
to
the
'food-trees'
(Lv
ig^'),
we
may
follow
the
example
of
Jotham
in
his
parable
(
Jg
Q"*-
),
and
begin
with
the
olive,
although,
as
it
happens,
the
'olive
berry'
(Ja
3'^
AV)
is
never
expressly
mentioned
in
Scripture
as
an
article
of
diet.
Apart,
however,
from
their
extensive
use
in
furnishing
oil
(wh.
see),
itself
an
invaluable
aid
in
the
preparation
of
food,
olives
were
.
not
only
eaten
in
the
fresh
state,
but
were
at
all
times
preserved
for
later
use
by
being
soaked
in
brine.
Such
pickled
olives
were,
and
still
are,
used
as
a
relish
with
bread
by
rich
and
poor
alike.
Next
to
the
olive
in
rank,
Jotham's
parable
places
the
fig-tree,
whose
'sweetness'
and
'good
fruit'
it
extols
(Jg
9").
The
great
economic
importance
of
the
fig
need
not
be
emphasized.
From
Is
28'',
Jer
24^
it
appears
that
the
'first
ripe
fig,'
i.e.
the
early
fig
which
appears
on
last
year's
wood,
was
regarded
as
a
special
delicacy.
The
bulk
of
the
year's
fruit
was
dried
for
use
out
of
the
season,
as
was
the
case
also
among
the
Greeks
and
Romans,
by
whom
dried
figs
were
the
most
exten-sively
used
of
all
fruits.
When
pressed
in
a
mould
they
formed
'cakes
of
figs'
(1
S
25's,
1
Ch
12").
A
fig-cake,
it
will
be
remembered,
was
prescribed
by
Isaiah
as
a
poultice
(EV
'plaister')
for
Hezekiah's
boil
(Is
SS^i
=
2
K
20'
RV).
FOOD
With
the
fig
Hebrew
writers
constantly
associate
the
grape,
the
'fruit
of
the
vine'
(Mt
262»
and
parallels).
Like
the
former,
grapes
were
not
only
enjoyed
in
their
natural
state,
but
were
also,
by
exposure
to
the
sun
after
being
gathered,
dried
into
raisins,
the
'
dried
grapes
'
of
Nu
6^.
In
this
form
they
were
better
suited
for
the
use
of
travellers
and
soldiers
(1
S
25i»,
1
Ch
12").
What
precisely
is
meant
by
the
word
rendered
'
raisin-cake,'
•cake
of
raisins,'
by
RV
(2
S
6",
Is
16',
Hos
3';
AV
wrongly
'
flagon
of
wine
'
)
is
still
uncertain.
By
far
the
greater
part
of
the
produce
of
the
vineyards
was
used
for
the
manufacture
of
wine
(wh.
see).
For
another
economic
product
of
the
grape,
see
Honey.
Dates
are
only
once
mentioned
in
AV,
and
that
without
any
justification,
as
the
marginal
alternative
of
'honey,'
2
Ch
31';
yet
Joel
includes
'the
palm
tree'
in
his
list
of
fruit-trees
(1'^),
and
from
the
Mishna
we
learn
that
dates,
Uke
the
fruits
already
discussed,
were
not
only
eaten
as
they
came
from
the
palm,
but
were
dried
in
clusters
and
also
pressed
into
cakes
for
convenience
of
transport.
For
other
less
important
fruits,
such
as
the
pome-granate,
the
much
discussed
tappUach
—
the
'apple'
of
AV,
according
to
others
the
guince
(see
Apple),
—
the
fruit
of
the
sycomore
or
fig-mulberry,
associated
with
Amos
the
prophet,
and
the
husks
(Lk
15"),
or
rather
pods
of
the
carob
tree,
reference
must
be
made
to
the
separate
articles.
To
these
there
fall
to
be
added
here
almonds
and
nuts
of
more
than
one
variety.
5.
As
compared
with
the
wide
range
of
foods
supplied
by
the
cereals,
vegetables,
and
fruits
above
mentioned,
the
supply
of
flesh-food
was
conflned
to
such
animals
and
birds
as
were
technically
described
as
'clean.'
For
this
important
term,
and
the
principles
underlying
the
distinction
between
clean
and
unclean,
see
Clean
AND
Unclean.
The
clean
animals
adinitted
to
the
table
according
to
the
'oflicial'
lists
in
Lv
11^
Dt
14«-2"
(conveniently
arranged
in
parallel
columns
for
purposes
of
comparison
in
Driver's
Deut.
ad
loc),
may
be
ranged
under
the
two
categories,
domestic
animals,
which
alone
were
admitted
as
sacrifice
to
the
'table
of
J"'
(Mai
!'•
12),
and
game.
The
former
comprised
the
two
classes
of
'the
flock,'
i.e.
sheep
and
goats,
and
'the
herd.'
The
flesh
of
the
goat,
and
especially
of
the
'
kid
of
the
goats,'
was
more
relished
by
the
Hebrews
than
by
the
present
inhabitants
of
Palestine,
by
whom
the
goat
is
reared
chiefly
for
its
milk.
A
kid,
as
less
valuable
than
a
well-fleeced
lamb,
was
the
most
frequent
and
readiest
victim,
especially
among
the
poor,
a
fact
which
gives
point
to
the
complaint
of
the
Elder
Son
in
the
parable
(Lk
15^').
The
original
significance
of
the
thrice-repeated
injunction
against
seething
a
kid
in
its
mother's
milk
(Ex
231'
and
parallels)
is
still
uncertain.
Regarding
the
sheep
as
food,
it
may
be
noted
that
in
the
case
of
the
fat-tailed
breed
the
tail
was
forbidden
as
ordinary
food
by
the
Priests'
Code
at
least,
and
had
to
be
offered
with
certain
other
portions
of
the
fat
(see
§
10
p.
267)
upon
the
altar
(Ex
2922,
Lv
3",
both
RV).
Of
the
neat
cattle,
the
flesh
of
females
as
well
as
of
males
was
eaten,
the
Hebrews
not
having
that
repugnance
to
cow's
fiesh
which
distinguished
the
Egyptians
of
antiquity,
as
it
does
the
Hindus
of
to-day.
Calves,
of
course,
supplied
the
daintiest
food,
and
might
be
taken
directly
from
the
herd,
as
was
done
by
Abraham
(Gn
18',
cf.
1
K
42s),
or
specially
fattened
for
the
table.
The
'fatted
calf
of
Lk
15^
will
be
at
once
recalled,
also
the
'failings,'
and
the
'stalled,'
i.e.
stall-fed,
ox
(Pr
15")
of
OT.
'One
ox
and
six
choice
sheep'
were
Nehemiah's
daily
portion
(Neh
5");
Solomon's
has
been
already
given
(§
1).
From
the
females
of
the
herd
and
of
the
flock
(Dt
32"),
especially
from
the
she-goat
(Pr
27"),
probably
also
from
the
milch-camel
(Gn
32i'),
came
the
supply
of
milk
and
its
preparations,
butter
and
cheese,
for
which
see
Milk.
Of
the
seven
species
of
game
mentioned
in
Dt
145,
