Some Thoughts on
Foods in the Bible

Caught in the Act!

One of our readers caught me red-handed giving misinfformation. I said "apples" was mentioned twelve times in the Bible. Actually, John claims it is only eleven. Here's what I wrote back

The Letter

Hi John–

Very good! You got me.

Actually, I didn't look at my concordance properly, so I included

Zechariah 6:3 "the third white, and the fourth dAPPLEd-all of them powerful. Reference to dAPPLEd is also found in verse 6, but, of course, I wasn't trying to trick anyone. I simply slipped up.

Thank you for your correction of my misinformation.

Now, tell me, how many times is "fig" mentioned in the Bible? Hey, I don't know and don't want to count them any more than you'd probably not want to. It’s probably mentioned a cajillion times, more or less. [Actually, Biblegateway say 48 times.] The first, obviously in the Garden of Eden where fig leaves were the dress of the day in Gen 3.7 and the final reference in Revelation 6.13.

The point of the apple question was to sensitize folks to how different and yet similar our lives are to Bible times, They had no potatoes, for example, or Indian maize [which we call "corn." Corn used in the Bible refers to grain in general, not Indian maize.}

But think of it. The biggest dietary items in the USA aside from bread, are potatoes, corn [Indian maize] products, and pasta. Potatoes came from pre-Colombian Peru, corn from the Aztecs before Columbus, and pasta from China in the time of Marco Polo.

If you could see how fat I am, you'd know why my mind is fixated on food!

Thanks again for your query.

Shalom,

Larry

Watch this spot for
more Bible food info

What meats are mentioned in the Bible? In what dramatic scene does stew play a part? Which prophet dressed figs? Who was punished for eating honey? Is ambrosia mentioned in the Bible, perhaps by another name>?

See ya'!