T&t Clark Handbook of Food in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel - (T&t Clark Handbooks) by Janling Fu & Cynthia Shafer-Elliott & Carol Meyers

Book Synopsis

Food and feasting are key themes in the Hebrew Bible and the culture it represents. The contributors to this handbook
draw on a multitude of disciplines to offer an overview of food in the Hebrew Bible and ancient Israel. Archaeological
materials from biblical lands, along with the recent interest in ethnographic data, a new focus in anthropology, and emerging technologies provide valuable information about ancient foodways.

The contributors examine not only the textual materials of the Hebrew Bible and related epigraphic works, but also engage in a wider archaeological, environmental, and historical understanding of ancient Israel as it pertains to food.

Divided into five parts, this handbook examines and considers environmental and socio-economic issues such as climate and trade, the production of raw materials, and the technology of harvesting and food processing. The cultural role of food and meals in festivals, holidays, and biblical regulations is also discussed, as is the way food and drink are treated in biblical texts, in related epigraphic materials, and in iconography.

Review Quotes

"By bringing together a large range of sources, methods, and insights from an international mix of early-career and senior scholars, this handbook consequently offers innovative developments and valuable contributions to scholarly understanding of food and drink in the HB and ancient Israel." --Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

"This is a remarkable work. Nothing like it, so far as I can see, exists for the study of food in ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible, and arguably of food in the ancient Near East overall. The book is remarkable for its extended and varied coverage of its subject - well-nigh complete, even with the admission, though helpfully explained, of what had to be left out or just touched on. Here one will find food examined in its environmental and societal settings, in its differing types, in the techniques and instruments of its production, in its social and cultural functions, and in a systematic review of its treatment in the visual, epigraphic, and biblical sources. The book pays close attention to the often difficult interplay of written, especially biblical, texts with the material evidence from archaeology, from elsewhere in the ancient Near East, and from modern ethnography. It also engages seriously and thoughtfully with various theories about food in the development, construction, and maintenance of human society. The contributors represent a fertile international mix of younger and senior scholars, all thoroughly versed in the topics they discuss; and in their treatment of these topics, there is often deliberate overlapping, so as to allow for different perspectives. I would add that the whole is very much user-friendly, so with its Suggestions for Further Reading, as well as up-to-date bibliographies at the end of each chapter. In short, this book is a true vademecum for its subject: a foundational reference and point of departure for all future research." --Peter Machinist, Harvard University, USA

"The Bible practically begins with food, as already on creation's third day, God brings forth seed-bearing plants and fruit-bearing trees. In much the same way, this volume takes as its starting point food's centrality in the life of ancient Israel and then turns to explore myriad aspects of Israel's foodways: the different agricultural products available; the technologies used to produce and process these foodstuffs; the various contexts in which food was consumed; and the ways in which modes of food production and consumption defined Israelites' identities. The result is a veritable smorgasbord of scholarship, sure to delight every reader's palate!" --Susan Ackerman, Dartmouth College, USA

"This handbook announces the coming-of age for food studies in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel, and leaves no-one with an excuse for overlooking the numerous references to food and drink in the Hebrew Bible." --Nathan MacDonald, St John's College, UK

"This book is commendable for its interdisciplinary nature. ... For all this methodological sophistication, the volume is still accessible to non-specialists. ... Overall, the volume offers a feast of insights to indulge the appetite of any information-hungry reader." --Expository Times

"This 31-chapter book provides an excellent overview of food in ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible. ... This collective allows a deeper look at a subject that was traditionally addressed mainly through the religious aspects of sacrifices and dietary laws. ... Overall, this is an excellent contribution to understanding the various aspects of diet in the biblical texts and the societies that composed them." --Laval Théologique et Philosophique

"Exactly the kind of authoritative and near-exhaustive handbook that anyone with a research interest in food in the Bible has wanted for years ... Ambitious and extensive ... A major achievement and an invaluable source." --Review of Biblical Literature

About the Author

Janling Fu is Preceptor in Expository Writing at Harvard University, USA.

Cynthia Shafer-Elliott is Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament at Baylor University, USA.

Carol Meyers is the Mary Grace Wilson Professor Emerita of Religious Studies at Duke University, USA.