What Did the Ancient Israelites Eat?: Diet in Biblical Times

What Did the Ancient Israelites Eat?: Diet in Biblical Times

by Nathan MacDonald
What Did the Ancient Israelites Eat?: Diet in Biblical Times

What Did the Ancient Israelites Eat?: Diet in Biblical Times

by Nathan MacDonald

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Overview

What food did the ancient Israelites eat, and how much of it did they consume? That's a seemingly simple question, but it's actually a complex topic. In this fascinating book Nathan MacDonald carefully sifts through all the relevant evidence -- biblical, archaeological, anthropological, environmental -- to uncover what the people of biblical times really ate and how healthy (or unhealthy) it was.

Engagingly written for general readers, What Did the Ancient Israelites Eat? is nonetheless the fruit of extensive scholarly research; the book's substantial bibliography and endnotes point interested readers to a host of original sources. Including an archaeological timeline and three detailed maps, the book concludes by analyzing a number of contemporary books that advocate a return to "biblical" eating. Anyone who reads MacDonald's responsible study will never read a "biblical diet" book in the same way again.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780802862983
Publisher: Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date: 11/17/2008
Pages: 160
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Nathan MacDonald is University Lecturer in Hebrew Bible atthe University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St John'sCollege.,

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Maps xi

Archaeological Time Line xv

I Introduction 1

1 A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey 3

2 Reconstructing the Israelite Diet 10

II What Did the Israelites Eat? 17

3 The Mediterranean Triad: Bread, Wine, and Oil 19

4 Vegetables, Pulses, and Fruit 25

5 Meat, Milk, Birds, and Fish 32

6 Condiments and Other Foods 39

III How Well Did the Israelites Eat? 41

7 Modeling the Israelite Diet 43

8 Environment and Climate 50

9 Food Shortage and Famine 57

10 The Consumption of Meat: Archaeological Evidence 61

11 The Consumption of Meat: Anthropological Evidence 73

12 Food Distribution 77

13 Nutritional Deficiencies 80

IV Conclusion 89

14 The Diet of the Ancient Israelites 91

15 Biblical Diets 94

Endnotes 102

Bibliography 133

Index of Modern Names 148

Index of Select Place Names, Authors, and Subjects 150

Index of Scripture References 154

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