Bible, Genesis “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” Author Drew Kaplan Date 13 April 2021 When we read in the book of Genesis about Pharoah’s sar ha-mashkim, his cupbearer or “chief...
Beer, Bible, Jewish, Wine 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. Author Drew Kaplan Date 15 November 2020 Whereas barley beer and beer goddesses reigned supreme in the lowlands of Egypt and...
Bible, Esther, Wine The Phrase משתה in the Book of Esther Author Drew Kaplan Date 31 January 2019 Many English versions translate משתה generally as either “feast” (e.g., ESV, KJV, NKJV) or...
Beer, Bible, Exodus, Passover “…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…” Author Drew Kaplan Date 21 March 2018 …the Israelites departed from Egypt, a country where this bread-beer was the only obtainable...
Beer, Bible, Exodus, Passover “…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…” Author Drew Kaplan Date 21 March 2018 …I contend that the words in Exodus xii. 19, “that which is leavened,” which...
Beer, Bible, Exodus, Passover “…the substance now rendered as “that which is leavened” (Exodus xii. 19) was, in reality, the Hebrew beer…” Author Drew Kaplan Date 21 March 2018 …the substance now rendered as “that which is leavened” (Exodus xii. 19) was, in...
Alcoholic Drinks, Beer, Bible, Wine “…while ‘strong drink’ remains the most frequent English translation of שֵׁכָר, confusion about its identity persists” Author Drew Kaplan Date 13 September 2017 Today, while ‘strong drink’ remains the most frequent English translation of שֵׁכָר, confusion about...
Archaeology, Beer, Bible “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…” Author Drew Kaplan Date 16 July 2017 Archaeological evidence of beer-making is often hard to come by because most of the...
Bible, Israel “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” Author Drew Kaplan Date 15 June 2017 The truth is, much like The Odyssey, the Bible is a majestic story of...
Bible, Judaism, Menstrual Impurity, Rabbinic Literature, Tannaim, Tannaitic Literature “In addition to the biblical distinction between normal and abnormal discharges, the rabbis developed two more categories…” Author Drew Kaplan Date 7 June 2017 Leviticus 15 is concerned with normal and abnormal, male and female genital discharges. As...