Monthly Archives: August 2012

The first-century wife in Palestine—I’ll call her Martha—faced the same daily challenge that we moderns do: what to feed her family. She didn’t know about a nutritional pyramid like the one designed by the Harvard School of Public Health, but Martha made her choices loosely based on that scheme nonetheless: meat, milk, grains, veggies, and fruit.

Bread

At the top of her list of menu staples was bread, usually made from wheat or barley. Every morning Martha poured grain into her mill, turned the handle with the help of her daughter, and watched the flour pour from between its discs. Sometimes she sifted it and ground it again to get the fineness she desired.

Then, as automatically as getting up in the morning, Martha added water, salt, and a lump of leavened dough saved back from the day before. She kneaded the mixture into pliant dough, and put it in a warm place to rise for a few hours. Finally she shaped the dough into flat loaves and baked them in a clay oven in her courtyard. These loaves would find their way into lunches and dinners.

The word “bread” is found 84 times in the New Testament and 346 times in the whole Bible, which attests to its importance. Some types mentioned are: showbread, unleavened bread, wafers (Exodus 16:31), cracknels (KJV) or cakes (I Kings 14:3), and the ubiquitous leavened bread.

Meat

Red meat was a treat, and on special occasions Martha would cook beef, goat, lamb, or occasionally, wild game. Fish was a favorite food in Palestine, and large quantities were caught in the Sea of Galilee. It was cooked and eaten immediately, or salted and dried to be eaten at a later date. (See Mark 8:1-9; John 21:1-13.)

Milk products

Martha did not have the luxury of refrigeration, so she often churned milk into curds or butter, or made a type of cheese. Chances are that none of these would taste familiar or be especially pleasurable to our “refined” palates.

Vegetables and fruits

Martha grew many of her own vegetables, regularly carrying water from the well to keep her plants alive. She dried beans, lentils and peas, storing them in clay jars. In August and September, she looked forward to the fruit harvest of grapes, figs, and pomegranates. The local market was sure to have a good selection of what she could not grow herself.

Olive Oil

The fruit of the olive tree was harvested in the fall and then pressed into olive oil to be used in cooking, for fueling lamps, grooming the hair and skin, and for religious rites. Martha kept hers in a small earthenware container called a cruse.

Salt and spices

While Martha used salt (probably obtained from the Dead Sea area) to season her food, more importantly she used it to preserve food such as fish. She also used herbs and spices such as cumin, dill, mustard, parsley, sage, thyme, and mint to add a special dash of flavor to add welcome variety to her menu for the day.

Honey

Honey, the sweetener mentioned throughout the Bible, was harvested from the hives of wild bees. Martha occasionally made another type of  “honey” by boiling dates and locust beans to make a syrup.

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While Martha may have used other foods to supplement her family’s meals, the  foods listed above appeared regularly on her table.

As I think about the topic of food, a hazy scenario comes to mind. Imagine Adam and Eve, newly created human beings, eying a dazzling array of food—not genetically-altered, not flavor-enhanced, not vitamin-enriched. Just perfect, exquisite food in a garden “planted” by their Creator, on wing or hoof, or in pristine waters.

Was there a learning curve for them? God specified which foods were proper to eat, but did He show them how to prepare them? Imagine the sensual delight as they touched and tasted and smelled first one kind of food and then another for the very first time!

Judging by the fateful encounter of Eve with the serpent, it seems there was mature fruit on the trees in the garden shortly after her creation. Were grains ready for harvest, and olives ready to be pressed for their multipurpose oil—both foods that would be staples for generations to come? There is no way of knowing, of course, but one thing is for sure. God provided them with all the food they and their offspring needed, and we enjoy it even to this day.

As we begin the series on food and cooking, I want to give the reader a feel for a New Testament woman’s base of operation, the home. Research shows this varies from cities to villages. For now we’ll look mainly at the homes of ordinary working people, most of whom were of modest means.

The New Testament home

The home of the average village dweller in the days of Christ was spartan by today’s Western standards. Quite likely it consisted of only one room. If there were more, they were connected at the corners by walls in such a manner as to eventually form an inner courtyard. [Wealthier people, most likely city dwellers, had houses built Roman-style with two rectangular courtyards, one behind the other, each surrounded by rooms. They also featured centrally heated bathrooms with a hot water supply and tubs set into the floor (The Lion Encyclopedia of the Bible, Pat Alexander, Ed., 1978).]

The floor was usually earthen, but a better home could feature one of finely crushed stone, or one made of brick.

There were only one or two small windows. Lamps supplemented existing natural light during the day, and provided light at night. Without any type of  streetlights, these villages must have been very dark indeed.

There were no facilities for bathing.

Essentials

Every house had the following bare essentials:

• Lamps. These were some of the most important items in a home. Potters fashioned lamps completely covered over with a small hole for oil (commonly olive oil or animal fat), and a spout for the wick (strips of flax or rag).

• A bushel. This container usually held about a peck, and served as a dry measure for grains and other items. It could also be turned upside down to become a table for light meals, or serve as a low lamp stand.

• Wine skins. These were goatskins with the hair side in. The openings were tied shut, and a spout or stopper was placed in the neck.

• Brooms. Made of corn stalks, these were kept with the father’s tools.

• A mill. It was an essential to the life of the family. One of the most common sights in the village was of two women grinding grain into flour. (See Matthew 24:41.)

The hand mill consisted of two circular stones, the lower of which was larger and had a spike which pierced the center of the smaller one on top. Grain was poured into the central hole, and the women turned the top stone with a handle. Flour poured out from between the two stones.

The mill was so important that it was protected by law: “No man shall take the lower or the upper millstone in pledge: for he takes one’s living in pledge” (Deuteronomy 24:6).

The furnishings

In the average village home, furnishings were limited, consisting of a “table” (often simply a straw mat laid out on the raised floor), and possibly something to sit on. Beds were thin wool-filled mattresses which were rolled out each evening, and rolled up the next morning. The whole family slept together with the mother on one end, the father at the other, and any children in between. (See Luke 11:5-8.)

The “stove” took the form of a fire made in the earthen floor or in an earthenware pot.

Cooking equipment

Part of the cook’s equipment included a convex baking sheet, which could be put over the fire, and a cooking-pot, which could stand in the fire. She also used an assortment of pottery items—jugs, jars, and bowls in varying sizes. Wealthier homes used decorated glass items, but this was beyond the means of the average household. (Ibid.)

The next post will explore the foods that were available to the New Testament cook, and how she might have served them.

Imagine yourself a beautiful Jewish virgin named Esther living in Susa under the domination of the Persian Empire. Are you old enough to care that King Darius the Great is dead, and his son, Xerxes, now reigns?

Xerxes put down rebellions in Egypt and Babylon in less than a year! And now he has a grand design to conquer Greece. Perhaps Mordecai has spoken to you of these things. Do you worry that Xerxes is amassing a 100,000-man army and some of your friends could be conscripted? What will become of them? Where is Greece anyway? Do you know?

Chances are you’re thinking about something much more intriguing to your young mind. Can it be that Queen Vashti actually defied the King and refused to answer his summons? It’s being whispered everywhere. Are you relieved to learn that she was only deposed and not executed? After all, no one dares to disobey the king!

Are you watching this fateful day as King Xerxes reviews his troops amid fanfare and ceremony, and finally moves them forward toward Greece and victory? The roar of the crowd must be deafening. You’re surely amazed at the sheer number of men and boys, wagons, horses, armaments and supplies as they pass by and slowly fade from view.

Since there are no newspapers in your day, word of their progress travels on the lips of travelers and merchants, or by royal dispatches, rehearsed at stops along the way. Men like your uncle sit at the gate with ready ears hungry for news, some of them undoubtedly reliving glory days and heartache of battles long ago fought.

Does Mordecai share news of the Hellespont disaster? A storm destroyed the bridge over its waters. Xerxes became so angry he ordered the scourging of the sea with a huge whip, and yelled, “Miserable monster! This is the punishment which Xerxes your master inflicts upon you, on account of the unprovoked and wanton injury you have done him.” How horrified you must be to learn the fate of the bridge engineers and workers—every one of them beheaded!

The king worships pagan gods. It is common knowledge. So when he decided to summon the gods to assure success before crossing the Strymon River, he first offered five white horses to the river, and then he offered human sacrifices—nine young men and nine young girls—burying them alive. Are you fearful, foreigner?

It is years later. The king returns in defeat and turns his attention to choosing a new queen. Suddenly you find yourself one of the many beautiful virgins sequestered in the harem precincts. All await the king’s decision. Are you delighted with your new regimen—the months of preparation with oils, and potions and perfumes? Surely you luxuriate in the finest garments and dazzling jewelry. Do you ever wonder if this is a blessing…or a curse?

Then it is your day, the day you become Queen. Xerxes, King of the Persian Empire, has chosen you, Esther, to reign by his side. You have your own domain, your servants, and your duties to attend. Life seems good.

Where there is power, there is intrigue, particularly in Xerxes’s palace. You are forced into a confrontation with the wicked Haman. Much hangs in the balance, and you must act wisely.

I see you more clearly now. I better understand the urgency of your calling for a fast to seek divine help, your resolute moving forward to save your people. I have an added dimension—the historical backdrop of your declaration, “If I perish, I perish.” We both know that could be a very real, distinct possibility.