Posted on 11/16/2016 8:54:25 AM PST by fishtank
You Are What You Eat: The Israelite Diet and Archaeology
Pig bones as an ethnic marker?
Jews don’t eat pork. Every kid knows that.
Much fewer people know that the abstinence from swine’s flesh is rooted in the Biblical prohibition in Leviticus 11:7 and Deuteronomy 14:8, which means that for the ancient Israelites, pork was also off the menu.
Only specialists, however, are aware of the fact that the Biblical ban on pork consumption from the Israelite diet can be interpreted from the archaeological or (more specifically) zooarchaeological record. In short: If people didn’t eat pork, they likely didn’t raise pigs—hence the expected absence in archaeologically excavated contexts of pig bones.
Indeed, modern excavations in the southern Levant (today’s Israel, Jordan and Palestine) show remarkable scarcity or total absence of pig bones at Iron Age (1130–586 B.C.E.) sites. The only apparent exception to this pattern is the sites occupied by the Philistines, one of the Sea Peoples who migrated to the southwestern Levant sometime at the dawn of the Iron Age.
This archaeological observation—supported by the Biblical prohibition—eventually led in modern scholarship to the establishment of the presence or absence of pig bones as an ethnic marker, one that would distinguish between ancient Israelites and Philistines.
Sounds reasonable, right?
Isaiah 65
"2 I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;
3 A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;
4 Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;"
It has been established that wherever pig bones are excavated in the land of Israel, they indicate a non-Israelite population. Pork was just not part of the Israelite diet, so the thinking went. Recent studies, however, prove this assumption problematic. Photo: Joe Ferraro, Baylor University, Courtesy of Deirdre Fulton.
Article image and caption
Duh! Do any of these Holy Land Archaeologists READ the Bible? They might at least Google “I am Legion.”
There once was bacon here...
Oh, I bet they know the Bible quite well.
It seems they have a hard time believing the Word.
No prohibition against raising them for sale.
And just because your a non-jew doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in the sus rackets.
Jews were forbidden from touching unclean animals, and to raise 'em, you gotsta touch 'em.
Then who were the people tending these pigs?
"Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened.
Not if you get non-Jewish servants to do the work of raising them.
For a whim .....
try explaining the “Leviticus Don’t’s” to anyone that has any ties to Louisiana.
(hint: roast pig - farm or wild; crawfish; oysters; clams; crabs; shrimp; catfish - no scales; gator; rabbit; squirrel)
Those tending the pigs were not Jews. They were Samarian.
As this Jew understands things — Jews may wear pigskin gloves and other products made of swine. The prohibition regards consumption of the animal. This is forbidden. Nothing wrong with touching them. Just wash your hands after.
OTOH, Muslims may not come into contact with pigs or pig products in any form. Hence pigfat on the mosque doorway is a nasty thing.
If I am mistaken please correct me here. Thanks...SSZ
I believe the Samaritans have the Pentateuch so they would have had that prohibition too. They are descendants of the northern tribes of Israel.
I believe the Samaritans have the Pentateuch so they would have had that prohibition too. They are descendants of the northern tribes of Israel.
This might represent eras when Israelites were less religious. Or, when Gentiles were living among them, and they were allowed to raise food for their sole consumption.
sin city for Jewish people... no problem for others
Good. More for me. They’ll be missing out the Christmas ham, obviously. Bacon. BBQ. Sausage. Pozole. Pickled pigs feet. A big ol’ pot of pinto beans with a ham shank. Have some pork thawing right now for sweet and sour pork for dinner. Yuuuum.
The Gerasenes were Gentiles, basically Greeks. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gergesa for more info.
kosher isn’t dull, fwiw.
This was Gentile populations living in Israel. The pigs were considered fine for them.
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