Wine – Excerpted

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.

15 November 2020 Drew KaplanBeer

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[…]

The Phrase משתה in the Book of Esther

31 January 201931 January 2019 Drew KaplanBible

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[…]

Cultivated Crops during the Time of the Babylonian Talmud

31 October 2018 Drew KaplanBabylonian Talmud

As in earlier periods, the staple crops were wheat, barley and dates. A daily grain market is referred to at Nehardea (Avodah Zarah 38b) and the twin towns of Hini and Shili, somewhere near Sura,[…]

“…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…”

21 March 2018 Drew KaplanBeer

…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[…]

“…while ‘strong drink’ remains the most frequent English translation of שֵׁכָר, confusion about its identity persists”

13 September 201711 September 2017 Drew KaplanAlcoholic Drinks

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,[…]

“The ancient Near East was divided in its alcoholic beverages into two main regions, those whose geographical properties suited the growing of grapes and those unsuited for growing grapes”

2 July 201726 June 2017 Drew KaplanAlcoholic Drinks

The ancient Near East was divided in its alcoholic beverages into two main regions, those whose geographical properties suited the growing of grapes (e.g. Palestine, Greece) and those unsuited for growing grapes (e.g. Egypt and[…]

“The contrast between wine culture of Palestine and beer culture of Babylonia is well documented in the Talmud…”

17 May 20176 September 2017 Drew KaplanAmoraim

One of the important distinctions between the diet of Graeco-Roman Palestine and Babylonia was the use of wine or beer as a common beverage. It is abundantly clear that in the Graeco-Roman world, wine was[…]

“…beverages in antiquity most often contained many ingredients: products solely composed of barley, grapes, or dates were rare”

17 May 2017 Drew KaplanBeer

Compounding the difficulty in identifying שֵׁכָר is the fact that beverages in antiquity most often contained many ingredients: products solely composed of barley, grapes, or dates were rare. Dates were among the most frequent additives[…]

“Every beer is a brewer’s invention to some degree—a combination of ingredients that could never be found in nature”

15 May 201714 May 2017 Drew KaplanBeer

Every beer is a brewer’s invention to some degree—a combination of ingredients that could never be found in nature. A barrel of crushed grapes, left to its own devices, can turn into a crude sort[…]

“…it appears that wine was much more expensive in Babylonia than beer in the Talmudic period”

8 February 20176 September 2017 Drew KaplanBabylonian Talmud

…it appears that wine was much more expensive in Babylonia than beer in the Talmudic period: R. Hisda said: “When someone can eat barley bread, but eats wheat bread, he violates (the injunction) ‘thou shalt[…]

Excerpted

Excerpts of Interest

Tag: Wine

The Phrase משתה in the Book of Esther

Cultivated Crops during the Time of the Babylonian Talmud

“…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…”

“…while ‘strong drink’ remains the most frequent English translation of שֵׁכָר, confusion about its identity persists”

“The ancient Near East was divided in its alcoholic beverages into two main regions, those whose geographical properties suited the growing of grapes and those unsuited for growing grapes”

“The contrast between wine culture of Palestine and beer culture of Babylonia is well documented in the Talmud…”

“…beverages in antiquity most often contained many ingredients: products solely composed of barley, grapes, or dates were rare”

“Every beer is a brewer’s invention to some degree—a combination of ingredients that could never be found in nature”

“…it appears that wine was much more expensive in Babylonia than beer in the Talmudic period”