Lecture 4: Ancient Judea—From Eden to Kosher Laws

Ancient Judea—From Eden to Kosher Laws....................................

Lecture 4

M

ore than any other civilization, the ancient Hebrews defi ned

their relationship to God in terms of what they ate, what was

considered clean and unclean, and what they sacrifi ced to their

God. The succession of different dietary codes given to the Hebrews through

their history in a certain metaphorical/mythological sense replicates actual

dietary changes experienced by humans. That is, the Old Testament is a good

source of history—not literal history, but stories recounted in Genesis refl ect

real historical events as interpreted over generations. In this lecture, you will

learn about those stories in light of their relevance to food history.

Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel

 A myth is a story that explains to people why things are the way

they are. It can explain natural phenomenon or social practices. It

explains why people do what they do—why they are different from

other people—and it also gets them to behave. More than anything,

it justifi es the status quo.

 In the beginning, God created the Earth. He created seed-bearing

plants and fruit trees. Then, he made animals and, fi nally, Adam,

who is given stewardship over the animals and gets to name them.

Animals are not intended as food; instead, Adam and Eve eat seeds

and fruits. They are not exactly vegetarians, but fruitarians. They

don’t kill anything—not even plants. They are in a state of complete

and utter innocence, totally guilt-free.

 This part of the story reminds the Hebrews that according to God’s

original plan, all killing was wrong, and in a sense, it still is and

always will be. If this a mythological version of real events, what

would Eden be—that time when hominids ate vegetables?

 Signifi cantly, the hunting and gathering stage of human history has

been edited out, or at least the myth ignores what the Hebrews all