Food. It's a word that's been around since the beginning of creation. Genesis 2:9 tells us that food is God's gift to mankind. God has richly provided us with food to allow us to be content according to Timothy 6:17. The Bible is filled with references from Genesis to Revelation describing all the meals, feasts and banquets that took place. It's filled with a variety of food and drink imagery from the Garden of Eden to the Heavenly banquets. Food is mentioned 90 times by the Gospels and 109 times all throughout the Bible. Not only was food used to satisfy hunger, but it brought people together. From the very beginning, food was involved when the serpent convinced the woman to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Food has played such an important role throughout the History of the World and it continues to affect our decisions to this very day.
We're going to travel back thousands of years ago to the Holy Land of Israel, located on the Eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The Holy Land was the first place to ever witness the entire process from tillers and herdsman to city-dwelling traders and food processors. The Holy Land was described as "The Land of Milk and Honey" which were some of the earliest foods mentioned in the Bible. The main water source of The Holy Land was the Nile River which intersects on the other side of the crescent.
As civilization grew, the people of The Holy Land began to grow a list of produce known as the Seven Spices. These spices included wheat, barley, grapes, figs, olives, pomegranates, and dates. Eventually, a lady named Abigail introduced meat to the diet so she could smooth over an argument with her husband, Nabal, and David (not King David who we all know and love!). This led to a whole bunch of rules located throughout Leviticus and Deuteronomy that explained which animals were clean and which ones were not. One rule especially pointed out that pork could not be eaten and fish with scales and fins could not be eaten because they were said to be in unclean surroundings.
Bread was the main ingredient in nearly every dish, so it was definitely no coincidence that barley and wheat were a part of the Seven Spices. Bread appears to be in many stories parables all throughout the Bible such as feeding the five-thousand, the parable of unleavened bread, and of course the saying Give us this day our daily bread. Though both barley and wheat were used to make bread, wheat was much more preferred than barley. Barley has less gluten than wheat so it didn't rise as well, but because it was cheaper, barley was the most ingredient used to bake bread. However, barley also held the power to determine the number of months in a year based on the Jewish calendar. The early discovery of bread was a miracle, because with all its advantages, grain was just to hard to digest by itself. So when it was boiled, it becomes gruel, when the gruel is baked, it became bread. Though this may sound simple, baking bread was much easier said than done. After the grain was finally harvested and threshed, it would be stored until it needed to be used. Then the grain was grounded by hand with a mortar and pestle. After grinding, the grain was mixed with water, kneaded, then it was set to leaven. Leavening was completely different back then, then it was now. The water/grain mixture had to sit for 3 weeks so that yeast could develop, unlike today where we can just purchase packages from our local Kroger's. Waiting for the bread to develop leaven was no short business, in fact, the whole process of making bread was one of the hardest, most time-consuming house hold activities.
Another one of the most common food items during Biblical times was fish. Fish were abundant in the Nile, so this made it easier for the people of The Holy Land to buy and purchase fish, rather than having to make bread all the time. Fish appeared to be a symbols of life and fertility according to Exodus 47:9-10. Due to their abundance, fish was the center of development for ancient cultures and religion. In fact, Moses included fish in the list of creatures he warned the people not to worship. But the people still did it anyways, where they believed in a fish god named Dagon who was half fish and half woman. Some even belief that this is where the mythical belief of a mermaid came from. So because fish was not only abundant in the Nile River, but in the Sea of Galilee as well, fish was often found on the tables of feasts and meals throughout Biblical times.
Usually, we eat three meals a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but back in Biblical times, people would eat in the morning and then at night according to Exodus 16:12. During the morning, everyone would eat a light meal usually consisting of fruit or wine-soaked bread, to get them through the day. Then in the evening that's when people would eat a heavier meal after their long day of hard work. These evening meals would normally feature a protein, such as goat, lamb, or small fowl, or some more bread.
Some of today's healthiest food were a part of the Biblical diet, especially olives, fish and loaves which were just a few of the most important staples. The most commonly harvested produce included lettuce, cucumbers, garlics and leeks, as well as fruits such as apricots, figs, melons, and olives. A variety of nuts was also eaten as were a variation of herbs and spices. And unless a family was wealthy, large cuts of meat were sparingly eaten, if meat could be afforded at all. So the Biblical diet, assuming the people weren't poor, was fairly balanced and more sophisticated then we may realize.
Unfortunately, many people during Biblical times were in fact poor. Poverty led to less cultural food and food became less of an enjoyment and more of a need. This is probably why nearly every meal featured bread, because it was simple and it was affordable. However, despite many people living in poverty, bread and wine have lead to a symbolic meal of Biblical times, all throughout the world.
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