Scenes From the Promised Land

Eat a Meal​—Eat Bread

ON ONE occasion when Jesus and his disciples were in a house, “they were not able even to eat a meal” because of the crowd. (Mark 3:20) Another time Jesus entered the home of a Pharisee “to eat a meal.” (Luke 14:1) What sort of meal comes to your mind?

Ancient Israelites would probably think of bread because the Hebrew and the Greek expressions for “eat a meal” literally meant “eat bread.” This is understandable, since bread made from wheat or barley was a staple in their diet.

Many people today think of the Hebrew patriarchs as shepherds and of Jesus’ disciples as fishermen. And some did live that way but certainly not all. Wheat was central in the lives of many. Evidently that was so with Isaac and Jacob at times, as we may infer from Genesis 26:12; 27:37; and Ge 37:7. And since agriculture was a major occupation in Galilee in Jesus’ time, could some who became apostles have been wheat farmers?

That possibility exists, for raising wheat was widespread in the Promised Land, and Biblical references to it abound. (Deuteronomy 8:7-9; 1 Samuel 6:13) What was involved?

After early rains in October and November softened the soil, the wheat farmer would plow and then sow his seed. The later rains would help his crop to grow and then, in April and May, ripen to a golden brown before the heat of summer. Wheat harvest was so well-known that you read of it as an indicator of the season. (Genesis 30:14; Judges 15:1) Can you determine when during the year the photograph on the left was taken?a And what season was it when Jesus’ disciples plucked some raw kernels?​—Matthew 12:1.

Harvesting wheat meant a lot of work for farmers. Reapers would cut the stalks with a hand sickle and bind them into sheaves, as you see below. Of course, some stalks might be overlooked or might drop on the ground, which is why Ruth could successfully glean. (Ruth 2:2, 7, 23; Mark 4:28, 29) The sheaves of wheat were next taken to a threshing floor, such as Araunah’s. What happened there? The Bible mentions “the threshing sledge and the implements of the cattle.” (2 Samuel 24:18-22; 1 Chronicles 21:23) Wheat sheaves were spread on a flat area of stone or packed earth. A bull or other animal would go round and round, treading the wheat. The animal might be drawing a wooden sledge that would help to break down the straw and free the grain.​—Isaiah 41:15.

Then it was ready for winnowing, which was done by throwing it into the air with a shovel or fork, as seen above. (Matthew 3:12) The farmer might winnow in the evening when a breeze would blow away the chaff (husks from the kernels) and carry the straw to the side. Once the grain was gathered and sifted to remove any pebbles, it was ready for storage​—or for making into that food of chief importance, bread.​—Matthew 6:11.

If you were a housewife with that task, each day you would use a mortar and pestle to grind the grain into flour, perhaps somewhat coarse wheat flour. Or you might grind “fine flour,” such as Sarah used to make “round cakes” for materialized angels or that Israelites used in grain offerings to Jehovah. (Genesis 18:6; Exodus 29:2; Leviticus 2:1-5; Numbers 28:12) Sarah moistened the wheat flour with water and kneaded it into dough.

Below, you can see balls of dough and one flat, thin loaf spread out awaiting cooking. Such large, round cakes could be baked on stones or iron griddles, as the woman is doing. Does this help you to visualize what Sarah next did for the angelic visitors and what Lot’s family did thereafter? We read: “[The angels] turned aside to him and came into his house. Then he made a feast for them, and he baked unfermented cakes, and they went to eating.”​—Genesis 19:3.

[Footnotes]

[Picture Credit Line on page 24]

Pictorial Archive (Near Eastern History) Est.

[Picture Credit Line on page 24]

Pictorial Archive (Near Eastern History) Est.

[Picture Credit Line on page 25]

Pictorial Archive (Near Eastern History) Est.

[Picture Credit Line on page 25]

Garo Nalbandian