SERIES E --- YHVH’S LAWS --- LESSON 14 --- PART 2

COMMENTARY

FRUITS OF THE LAND

A visitor to Israel today will notice a curious little sticker on certain stores and hotels, picturing two men carrying a branch of grapes between them. This emblem informs all visitors that the Ministry of Tourism in Israel recommends that particular store or hotel. Tourists are invited to come and see this country, just as long ago the Israelite people investigated their future homeland and returned with ripe, plentiful fruit of all kinds, a sign that the land was prosperous.

CUCUMBER
In the wilderness, the people of Israel complained often of the cucumbers they had left behind in Egypt. Apparently, this is one food which they had enjoyed while they were slaves in Egypt. In a hot, dry land, the cucumber would certainly make a refreshing summer treat!

LENTIL
Another popular vegetable for Bible-time people was the lentil. Lentils grow in pods like peas or beans and are often used to make soup. These little white beans have more protein than any other vegetable and are sometimes used in place of meat. Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of lentil soup --- Genesis 25:34.

BROAD BEAN
Beans also were made into soups or even eaten raw. The bean that grew in the Promised Land was called a broad bean for it was long and flat. Its seeds were eaten by people and animals. Today we still enjoy this and other types of broad beans, especially lima beans and soy beans.

BARLEY
Barley was one of the earliest grains grown. Unlike wheat, barley makes poor bread; the loaves are heavy and hard to digest. Even so, in Bible times, farm workers, soldiers and travellers ate barley bread because it filled them up quickly. Today barley is used more frequently to make soups or sauces.

ONION
The manna-weary Israelites gratefully welcomed one tasty vegetable in their new land; the onion. Onions had been a big part of the average Egyptian workman’s diet. Egyptian onions were famous for their sweetness. It is no wonder the Israelites welcomed the onions they had enjoyed during their captivity --- Numbers 11: 5.

POMEGRANATE
Bible-time people probably loved pomegranates more than any other fruit. The Israelites were overjoyed to see this familiar blessing in their new land, for back in Egypt the pomegranate had been heartily enjoyed and even worshiped. This round fruit has a hard red rind that was used as a medicine or as a dye for tanning leather red. After the juicy seeds inside were eaten, the rest of the pomegranate was squeezed into juice or spiced wine. Stuffed cloth pomegranates decorated the hem of the high priest’s robe, symbolizing fruitfulness.

WINE GRAPE
The Israelite spies must have returned to camp with a very impressive cluster of grapes as their best sample of the wealth of the Promised Land. Grapes were so common in Palestine that the Bible tells of grapevines more than any other plant. Many people and places in Palestine were named in connection with this fruit. The Israelites ate their grapes raw or dried {as raisins}, boiled into a syrup called {dibs} or made into wine. The winepress became a symbol of peace, as well as a place to sing happy songs while crushing and processing grapes.

OLIVE
Like the winepress, the olive tree is a symbol of peace in Bible lands. The visitor to Israel today will not have to worry about missing the olive tree. Its gnarled trunk and silver-green leaves are visible almost everywhere. It is almost impossible to kill an olive tree. When it is cut down, new sprouts grow from the root of the old stump, spreading themselves over the face of the stump and several new trees take root where before there was only one. The olive is used in many ways other than food. Its oil serves as lamp-fuel, holy oil and as an ingredient in soaps, cosmetics and medicine.

APRICOT
Although an apricot tastes like a cross between a peach and a plum, it is actually a fruit all its own. This oval-shaped, light orange fruit comes from beautiful pink and white flowers. Some people believe the apricot was the forbidden fruit on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Next to the fig, the apricot is the second most abundant fruit that grows in Bible lands.

DATES
An ancient Arab saying claims that the palm tree has as many uses as there are days in the year. This could very well be true. The date palms mentioned so often in the Bible supplied the people of Bible lands with everything from nutritious food, beverages, cough medicine and candy, to rope, pitch for roofs, dishes and even shoes. This fruit tree became a symbol of triumph and elegance, used for ornaments on buildings and women’s names. The fronds or leaves, of the palm were carried in parades. The Israelites celebrated a special palm festival. This festival was a joyous time in the country named Palestine, which means {land of palms.}

FIG
According to the Jewish proverb, if you were to {sit down under your own vine and fig tree,} this would mean that you were living in a time of great peace and prosperity. Fig trees provided welcome shade in the sunburnt climates of Bible lands. Figs, like dates, were familiar food to the Israelites, both in Egypt and Israel. They ate them picked from the tree or pressed into cakes. Figs were often used as a remedy for boils and other skin diseases.

WALNUT
The walnut tree grows as high as thirty feet and provides wonderful shade as well as nuts. This tree supplies a rich, dark wood used to make furniture. A fragrant aroma fills the air when a leaf is crushed between the fingers. In Bible times, the wrinkled shell of the walnut was used to make dye or liquor. Walnut oil, pressed from the meat of the nut, is almost as fine as olive oil and is sometimes used in making soap.