“When we read in the book of Genesis about Pharoah’s sar ha-mashkim…we are not reading about a maître d’ who brought him fruit juice”
When we read in the book of Genesis about Pharoah’s sar ha-mashkim, his cupbearer or “chief butler,” as the King James Version calls him, we are not reading about a maître d’ who brought him fruit juice. The word “butler” is an old English form of French boutellier, from bouteille, which nowadays means a bottle but once meant a wine cask, […] continued…
Whereas barley beer and beer goddesses reigned supreme in the lowlands of Egypt and Mesopotamia, wine was the preferred fermented beverage in the upland regions of the southern Levant. The Holy Land is where two of the world’s major religions – Judaism and Christianity – originated, and their holy writings (“scriptures”) are a testament to the centrality of wine in faith and practice.
Whereas barley beer and beer goddesses reigned supreme in the lowlands of Egypt and Mesopotamia, wine was the preferred fermented beverage in the upland regions of the southern Levant. The Holy Land is where two of the world’s major religions – Judaism and Christianity – originated, and their holy writings (“scriptures”) are a testament to […] continued…
The Phrase משתה in the Book of Esther
Many English versions translate משתה generally as either “feast” (e.g., ESV, KJV, NKJV) or “banquet” (e.g., NASB, NIV, NRS, RSV, TNK) and understand משתה יין as functioning adverbially. The NASB, for example, understands this construct phrase as the act of drinking: “as they drank their wine at the banquet” (Esth 5:6; 7:2), and “drinking wine” […] continued…
“…the Israelites departed from Egypt, a country where this bread-beer was the only obtainable or national alcoholic luxury, to the land flowing with milk, honey, and wine…”
…the Israelites departed from Egypt, a country where this bread-beer was the only obtainable or national alcoholic luxury, to the land flowing with milk, honey, and wine: instead of poverty-stricken slaves, they became a free people. In their wealth and luxuriance, they would relinquish the beer of captivity for the wine of luxury. This horrible-tasting […] continued…
“…the words in Exodus xii. 19, “that which is leavened,” which in Hebrew are rendered מַחְמֶצֶת, or machmetzeth, was a beer similar to the modern Egyptian paste or bread beer…”
…I contend that the words in Exodus xii. 19, “that which is leavened,” which in Hebrew are rendered מַחְמֶצֶת, or machmetzeth, was a beer similar to the modern Egyptian paste or bread beer (Boosa), now used both as a beer and as a leaven or bread-raiser. During the epoch of the Israelites in the “land […] continued…
“…the substance now rendered as “that which is leavened” (Exodus xii. 19) was, in reality, the Hebrew beer…”
…the substance now rendered as “that which is leavened” (Exodus xii. 19) was, in reality, the Hebrew beer, a substance resembling the present Arab bread-beer Boosa, a fermented and eatable paste of the consistency of mustard, and that the corresponding word, “nothing leavened,” in verse 20, was an eatable malt product, probably cakes sweetened by […] continued…
“…while ‘strong drink’ remains the most frequent English translation of שֵׁכָר, confusion about its identity persists”
Today, while ‘strong drink’ remains the most frequent English translation of שֵׁכָר, confusion about its identity persists. The problem of rendering שֵׁכָר into English is best exemplified by the JPS translation of the Hebrew Bible, which uses ten terms for the single Hebrew word: “liquor”, “fermented drink” (with footnote ‘i.e. wine’), “other liquor”, “drink”, “strong […] continued…
“Archaeological evidence of beer-making is often hard to come by because most of the tools used in beer production…are often linked to bread-making…”
Archaeological evidence of beer-making is often hard to come by because most of the tools used in beer production — such as mortars, querns and winnowing baskets—are often linked to bread-making, and the possible connection to beer is sometimes overlooked. Indeed, the production of bread and beer were intimately linked. The artistic record from ancient […] continued…
“The truth is, much like The Odyssey, the Bible is a majestic story of a journey that lives uncomfortably at odds with what the failures inevitable upon arrival”
The truth is, much like The Odyssey, the Bible is a majestic story of a journey that lives uncomfortably at odds with what the failures inevitable upon arrival. Home is never quite as good as is hoped for, and the longer the miracle of the State of Israel goes on, the more we are inclined […] continued…
“In addition to the biblical distinction between normal and abnormal discharges, the rabbis developed two more categories…”
Leviticus 15 is concerned with normal and abnormal, male and female genital discharges. As scholars have noted, the chapter is structured chiastically: (A) Verses 2-15 describe males with abnormal (gonorrhea) discharges (zav), (B) verses 16-18 describe men with normal (“nocturnal”) discharges (qeri), (B’) verses 19-24 describe women with normal (menstrual) discharges (niddah), and (A’) verses […] continued…
Powered by WordPress | Fluxipress Theme