BIBLE, FOOD IN THE

BIBLE, FOOD IN THE. Food and drink are everywhere in the Bible. Among the best-known scenes are the Last Supper (Mark 14:17–25; Matthew 26:20–29; Luke 22:14–23; John 13:1–14, 13:31), the feeding of the five thousand (Mark 6:30–44, 8:1–10), the feast for the lost son (Luke 15:11–32), and the wine miracle in Cana (John 2:1–12) from the New Testament and the first Pesach meal in Egypt (Exodus 12:1–13, 12:16); Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac, for whom a wild goat was substituted (Genesis 22:1–19); the manna in the desert (Exodus 16:31–35); and the recurring mention of the land flowing with milk and honey from the Old Testament. The function of food in the Bible is twofold. First, it offers information on what was produced and consumed in the area in biblical times, including how food was prepared and its meaning; second, it conveys messages to the reader.

Attitudes toward Food in the Bible

Scientific interest in food in the Bible always has focused on, among other things, sacrifice and abominations (Bolle; Bourdillion and Fortes; Douglas; James; and Smith). The biblical sacrificial animal is rarely burnt entirely, as indicated in the descriptions of some specific sacrifices in Numbers 28 and 29 or Abraham's sacrifice. The majority of a sacrifice is consumed either by those who offer the sacrifice or by the priests (1 Samuel 1–2). Each food offering (the meat) is accompanied by a grain offering (flour and olive oil) and a drink offering (preferably wine, but in some cases beer is acceptable) (Numbers 28–29). Sacrifices, usually offered at feasts, distribute precious animal protein evenly among the population and over time. A feast occurs on each new moon, and others follow in the middle of at least every second month.

The nature of the sacrifice follows the rules of purity described in Leviticus. No restrictions apply to the consumption of plants, but elaborate rules govern animal food. Animals are divided into three groups: animals on land, creatures in the water, and birds. Of these only a small sample are considered clean: "You may eat any animal which has a parted foot or a cloven hoof and also chews the cud; . . . all those that have fins and scales," and birds with two legs who fly and do not eat carcasses (Leviticus 11). The purity rules conform with the animals well adapted to the local climate and easily domesticated. Furthermore the food taboos keep the Israelites distinct from other peoples of the region, supporting their group identity. When Christianity starts to convert other peoples, the strict food rules become an obstacle and therefore are removed. According to Acts 10 it was revealed to Peter that nothing is unclean.

Meat is always in the foreground of biblical narratives on food, and it is the highly esteemed center of any festive meal, religious or secular. During their wanderings in the wilderness, the Israelites yearn for the flesh-pots of Egypt (Exodus 16:2); in 1 Samuel 2:12–17 the priests demand a piece of good roast from the sacrifice instead of being content with whatever their forks catch from the cauldron; it is a sign of honor to be fed a piece of meat by the host (1 Samuel 9:23); and meat is essential to a covenant. Nevertheless, the staples are cereals (barley, wheat, emmer, spelt, millet, and sorghum). Barley, the most important, is mainly consumed as grits (porridge); wheat is valued higher and is baked into bread. The highly valued fruits include olives for oil, which is easy to store, and dates, which provide energy. Vegetables (leek, orache, onion), pulses (fava bean, pea, lentil, chickpea), fruits (apple, fig, pomegranate, melon, mulberry, grape), and herbs and spices (cassia, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, dill, garlic, ginger, laurel, mint, mustard, saffron, turmeric) are abundant.

Situations of Consumption

Among the most prominent situations for consuming specific foods are feasts, covenant meals, carouses, and fasts. The majority of religious feasts consist of the sacrifice of animals—usually birds, sheep, goats, or cattle, depending on the means of the family—and the communal meal of the family. The important religious feasts are Pesach (Passover), Massot (Feast of Unleavened Bread), Shavuot (Pentecost), Rosh Hashanah (New Year), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), Succoth (Feast of Tabernacles), Hanukah (Festival of Lights), and Purim (Feast of Lots). Life-cycle festivals mentioned in the Bible include weddings, birthdays, and burials. For the wedding of Jacob and Leah, "Laban gathered all the men of the place together and gave a feast" (Genesis 29:22); when Samson marries, the party lasts seven days (Judges 14:12); Raguel tells his wife Edna "to bake a great batch of bread" and has two oxen and four rams slaughtered for the two weeks of celebrating the marriage of Tobias and Sarah (Tobit 8:20); Jesus compares heaven to the wedding feast of a king's son (Matthew 22:1); the wedding party at Cana-in-Galilee runs short of wine, and Jesus turns water to wine (John 2:1–12). The only birthday party mentioned in the Bible is the Egyptian pharaoh's, which turns out to be the day of destiny for the chief baker and the chief butler when one is hanged the other restored to his service (Genesis 40:20). The bread to console and the cup of consolation are the frugal nutrients for mourners, who often refuse to eat and drink for a short time after the death of a beloved or fast for a longer period to display their mourning.

The covenant meal as a pact between people or between God and his followers is a recurrent theme. This meal makes the oath binding forever by threatening the partners' bodies with a curse. In case of perjury, the curse "may seep into his body like water and into his bones like oil" (Psalms 109:18). God's covenants with Abraham and Moses are sealed by the ritual slaughtering of several animals (Genesis 15; Exodus 24). When Jacob leaves Laban's home, they swear an oath regarding the respective territories and have a feast with their kinspeople (Genesis 31:43–54). Joseph is sold to the passing tradesmen while his brothers "sat down to eat some food" (Genesis 37:25). Sharing provisions with the inhabitants of Gibeon, Joshua settles a pact with the Gibeonites (Joshua 9:14–15). Those who share a meal are obligees, but they frequently betray each other (Psalms 41:9; Proverbs 23:7; Mark 14:18). The New Covenant is made at the Last Supper (Matthew 26:17–30; Mark 14:12–26; Luke 22:7–39; John 13:1–30).

Biblical authors highly value wine and beer but oppose any abuse. Nevertheless, carousals are frequently mentioned and are often connected with licentiousness. Lot's two daughters intoxicate their father with wine "and then lie with him" (Genesis 19:32). The author of the book of Ecclesiasticus (also known as Sirach) dissuades a man from sitting with a woman and drinking wine (Ecclesiasticus 9:13). Holofernes wants to dine with Judith and intends to seduce her. When he drinks too much, he falls asleep, and Judith decapitates him (Judith 12–13).

Important figures like Moses, Jesus, and Paul fast at times of particular spiritual, psychological intensity. Moses abstains from eating and drinking for forty days before he climbs up Mount Sinai to bring down the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 9:9). These forty days recur in the New Testament when Jesus goes to the desert before he starts to preach (Matthew 4:2–11; Mark 1:12–13; Luke 4:1–13). The Christian interpretation is that everything Jesus says afterward is comparable to Moses' commandments. Paul fasts as a sign of a new beginning after his conversion (Acts 9:9). Whenever the Israelites are at war, they proclaim a general fasting (Judges 20:26; 1 Samuel 14:24–32; 2 Chronicles 20:3; Ezra 8:21–23; Esther 4:15–16; 1 Maccabees 3:46–60). The mourner refuses to eat (Genesis 49:10; Numbers 20:29; 2 Samuel 1:12, 3:35). The preparatory fasting before a religious feast is meant to purify the individual and the community (Leviticus 16:29, 23:26; Numbers 29:7; 2 Kings 25:4–8; Zechariah 7:5, 8:19).

Preparation of Food

On most biblical occasions it is the women's domain to prepare food. They pound the grains in mortars or use hand mills (Numbers 11:8). From barley they prepare the grits (Leviticus 2:14), sometimes after roasting the barley (Ruth 2:14). They grind the wheat and then bake bread, cake, or biscuits (Genesis 18:6; Leviticus 2:2; 1 Kings 5:2). Bread is leavened or unleavened (Exodus 12:15; Numbers 9:11; Deuteronomy 16:2; Joshua 5:11). Butter and cheese are made from the milk of cows and sheep (Genesis 18:8; 2 Samuel 17:29; Isaiah 7:22). Meat is boiled in a cauldron (1 Samuel 2:13) or roasted on a fire and seasoned with herbs and spices (Exodus 12).

Meanings of Food in the Biblical Text

Food is integral to communicating the biblical message. Food characterizes situations and persons, and it structures and marks the dramatic development of the text. Metaphors frequently consist of gastronomic terms, and many of Jesus' parables are connected with food. Two important culinary fantasies active in modern texts or imaginations are Cockaigne and cannibalism.

Naming is a simple way to convey something about a person. Biblical figures often have figurative names, many derived from food. Adam, the ancestor of all humankind, is made "from red clay," a soil good for growing certain crops. Adam is described in a close relationship to agriculture, and the moment he leaves paradise he starts farming: "So the Lord God drove him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he had been taken" (Genesis 3:23). Names like Leah, Rachel, Rebecca, Egla, and Tamar express the qualities of the women bearing them. Leah, which means "cow," and Rachel, which means "mother sheep," become the mothers of the twelve tribes (Genesis 29). Rebecca, "cow," is Isaac's wife and Jacob's mother (Genesis 24, 25, 26). Tamar, "date palm," is the name of a number of influential women from Genesis to Matthew. The women important to Israel are named after animals and plants fundamental to subsistence in the Near East, part of everyday experience, and available, tame, and reliable. They guarantee survival, and they provide milk, meat, and fruit. In contrast, women and men named after wild animals, often favorite game animals, do not play any important role in the history of Israel. Associated with sexual situations, their names indicate they are beautiful, elegant, charming, and erotic. Examples include Dishon, Epher, Tabitha, and Zibiaha, which mean "gazelle"; Hoglah, which means "partridge"; and Zipporah, which means "bird" (Genesis 36:21; Exodus 2:16–22; Numbers 12:1; Judges 11:25; 1 Chronicles 1:38; 2 Kings 12:2; Joshua 17:3; Acts 9:36–41).

A person's character is revealed in his or her good behavior at table. A negative figure is usually depicted as lacking good table manners, such as eating and drinking too much, consuming impure food, choosing a wrong seat according to the hierarchy, and general immoderateness. Frequently such people are killed, and their bodies become food for the dogs (1 Kings 14:11, 21:23; Psalms 68:24; Jeremiah 15:3). Good and ideal people eat and drink moderately. They are modest and hospitable, and they carefully choose their food and their company at table.

Feasts and fasts not only structure the year of the community and the life cycles of individuals, they also mark climaxes and happy events, for instance, when people meet after a long separation (Genesis 43:25–34; Luke 15:11–32), on the occasion of a wedding (Genesis 29:22; Judges 14; Matthew 22:1; John 2:1–12), before people part for some time (Genesis 31:54; John 13; Acts 20:7), and when a war is won (Genesis 14:17; 1 Samuel 14:32; Esther 9:17; 1 Maccabees 4:23). Plenty of food and drink is typical of every feast, often indicating that the story is over and everything went well (Judith 16:18–20; Nehemiah 8:10; 2 Maccabees 10:6). Hunger moves people from one place to another, as when Abraham moves to Egypt (Genesis 12:10), when Jacob's family does the same (Genesis 46), and when hunger brings David's pious ancestor Ruth to the family (Ruth). Fasting marks turning points, as when the sterile Hannah prays, fasts, and finally conceives Samuel (1 Samuel 1:7) when the warriors fast before the decisive battle, they will win (Judges 20:26; 2 Chronicles 20:3; Ezra 8:21–23).

The recurrent combination of "milk and honey" can be called a biblical leitmotif and is one of the best-known biblical gastronomic metaphors. Milk and honey are highly valued products, symbols of the wealth of a country. The land God promised to Abraham and his children, usually identified with Canaan, "is a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:8, 3:17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:27, 14:8; 16:13–14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 26:15, 27:3, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Ecclesiasticus [Sirach] 46:8; Jeremiah 11:5, 32:22; Ezekiel 20:6, 20:15). The cup is a metaphor for life or death (Isaiah 51:17–23; Jeremiah 25:15–29, 49:12, 51:7; Ezekiel 23:31–34; Obadiah 16; Habakkuk 2:15–16; Zechariah 12:2; Psalms 16:5, 23:5; Mark 10:38; Matthew 23:25; Revelation 17:4; 1 Corinthians 10:21), and the cup of theEucharist is the culminating point in the New Testament (Matthew 26:26–29; Mark 14:22–25; Luke 22:19–20). Psalms 23 is the poetically outstanding citation of the metaphor for the relation between Israel and God, the shepherd and his herd.

Pictures of the other world are deeply rooted in worldly experiences, of which food and eating and drinking are most important. Good and evil, heaven and hell are described with an abundance of excellent food and drink or with hunger, starvation, and cannibalism respectively. The promised land Canaan is expected to produce plenty of food, and paradise is the place without hunger. The Garden of Eden is described in contrast to the place where Adam must work hard to eat his bread (Genesis 2–3). The garden is lost forever, but after death the good will be rewarded. Job states that for the wicked the other world will not "swill down rivers of cream or torrents of honey and curds" (20:17), implying that it will for the good. The New Testament promises all those who believe in Jesus will be invited to the never-ending heavenly feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob or to "the wedding-supper of the Lamb" (Matthew 8:11, 22:2–14, 26:29; Luke 12:37, 13:29, 14:15, 22:16, 22:30; Revelation 3:20, 19:9, 19:17).

If Israel conforms to the commandments, the reward will be fertility and abundance (Leviticus 26:3–13; Deuteronomy 28:1–4). But if the people do not hold the commandments, God will curse them with infertility of the land and the people (Leviticus 26:20–39; Deuteronomy 28), thistles and thorns will grow instead of corn [wheat, not maize] and fruit in the fields (Genesis 3:18; Job 31:40; Wisdom 24:31; Isaiah 5:6, 32:13; Jeremiah 12:13; Hebrews 6:8). People will be driven to eat unclean food (2 Kings 6:25; 2 Maccabees 6:18–20, 7:1; Isaiah 65:4, 66:3, 66:17; Ezekiel 4:9; Daniel 1:8), they will suffer from hunger and will starve to death (Deuteronomy 28:48, 32:24; 2 Samuel 24:13; 1 Chronicles 21:12; Psalms 34:11, 105:16; Isaiah 32:6; Jeremiah 11:22, 42:16; Luke 6:25; Revelation 18:8), and worst of all they will eat their own children (Leviticus 26:27–29; Deuteronomy 28:53–57; Lamentations 4:10; Zechariah 11:9). Eating one's own children on the one hand is the worst of sins and on the other hand is the strongest punishment for sinning. Eating the children is the reversal of giving birth. Instead of propagating humankind and the family, society is endangered. If people do this willingly, they violate God's wish to have a great number of followers, but if they violate his commandments, he will end their existence. To be without children means to be without a future, the name of the family extinguished forever. Living on in Israel means living on in future generations, as the many genealogies show (Genesis 4:20, 10:21, 17:4–16, 19:30–38, 25:12–18, 36:9; Exodus 1:5; Ruth 4:18–22; 1 Chronicles 2–8; Matthew 1:1–17).

See also Christianity; Fasting and Abstinence; Feasts, Festivals, and Fasts; Judaism; Religion and Food; Sacrifice; Sin and Food.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bolle, Kees W. "A World of Sacrifice." History of Religions 23 (1983): 37–63.

Bourdillion, Michael F. C., and Meyer Fortes, eds. Sacrifice. London: Academic Press, 1980.

Douglas, Mary. "The Abominations of Leviticus." In Purity and Danger. London: Routledge and K. Paul, 1999.

Douglas, Mary. Leviticus as Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Feeley-Harnik, Gillian. The Lord's Table: Eucharist and Passover in Early Christianity. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1981.

Ferguson, Walter W. Living Animals of the Bible. New York: Scribner, 1974.

James, E. O. Sacrifice and Sacrament. London: Thames and Hudson, 1962.

Schmitt, Eleonore. Das Essen in der Bibel [Eating in the Bible]. Münster: LitVerlag, 1994.

Smith, Denis Edwin. "Table Fellowship as a Literary Motif in the Gospel of Luke." Journal of Biblical Literature 106 (1987): 613–638.

Smith, William Robertson. Lectures on the Religion of the Semites. Edinburgh: Black, 1889.

Zohary, Michael, and Naomi Feinbrun-Dothan. Flora Palaestina. 4 parts. Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1966–1986.

Eleonore Schmitt

The Story of Judith

The story of Judith in the book of Judith exemplifies the meaning the Israelite society accorded to food. The behavior of the two protagonists presupposes their respective fates. Judith, the shining heroine who finally saves the Israelites from the Assyrian siege, always does the right things. She fasts except on religious feasts, she only eats pure food, and she is never drunk. On the other hand Holofernes, the commander in chief of the Assyrian army, is a glutton and drunkard who gives dinner parties every day. This is the starting point for Judith's project to rescue her people. She goes to Holofernes's tent dressed in her best clothes and prettily adorned, but she sits at her own table and consumes her own pure food, only pretending to be his guest. Holofernes is blinded by the beauty of the Israelite lady and does not realize she is not truly participating in his party. He eats and drinks until he is so drunk he is incapable of seducing her. When he falls asleep, Judith cuts his head off. Deprived of their leader, the Assyrians withdraw, and Judith is celebrated as the savior of the Israelites.