THE PYRAMIDS OF NUBIA

Hello My Friend and Welcome. 

Technically, a pyramid is geometric solid with a square base and four isosceles (equal–sided) triangles forming its sides. But to most people a pyramid is any structure that is more or less shaped like a triangle.  

Say the word pyramid, and people immediately think Egypt. But they do exist in other places. An example is the Transamerica Building in downtown San Francisco. Even though it is technically not a pyramid, everyone calls it the Transamerica Pyramid. By this definition, the Assyrian Ziggurats are a type of pyramid as well as the Mayan temples of Central America. The last Egyptian pyramid was built in Abydos by the first king of the Eighteenth Dynasty, Ahmose I, who ruled from 1549-1524 BC. Remember that date; it’s going to become important. 

NOT THE ONLY PYRAMIDS

Interestingly enough, there are other pyramids — real pyramids, not just pointy structures —  on the African continent. As a matter of fact, the ancient kingdom Nubia (now known as The Sudan) had twice as many pyramids as Egypt. And you’ve probably never even heard of them until now. 

It was the Greek philosopher Strabo who, after meeting members of the Nabo tribe in the First Century, dubbed their land Nubia. A thousand years before Strabo was born, the Egyptians had called it Ta-Seti, or the Land of the Bow. In the Old Testament it is known as Kush and the only pyramid builder the Bible mentions is King Taharqa, who ruled from 690 – 664 BC. Let’s revisit those dates. Why did the Nubians…Ta-Setis…Kushites…whatever, begin building pyramids eight centuries after the Egyptians abandoned the practice? 

The answer lies in the historic relationship between the two regions. For over a thousand years the Egyptians dominated Nubia. The frescoes showing the Nubians bringing tribute to the Pharaohs depict them as darker and with curly hair. This was clearly intended to show that the Egyptians were different from, and therefore superior to, the Nubians.  

Frescoe of Nubians Bringing Tribute

But over time Egypt declined and Nubia eventually broke free. However, after thousands of years of commerce and interchange, the Nubians worshipped the same gods and shared the same culture. In 722 BC, when Egypt was at its weakest, the Nubian King, Piye, marched north and conquered his ancestor’s former masters. Rather than seeing themselves as outsiders, he and his successors called themselves Pharaohs and established Egypt’s 25^th Dynasty.  

ELABORATE TOMBSTONES

Yet when Piye died, he was returned to Nubia for burial and above his grave there was…you guessed it…a pyramid! Clearly these rulers saw themselves as cut from the same cloth as Egypt’s great rulers. Rulers who, as a testimony to their power, had been buried within pyramids. 

This is where we encounter another Nubian quirk. Their pyramids were not tombs. This confused grave robbers and archaeologists alike until it was discovered that the Nubians cut their burial chambers in to the bedrock. The stairway leading to the burial chamber would be filled in after burial and the pyramid constructed on top. In order to accomplish this, the deceased successors would have to have constructed the pyramid. In effect the pyramids were nothing more than an elaborate tombstone.

This practice continued for 300 years. Eventually the Assyrians drove the Nubian ruler out of Egypt and the Nubians were forced into a long retreat into the southern reaches of their homeland.  They began building pyramids in an isolated area called Meroe around 270 BC and, out of contact with Egypt and the rest of the world, continued for hundreds of years.

Christianity eventually reached the kingdom of Meroe and sometime around 350 AD a king of Meroe built the last pyramid ever constructed on the African continent.

Queen Amanishaketo"s Gold & Jeweled Bracelet

GOING TOPLESS IN THE DESERT

You can thank treasure hunter Guiseppe Ferlini for the deteriorated condition of the Nubian pyramids. He obtained permission to explore and excavate in 1934 from the governor of Khartoum. After fighting off lions, he arrived at Meroe and struck gold, the jewels of Queen Amanishaketo who ruled around the time of the birth of Christ. Rather than admit that he had discovered her underground burial chamber, he said he found the jewelry in a chamber at the top of the pyramid. When word spread, other treasure-hunters flocked to the area and began tearing open the tops of the pyramids searching for treasure that wasn’t there. The end result was lots of damaged pyramids. 

On Friday, we’ll be examining the ancient game known as Tabula. 

Until then, we wish you Peace and Blessings. 

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REVIVING ANCIENT TRADITIONS of ISRAEL

Blowing the Shofar (Ram's Horn) Begins the Ceremony

Hello My Friend and Welcome.  

Renewing a tradition of ancient Israel, hundreds of women gathered again to celebrate the Tu B'Av (the 15th of Jewish month of Av) holiday on the biblical site of Shiloh in the region allotted to the tribe of Benjamin. For centuries the young women of Shiloh would go out to the vineyards and orchards and dance on the joyous holiday of Tu B'Av. This month a group of Israeli women returned to the orchards in a multifaceted celebration of dance organized by the Benjamin Regional Council.

LINKS TO THE EARLIEST OF TIMES

This tradition of dancing in the vineyards and orchards began very early in Jewish history. It is recounted in Judges 21:16-23. We are told that, since the Benjamites had no wives, the other tribes sent maidens to Shiloh to dance in the vineyards. While they danced, the Benjamite men hid amid the surrounding vegetation. When each of them saw a young woman they wanted, they caught her, and married her. Hence the Benjamites secured wives and the other tribes were absolved of any responsibility.

Shiloh played an interesting role in ancient Israel. During the period of the Judges the sanctuary of God, designated a temple, was first built in Shiloh (Judges 18:31). Samuel’s parents also went to Shiloh and his mother, Hannah, prayed to the Lord and offered to consecrate the child he would give her. (1 Samuel 1:9-24). And the Ark of the Covenant was stored in the temple at Shiloh prior to it being captured by the Philistines. (1 Samuel 4:3-17).

A HISTORY OF DANCING BEFORE THE LORD

The Jews as a people have a long history of singing and dancing to the Lord. Miryam, the prophet and sister of Moses and Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines dancing, as Miryam said to them: “Sing to Adonai, for He is exalted! The horse and its rider he threw into the sea!” (Exodus15:20) We know that David danced as the Ark was brought into Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 14-17). Several Psalms also reference singing and dancing before the Lord.

The women at Shiloh participated in various dance workshops including modern dance, belly dancing, flamenco, and finally a central dance in the main square overlooking the site of the ancient Mishkan (Tabernacle) of Shiloh.

BENEFITS FOR THE PARTICIPANTS

One participant in the festival described the experience to Israel National News. “The workshops were amazing,” she said. “I learned how to dance Flamenco style from a true expert. The Noga dance troupe, comprised of religious women, put on a talented and surprisingly modern performance. Afterwards, it was really uplifting to dance together with my good friends. It was so much fun.” 

Festival organizer, Tamar Asraf said, “For a moment, hundreds of women were able to stop the race of life, to connect to themselves, to remove the partitions, and to renew the holiday of Tu B'Av where it all began – here in Shiloh.” 

Until next time, we wish you Peace and Blessings 

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MEETING ROME'S NEED FOR OLIVE OIL

A Supertanker Loaded With Oil Crosses the Ocean

Hello My Friend and Welcome. 

In our industrialized world a constant flow of oil is required to meet increasing demand. The appetite of the United States for oil is unprecedented in human history a recent newspaper headline said. Perhaps. 

The world, it seems, runs on oil. Our lifestyle and economic processes have become so oil dependent that it’s unthinkable to imagine life without it. And when a powerful nation’s demand for oil outstrips its supply, importing additional supplies seems to be the only viable solution. Like all trade goods oil flows from the haves to have-nots and, given the distances involved, most often moves by ship. 

Many in the United States are rightly concerned by our increasing dependence upon foreign oil. A recent study blamed rising oil imports for our widening trade deficit. The United States is the largest oil importer in the world and much of this oil comes from the Middle East, an politically unstable region.

NOT ABOUT PETROLEUM

However, this post is not about the United States’ appetite for petroleum. Rather, we’re going back in time nearly two millennia to examine another time when another nation was equally dependent upon foreign oil coming from, among other places, the Middle East. Today we’ll examine the elaborate system of oil importation Rome developed to meet their population’s insatiable demand for…Olive Oil.

The Roman World used olive oil for cooking and fueling their lamps, as a cleaning agent in their baths, as an emollient for grooming and conditioning the skin and hair, as well as a healing balm. Researchers have been examining a dump in Rome hidden beneath earth and grass. Nearly a mile in circumference and known as the Monte Testaccio, it been found to contain a 150-foot high mountain of broken amphorae. Though it’s been covered over for centuries, at one time someone clearly knew what was there. Its name is a combination of the Latin testa and the Italian cocci, both of which mean potshard.

Digging into the Mountain of Shards

During the Middle Ages vintners in Rome discovered that the interior of Monte Testaccio remained remarkably cool throughout the year and dug caves into the mountain to store and age their wines. Some imagined it to be the site where debris was dumped following the great fire of Rome during Nero’s rule. Others guessed that the shards were from discarded funerary urns that had once filled columbaria along the nearby Via Ostiense. Regardless, the area provided a seemingly unlimited supply of tiles to patch roofs and souvenirs for tourists.

FINALLY CORRECTLY IDENTIFIED

Only in the last 100 years was it finally recognized for what it was, a dump dating back to the reign of Caesar Augustus. But even then, the amphorae were imagined to have contained wine. Archeologists have only recently unraveled the process behind how this vast mountain of shards was formed. Their digs discovered that a wall of amphorae filled with pieces from other broken amphorae was built to contain the growing mound of shards. When they reached the top of the wall, a new wall was added and the process repeated. The ancient Romans periodically swathed the entire thing in a coating of lime to control the smell of rancid oil.

The importation of olive oil, food products, metals and other essentials began early in Augustus’ reign. Keep in mind that Octavian, later to be known as Augustus, began his reign in 31BC. He was only the second ruler of the nascient Roman Empire which his predecessor, Julius Caesar, founded a mere thirteen years earlier.

The Intact Neck of a Dressel 20 Amphora

The majority of the amphorae found at Monte Testaccio came from the Roman province of Hispania (modern Spain and Portugal) and are of a style archaeologically known as a Dressel 20. The remainder came from what we now call the Middle East. A Dressel 20 is a squat, round amphora that resists tipping. They would have been ideally suited to riding in a ship’s cargo hold. Imagine rows of ships docking in the Roman harbor of Portus, each one filled with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of these amphorae. Shipwrecks have been discovered in the region with full loads of Dressel 20’s.

DEALING WITH THE OVERFLOW

From the ships, these large amphorae would have been transported to Imperial warehouses where the oil was transferred into smaller containers for distribution throughout the city. The empties were probably taken to Monte Testaccio by mule and discarded. Like New York City, which temporarily suspended its plastic bottle recycling program due to high cost, Rome undoubtedly found it cheaper to throw away the empties rather than recycle them.

Moving the oil in amphora provided a system of inventory control and checks and balances. Their unglazed clay surface is easy to write on. In addition to incised codes put on before firing, many show tituli picti—words, names and numbers used to track their movement through the distribution channels.  

MAINTAINING A BALANCE OF POWER

Augustus understood that to remain in power he must have the support of the army and the plebians, the ordinary man in the street. The population of First Century Rome ranged somewhere between 600,000 to a 1,000,000 people. He bought their loyalty with a welfare system that fed the poor, and controlled the price of grain and oil for everyone else. A century later, the Roman poet and satirist, Juvenal, penned his famous line about the Roman emperors buying tranquility with “bread and circuses.”  

This system of growing, harvesting, pressing and distribution seems to have operated in a uniquely Roman way. Unlike other empires that became heavily bureaucratic or depended upon great trade routes, Rome utilized a system of small suppliers who were well controlled and monitored. Proof again that individual initiative is always more efficient than centralized planning. 

 

On Thursday we’ll add our monthly link to the Christian Writer’s Blog Chain. This month’s key word is nurture. 

 

Until then, we wish you Peace and Blessings. 

 

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LECTIO DIVINA — AN ANCIENT FORM OF MEDITATION

Hello My Friend and Welcome. 

Today we will be looking at the ancient, four or five-part meditation, used by the Church since earliest times, known as Lectio Divina. The Church Father, Origen (d. 254) and the monk John Cassian (d.435) both wrote of the benefits of this type of meditative study of Scripture. The Twelfth Century monk Guido brought the process into sharper definition as a stairway of spiritual steps. It works well when done alone and is ideally suited for small groups. As a matter of fact, you may be using a similar process and have never heard of it referred to by its Latin name, Lectio Divina. 

STEP ONE - LECTIO

This is a slow, contemplative method of reading the Scriptures that attempts to enable the Word of God to become a means of union with God. To those who have grown familiar with certain passages and are accustomed to reading them quickly, this can take some work. The first step is reading and active listening to the Word of God. To do this successfully, you must develop the ability to listen carefully to what is read and open your heart to hear God speak to you through his Scripture.  

This is very different to the reading most of us do on a day-to-day basis. We’re used to skimming a page of text onscreen or in a newspaper or magazine. Lectio is reading or listening with both mind and heart. It sometimes helps to sit quietly for beforehand, centering your thoughts and stilling your mind. As God has said, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Ps 46:10. When you are ready, read a short passage…only a couple of paragraphs is fine or if you’re reading the Gospels complete one scene.  

Listen fully expecting God to speak to you personally through what you are reading or is being read. As you listen, expect one word or phrase to stand out to you. 

STEP TWO — MEDITATIO

After you have identified your special phrase or phrases and thought about it, read the passage a second time. Open yourself to the reading and let it speak to your thoughts, dreams, memories and ambitions. Maybe you hear Christ in your verse or perhaps the verse says something about you…where you are in life, etc.  

Luke tells us that when the shepherds told Mary of the angels that appeared to them in the field, she “kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.” And later, where Jesus is found after three days in the Temple, Luke again tell us “…his mother kept all these things in her heart.” That is exactly what we want to do; ponder in your heart what these things mean. Now you are asking God to speak to you. 

STEP THREE — ORATIO

Read the passage a third and final time. The next step of the Lectio Divinia is speaking to God in prayer, both as dialog and concentration. In the reading we have discovered a truth about ourselves. Now communicate this learning to God, thanking him for it and asking for validation. Now that you have it, what are you to do with it? Always remember, at its heart, prayer is a conversation between two lovers.   

STEP FOUR — CONTEMPLATIO

Now we become still and know that God is God. Lay aside your thoughts, worries and concerns and simply experience God’s presence. If it helps to use some sort of centering word or phrase such as Abba-Father, Lord have mercy, Maranatha (Aramaic for Come, Lord) or something else to slow down your mind, by all means, do it. 

OPTIONAL STEP FIVE — ACTIO

Some people suggest a fifth step based on the admonition, “But be doers of the word not hearers only…” Jas 1:22. In this step, being a true disciple, you would attempt to be someone who, “listens to my words, and acts on them.” Luke 6:47. 

And there you have it. The Lectio Divina is a method of study, contemplation and prayer used by Christians since the earliest of times, and with good reason. 

Until Next time, we wish you Peace and Blessings.  

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ROMAN MERCHANT SHIPS — WARHORSES of the ANCIENT WORLD

Divers Gather Amphorae from a Shipwreck

Hello My Friend and Welcome.

At its peak, the Roman Empire completely encircled the Mediterranean Sea, which First Century Romans conveniently called Mare Nostrum, or Our Sea. Not only did its waters provide fish to feed citizens from Mauritania to Hispania, it also facilitated inter-Empire trade between the various Provinces. Rome had a vigorous, far-flung, and diverse trade network that extended far beyond their borders to India and China.  

ROME’S MERCHANT MARINE

Roman merchants moved all sorts of goods and foodstuffs by sea. Commercial vessels were known by a variety of names, such as corbita, gaulus, ponto, or cladivata, depending upon the region. Overall, the ships demonstrated great uniformity in design. This would be expected given the level of maritime commerce within the Empire. Innovations and improvements were quickly shared and disseminated within the industry.

Museum Reproduction of a Roman Corbita

LEARNING FROM DISASTER

Our knowledge of Roman shipping comes from two sources, ancient drawings and illustrations, and shipwrecks. The large number of shipwrecks found around the Mediterranean illustrates not only the quantity of shipping that took place, but the perils of traveling by sea in earlier times. We can verify this based on the detailed account in Acts of the Apostles of Paul being shipwrecked on his way to Rome. Depending on size and intended use of the ship, the hull shape could be either symmetrical or asymmetrical. In the first case the stern and bow were essentially identical. In the asymmetric version, the bow was located at a lower height. The bow was sometimes concave, due to the presence of a cutwater. These were added not as a ram, but a structural modification to improve the vessel’s sailing ability.  

WIND-POWERED TRANSPORT

Unlike the warships that utilized rowers to quickly maneuver and propel the ship, merchant ships relied exclusively upon sails for propulsion. The illustrations I’ve used show a single-masted ship, however as the vessel’s size and tonnage increased they added a second and even a third mast. The sails were square and controlled by a complex system of rigging. Many ships also featured a smaller sail, called a supparum, on the bow which aided steering.

BIG, BIGGER, AND BIGGEST

The size of Roman ships often surprises people. On the low end were ships designed for the grain trade, which carried 10,000 modii of grain…a little over 75 tons. These were the workhorses of the fleet running regular routes to nearby Provinces to load wheat or barley. A government contract provided the ship owner with a steady source of income as his ship traced and retraced the same path back and forth between Rome and Sicily, Alexandria, or other export points.  

Medium-sized ships were used extensively for the olive oil trade and were measured by the number of amphorae they could hold. A 3,000-amphora vessel had almost three times the capacity of the smaller ships, carrying 165,000 tons. The size of these ships is confirmed by numerous underwater explorations of ship wrecks. In addition to the specialized use previously mentioned, small and medium-sized ships hauled general merchandise as well. Metal ores and other raw materials, spices, silk and other trade goods moved with surprising regularity. For instance, in the First Century 120 ships a year set sail for India from the Red Sea port of Berenike. Their return cargo consisted of pepper which was moved by barge to Alexandria, and from there to Rome on still more ships. 

The Roman fleet also had higher tonnage vessels. The hull of the Madrague de Giens, that floundered off Gaul (France) in the First Century BC, was 130 feet long with an estimated capacity of 440 tons. In the early years of the Roman Empire, the muriophorio, 10,000-amphora carriers carrying 550 tons were the largest ships afloat. The grain trade also utilized some 50,000 modii vessels which hauled 365 tons. The size and capacity of these ships was not exceeded in the Mediterranean until the Sixteenth Century.  

Yet the Roman world saw a few ships larger even than these. For instance, the carrier that Caligula built to transport an obelisk from Egypt to Rome had a capacity of 1450 tons. After it sank, it was used to construct the lighthouse at the port of Claudius. Various Emperors, Cleopatra among them, built barge-like floating palaces. Though designed for limited use in safe waters, some of them were nearly 250 feet in length.

The Merchant Ship Afloat

STANDARDIZED SHIPPING CONTAINERS

For olive oil and many other commodities, amphorae became the standard shipping container. So many amphorae arrived in Rome that disposing of the empties eventually created a problem. In 1999 an underwater search for a lost Israeli submarine turned up an ancient shipwreck at a depth of 10,000 feet. The ship came to rest on its keel then gradually tipped to one side. The weight of the amphorae in its hold caused the hull to lose structural integrity, spreading an oval mound of amphorae approximately 80 feet long and 50 feet wide on the seafloor. It is estimated that there are 2,500 amphorae in the pile. Based on its location halfway between Rhodes and Alexandria and the Greek wine it carried, archeologists surmise the ship was headed for Egypt.  

When hearing the word amphora, many people think of an urn-like container. In fact, amphora is also a unit of measurement. An amphora equaled 3 modius. Since a modius contains 2 ½ gallons of liquid, each amphora on the seafloor represents 7½ gallons. So, if the 2,500 intact amphorae comprised the entire cargo, the ship was carrying 18,750 gallons, or 150,000 pounds, of wine when it sank.  

Like most colonizing powers, over time Rome grew dependent upon the influx of goods from the Provinces to survive. Each year 60,000,000 modii of grain arrived in Rome. Assuming each vessel contained 50,000 modii, that works out to 1,200 shipments of grain annually. Navigation was not the year-round affair that it is today. Every winter saw the arrival of the mare clausum or closed sea that lasted four months. Subtracting this period of inactivity computes to an average of five large grain ships arriving every navigable day. It has also been calculated that seven or more large shiploads of olive oil docked each month. To those must be added the ships that transported wine, fish products, spices, cloth, ore, marble and stone blocks. There were also shiploads of wild animals arriving from Africa and elsewhere for use in the games.    

All of this merchandise directed at Rome had to come through the Port of Ostia and later the Port of Claudius. Merchant ships which exceeded a 3000-amphora capacity, about 165 tons, could not travel upstream. They were obliged to anchor at sea and unload their cargo onto smaller vessels which shuttled between the ships and the river entrance to the Port of Ostia. These operations were lengthy and dangerous operations. The coastline in that area was inhospitable, low, and sandy.  

Next time we’ll examine the ancient method of contemplative study of the scriptures known as Lectio Divina.

Until then, we wish you Peace and Blessings

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FOODS OF THE FIRST CENTURY — FISH & FOWL

Hello My Friend and Welcome.

Today we present another installment in our continuing series Foods of the First Century. If you’re new to Sowing the Seeds and would like to start at the beginning, or if you’ve missed one along the way, you can access the entire series by clicking on Foods of the First Century under the Archives by Topic header in the lower part of the left sidebar.

KASHRUT OR KOSHER

Some clarifying notes are required before we begin our study of fish and fowl. Kashrut is the body of Jewish law dealing with what foods can and cannot be eaten and how those foods must be prepared. Kashrut comes from the Hebrew root Kaf-Shin-Reish, meaning fit, proper or correct. It is the same root as the more commonly used word kosher, which describes food that meets these standards. The word kosher can also be used, and often is, to describe ritual objects that are made in accordance with Jewish law and thus fit for ritual use.

The short answer to why Jews observe these laws is, because the Torah (The Law) says so. The Torah does not specify any reason for these laws, and for a Torah observant Jew, there is no need for any other reason. In his book To Be a Jew, Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin suggests that the dietary laws are designed as a call to holiness. The ability to distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil, pure and defiled, the sacred and the profane, is very important in Judaism. The clean and unclean designations of Pharisaic Judaism, which prevailed at the time of Christ, were derived by attempting to codify these distinctions to the Nth degree.

As always, we’ll rely upon Biblical references to set us on our way. 

FISH

An important food source in ancient times and modern, fish are mentioned 37 times in the Old Testament (8 times in the Torah, 1 Kings, 2 Chronicles,  Nehemiah, Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, Jonah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah) and 36 times in the New Testament…all but one being in the Gospels.

There were severe kosher restrictions relating to the consumption of seafood. Both Lev. 11:9 and Deut. 14:9 say, “Of the things that are in the waters, you may eat anything that has fins and scales…” Thus, shellfish such as lobsters, oysters, shrimp, clams and crabs were all forbidden. The Jew’s gentile neighbors, of course, regularly consumed shellfish.

Fish of all varieties are permitted under Jewish law provided they have detachable scales. Some of the fish not considered kosher are: Angler See, Basa, Beluga (Sturgeon), Billfishes including Marlins and Swordfish, Blowfish, Catfish, Eels, Freshwater Cod, Lumpfish, Sharks, Rays and their relatives.

Fish Plate with Center Sauce Dish

AVAILABILITY OF FISH

The variety and availability of fish was primarily determined by geographic region. Judea, being on the Mediterranean Sea, enjoyed a wide variety of salt water fish. Fish were also plentiful in the region of Galilee because of Lake Genneserat…aka the Sea of Galilee or the Sea of Tiberias. The primary catch in the Sea of Galilee was the small bass we now know as Tilapia. Fresh fish were less plentiful in the eastern regions since their only source would have been small ponds, lakes, or the Jordan River.

FISH FARMING

Fish farming is not a modern innovation. Both the Romans and the Jews operated fish farms. A particularly large group of fish ponds were constructed at Herod’s capitol, Caesarea. If not eaten fresh, the fish would have been split, cleaned, salted, and dried in the sun, or smoked, to preserve them for later use. Dried fish was a routine trade item throughout the Roman Empire. Galilean fishermen such as Simon Peter and his brother, Andrew, and their partners the Zebedees (James, John and their father) sold their catch all across the Eastern portion of the Roman Empire.

Tradition tells us that, in addition to a sales outlet in Capernaum, the Zebedee family also had a second market in Jerusalem. In the Passion narratives, recall that John was known to the gatekeeper at the High Priest’s house whereas Peter was not and had to rely on John to get him in. With reference to the Biblical story commonly called The Loaves and Fishes, the little boy with the two fish and seven barley loaves obviously had dried fillets, most probably Tilapia. 

GARUM…THE POPULAR FISH SAUCE

Another staple of that era was Garum, or Liquamen, a salty, pungent fish sauce used both as a condiment and an ingredient in many recipes. Should you get a hankerin’ for some authentic Garum, here’s an ancient recipe from Gargilius Martialis’ cookbook, De medicina et de virtute herbarum: 

“Use fatty fish, for example, sardines, and a well-sealed container with a 26-35 quart capacity. Add dried, aromatic herbs possessing a strong flavor, such as dill, coriander, fennel, celery, mint, oregano, and others, making a layer on the bottom of the container; then put down a layer of fish (if small, leave them whole, if large, use pieces). Over this, add a layer of salt two fingers high. Repeat these layers until the container is filled. Let it rest for seven days in the sun. Then mix the sauce daily for 20 days. After that, it becomes a liquid.”  

Doesn’t that sound just yummy? If you’d rather not make your Garum by the gallon, here’s a modern alternative: Cook a quart of grape juice, reducing it to one-tenth its original volume. Dilute two tablespoons of anchovy paste in the concentrated juice and mix in a pinch of oregano. Be sure to let me know how it turns out.

A Grouse

FOWL

Partridge (1 Samuel 26:20; Jeremiah 17:11)

Pigeon (Genesis 15:9; Leviticus 12:8)

Quail (Psalm 105:40)

Dove (Leviticus 12:8)

A Quail in Israel

There are several interesting things to be gleaned from the above list. First, chicken is not mentioned. Chicken was known and available in the First Century, but generally reserved for the upper classes.  

Secondly, all of those birds listed were available wild. This isn’t to imply that everyone trapped their own birds, but I’m confident many in the rural areas did. We know from archaeological studies that aviculture was widespread and well developed in the ancient world. (See our earlier post Aviculture in Ancient Israel.) Interestingly enough, all of the birds in the list are still raised commercially.

A Sand Partridge - Native to Israel

KOSHER RESTRICTIONS ON FOWL

The Torah also designates a number of birds as forbidden…all birds of prey or scavengers. Eggs from these non-kosher sources were forbidden as well. The Biblical list omits several groups of birds that comprised part of the First Century diet. For instance, waterfowl such as ducks and geese are not mentioned, but frequently appear in the writings of Roman historians. Grouse, or ptarmigan, are also overlooked, but were surely eaten. 

So there we have it, the Fish and Fowl of the Roman world available to the earliest Christians. Two weeks from now, on May 21st , we’ll examine Meats and Milk. Meanwhile, this coming Wednesday we’ll look at Roman Merchant Ships. 

Until then, we wish you Peace and Blessings. 

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ANCIENT GAMES — DICE

A Mosaic of Gamblers Playing Dice

Hello My Friend and Welcome.

“God does not play dice with the universe,”- Albert Einstein. “God not only plays dice, He also sometimes throws the dice where they cannot be seen,”- Stephen Hawking. Do we sense a difference of opinion here? 

Today we’ll be taking a look at Roman dice and dice games, or Tesserae. We have already done previous posts on the Roman game of Hounds and Jackals, the chess-like game, Latrunculi and most recently the line game known as Calculi that you may enjoy.  

We must always keep in mind that the early Christians lived in a world dominated by Roman culture. Paraphrasing the old maxim, one could say, “When in the Roman Empire do as the Romans do.” And, in matters other than faith, that’s most likely what they did.  

In Biblical terms, the rolling of the dice is known as casting lots. It’s a rather popular term, appearing in Leviticus, Numbers, Joshua, 1 Samuel, 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ezekiel, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum, 2 Esdras, all four of the Passion narratives, and, finally, in Acts where the Apostles must choose a replacement for Judas. The Biblical view of dice is probably best expressed in Proverbs 16:33, “The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly from the Lord.”

A Shaker Cup and a Pair of Dice

In addition to using dice to settle disputes or distribute goods impartially, they were also used for entertainment and gambling. One popular game was Tali. Like the familiar dice game Yahtzee, the count of the dice was scored like poker hands. No special board was needed. If you didn’t have dice, you used animal bones. A round consists of each player throwing and the winner of that round was the one with the best hand. Multiple hands could be added for a total score to determine the winner. A Venus was the highest hand and consisted of a one, three, four, and six. A Senio was a six with any combination of other numbers. Vultures were all the same numbers and the worst score you could get Dogs, was all ones.

Like the dice we use today, opposite sides of the ancient Roman dice always added up to seven.  (In case it’s been a while since you played Monopoly, the opposite sides of our dice are one and six, three and four, and two and five.) Dice were shaken in a cup then tossed, as croupiers do today. Bets were placed in much the same manner as they are today.  

Dice games were played in taverns as well as gambling houses, brothels and on the street. The emperor Commodus, who was especially fond of gambling with dice, turned the Imperial Palace into a brothel and gambling house to raise money for the treasury when he bankrupted the Empire.  

Gambling with dice was forbidden in the streets of Rome and Roman soldiers often fined the gamblers or made them move inside. Under Roman law, games of chance played for money were forbidden with the penalty being a fine of four times the value of the stakes. This led to the invention of another Los Vegas staple, gambling chips. Now the gamblers weren’t playing for money; they were playing for chips. That the chips were marked with specific symbols indicating their value didn’t seem to bother the authorities.

These chips, called roundels, have been found throughout the Roman Empire. They were made by turning and grinding sections of bone on a lathe, and then slicing it into discs. They carried numerical markings on one side, most commonly X, V and I. Many of the chips marked with an X have an extra vertical line through the middle, symbolizing a denarius. Chips have also been found labeled remittam libenter —I will gladly repay— the Roman equivalent of an I.O.U. Presumably, the repayment would have been made to or from the tavern or gambling club, much the same as is done with gambling tokens in Las Vegas today.  

In a final aside, the Romans flipped coins just as we do. Coin tossing was known as capita aut navia, which means heads or tails. Early Roman coins always had a portrait of the Emperor on the face and ship on the tail side. Recall the words of Jesus when asked about the legality of paying taxes in Matthew 22:19-21.

“Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then he said to them, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

 Next time we’ll return to Foods of the First Century for a study entitled Fish and Fowl.

Until then, we wish you Peace and Blessings

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FALSE MESSIAHS, DANIEL’S PROPHECY, & SABBATICAL YEARS



A Potential Mashiach Gathering Followers

Hello My Friend and Welcome. 

Today we look at the very interesting phenomena of the Sheker, or False Messiah. Jewish yearning for the Mashiach seems reached a fever pitch in the years prior to and in the years after the birth of Christ. Why? Well, part of the reason could have been the oppressive conditions under Roman rule, but the expected fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy was probably also a factor.  

THE BIBLICAL CONTEXT

The Law of Moses commanded that every 7th year be a Sabbatical Year. As the name suggests, the Sabbatical year is tied to the biblical concept of the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week and a time of rest. The Jubilee and Sabbatical years provided a form of regular debt release to stabilize social and economic gaps that naturally develop within every society. 

According to the Hebrew Bible, during the seventh year all land had to be left untilled and unplanted, and debts from close neighbors that were unpaid during the previous six years were cancelled. These laws of land use and debt remission are not necessarily originally connected but appear to have been grouped together under a single general category of the Sabbatical year or Shemittah (Exodus 21:2-6, Exodus 23:10-11, Leviticus 25:1-7, 18-22, and Deuteronomy 15:1-11, 12-18) by the time the Bible was written. 

In particular these laws addressed three specific concerns. First, they controlled overuse of the land. The laws also covered debt concerns. Because of drought and other cyclical crop failures, the poor needed to have a way to start over rather than languish in poverty. A similar consideration led to the introduction of Bankruptcy Laws in modern society. And, lastly, they addressed land ownership and management concerns that affected families in inter-generational settings. Other ancient near-eastern texts from the laws of Hammurabi and Ras Shamra (Ugarit) suggest similar concerns, but none of them have formulations as advanced or as specific as the laws of the Hebrew Bible. 

THE HISTORIC REALITY

Jeremiah foretold that God would withhold His blessings and protection, because the nation of Judah had fallen away. He said Judah would be conquered and taken into a captivity which would last for 70 years (Jeremiah 25:12; 29:10). This was later fulfilled when Babylon conquered Judah and took them into captivity.  

There is a belief that the observance of a Sabbatical year had apparently been neglected for most of Israel's history, so the Lord decreed they would spend one year in captivity for every sabbatical year they had failed to keep. They had missed 70 sabbatical years during their 490 years as a nation. The first deportation took place in 605 BC and the return occurred in 535 BC — 70 years. 

Some validation for this belief can be found in the system of Rabbi Hillel, who lived in the First Century. He created a legal fiction (a prosbul or transference) that allowed for the repayment of a debt through a transfer of that debt from a personal loan to an institutional loan, thereby technically meeting the Sabbatical requirements, but allowing for repayment after the Sabbatical year. This prosbul is an example of the ways in which some Jews in the time of Christ ostensively met the spirit of the law, yet circumvented them in practice. Hence, his criticism of the Pharisees. 

However, Daniel’s prophecy not only looked back in time, it also looked forward. It promised a Messiah who would come to make atonement for iniquity. The general consensus is that the some groups of Jewish teachers believed that the arrival of the Messiah was imminent. (Recall the meeting with Herod the Great after the Wise Men appeared searching for the Christ Child.) We also must keep in mind that the Sadducees accepted only the Torah, so the Temple aristocracy would have rejected any Messianic claims.  

A LONG LIST OF FAILED ATTEMPTS

The list of Messianic Pretenders, or Shekers, can be short or long depending upon the criteria used. (One list continues into the Twentieth Century.  Its most recent entry being an Hassidic Rabbi who died in the 1990’s.) For our purposes, the real interest lies with those who arose just prior to, or shortly after, the birth of Yeshua of Nazareth. This yields a list of thirteen individuals beginning with Athrongeus and ending with Simon bar Kokhbar in 132 AD.  

My novel, WITNESS chronicles the rise and fall of the two earliest pretenders, Judas the Galilean and Athrongeus of Judea. Of the two, Judas had the greater impact. The Roman army executed most of Judas’ followers after his uprising. He, however, lived to fight another day. Retreating into the Galilean hills with a handful of supporters, he waged a guerilla war against the Romans for many years. The party of the Zealots arose from his movement. 

Jacob & Simon, both sons of Judas the Galilean, are listed among the Messianic Pretenders. They were crucified by the Roman Governer Tiberius Julius Alexander in 47 AD. Seventy years after Judas’ revolt in Sepphoris the Zealot party seized control of Jerusalem, which led to the the famous Jewish Revolt and the city’s destruction by the Romans in 70AD. 

Another Messianic Pretender is mentioned by Gamali’el in his speech to the Great Sanhedrin recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. (Acts 5:34-39) “But a Pharisee in the council named Gama'li-el, a teacher of the law, held in honor by all the people, stood up and ordered the men to be put outside for a while. And he said to them, "Men of Israel, take care what you do with these men. For before these days Theu'das arose, giving himself out to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was slain and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him Judas the Galilean arose in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this undertaking is of men, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” 

The Bar Kokhbar Revolt marked the last attempt by the Jews to establish a nation in ancient Israel. Though the Temple had been destroyed in 70AD, Jews still inhabited the territory in and around Jerusalem. Simon bar Kokhba ―Simon Son of a Star― is referenced in the Babylonian Talmud, in Cassius Dio’s Roman History, and in Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History. He led a major Jewish revolt that took the Romans three years to put down. Coins minted during his reign are stamped “Year one of the redemption of Israel.” His defeat led to the absolute leveling of Jerusalem and the expulsion of all Jews from the Holy Land. His critics referred to him as bar Kozeba – Son of Disappointment.

The Unfortunate End of a Failed Revolt

WHAT MOTIVATED THESE MEN?

It’s tempting to write these people off as rabble-rousers and riff-raff. Surely, some of them were. We see that same phenomena in modern society. How often does a city’s celebration of a championship team devolve into a riot in which shops are vandalized and looted? Clearly a share in the potential spoils motivated some of the followers of these failed rebellions.  

However, to paint them all with such a broad brush seems unfair. Place yourself in their shoes. You’re dissatisfied, angry about the Roman occupation and a devout follower of the Judaism. You believe the prophecies of a coming Mashiach with all your heart. Who is he? Where is he? It suddenly occurs to you that maybe…just maybe, God is calling you to this task. After all, many Biblical heroes were reluctant heroes at best. How can you find out whether or not you’re the long awaited Mashiach? The only way is to test the vocation. If you succeed, the call is true.

Unfortunately, such a process forces you to place your life on the line.  

A CLOSING THOUGHT

Interestingly enough one, if not two, of Judas the Galilean’s followers apparently found a home among Yeshua’s disciples. Luke refers to the first as Simon Zelotes (Simon the Zealot). In Matthew and Mark the KJV identifies him as a Canaanite. This is an incorrect translation of the Hebrew word Cananean, which in Greek becomes Zealot.  

It has been suggested that the name Judas Iscariot derives from the Greek word sikarios ― dagger bearer. The Sicarii were a band of fanatical nationalists who broke with the Zealots and assassinated perceived enemies with their daggers.  

On Friday we’ll be examining the First Century game known as Tabula.

Until then, we wish you Peace and Blessings.

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