When they were still nomads, the Hebrews lived mainly on bread and the products of their livestock, such as fresh or sour milk, and sometimes meat (Gen. 18:7, 8; Judges 5:25).
They also ate wild honey (Judg. 14:8, 9). When they settled in Palestine, they supplemented their diet with the products of their gardens, vineyards and fields: lentils, zucchini, beans, chickpeas, roasted grain (2 Sam. 17:28), pomegranates, figs, raisins, olives, etc. (Num. 13:23; 20:5; Mt. 7:16).
Must and vinegar were widely used drinks. Fish, lobsters, poultry and eggs were also eaten (1 Kings 4:23; Neh. 13:16; Mt. 4:18; Luke 11:12).
The simplest meals were composed of bread and lentils (Gen. 23:34), or other stews (2 Kings 4:38), or bread and wine (Gen. 14:18), or roasted grain and vinegar. (Rt. 2:14).
Abraham feasted his guests by offering them a more substantial meal: butter, milk, fine flour cakes, and the flesh of a calf (Gen. 18:3-8).
The table of the rich and great offered a greater diversity of foods (1 Kings 4:22, 23; Neh. 5:18).
Meaning of FOODS
When they were still nomads, the Hebrews lived mainly on bread and the products of their livestock, such as fresh or sour milk, and sometimes meat (Gen. 18:7, 8; Judges 5:25).
