Plants of the Bible

With Bible Verses, Stories, Illustrations & Facts

Beans & LentilsMustardDatesNutsFigsOlivesGrain PomegranatesGrapesSpices & HerbsHoney

Introduction:

The following pages contain lessons developed for Bible studiesheld in homes of Christians in San Diego, California.These groups have been meeting for years – at least 5 years for the“new” group, and more than 30 years for the “old” group. Eachparticipant helped in this experiment of a visual and edible Biblestudy.My initial motivation to undertake this study came from reading

Devotionals on Trees of the Bible

by Grace P. Wellborn. Thisbook, written nearly 40 years ago, prompted me to look moreclosely at the plants and foods in the Bible. Pastor Doug Websterpreached a series of sermons through the Bible called “Stay in theStory”. I got the idea for using food (plants) as a pathway for ourown walk through “the story”.Rather than take a walk on historical paths, or theological ones, wewould travel along the routes that mean the most to our stomach.In this way I hoped to attract the attention of these experiencedBible scholars – and to have a little fun along the way. An addedbonus came in the fact that we in Southern California are able tosee biblical foods growing all around us, and most of those werebrought and grown here by men and women of faith – the foundersof the California mission communities in the late 1700s.My hopes were fulfilled, and some wonderful tastes experienced aswell. Best of all, we found a way to be reminded of God’s goodnesseach time we walked through the store, into our kitchens, or in ourbackyards.

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Audience: First Presbyterian Church Date: Oct 2000-May 2001-January 2005Version: 3.0Bible from: NIVCreated by: Michael RoederPictures & Stories: various sources

Word Origins:

Pulse and Legumes:

twowords used to describeplants that bear podscontaining edible seeds

Chick Peas

comes from theFrench term

pois ciche:

earlier known just as

ciche

Garbanzo

comes from theSpanish word

garvanzo

The word

lentil

has been usedin the English language formore than 750 years!

Beans & Lentils

Beans and lentils are foods mentioned inthe Bible, and consumed by Jews andother Mediterranean people forthousands of years. They are part of agroup of foods called Pulse, or Legumes.These are dietary staples – readilygrown, quickly prepared for eating,easily dried for carrying on journeys.Lamb and lentils are the equivalent of

The Meaning of Beans & Lentils

Legumes: a food throughout history

Legumes can be grown to produce seedsfor food. The seeds can be dried,cooked and eaten alone or with otherfoods or dried and stored for later use.The leaves, flowers and tubers of somelegumes can be eaten as a vegetable.Common legumes include beans, peas,peanuts, dhal, lentils and winged beans.They provide a very important foodresource - in many parts of the world,legumes were regarded as a poor man'sfood. They were mostly prepared as aside-dish to add extra flavour andtexture to the commonly eatenstarches.Lentils are nutritious - no cholesterol, atrace of polyunsaturated fat, high infiber, complex carbohydrates, protein,B-vitamins, and potassium. Lentils must

ground chickpeashave been foundin the tombs ofseveral of thePharaohs

the American meat and potatoes. TheJews even considered legumes in thesame class as grains because they couldbe made into forms of bread.Sadly, for centuries a taste for lentilsand chickpeas was enough to condemn aperson to the Inquisitors, as it wasconsidered evidence a person was a Jewand not a Christian.be teamed with a grain like rice, pasta,or barley, to make complete protein.Lentils are 25% protein. Fresh peas have7% protein, 12% carbos, and 80 caloriesper 100 grams. Dried peas have 21%protein, 54% carbos, and 334 caloriesper 100 grams. Chickpeas have 340calories per 100 grams.The Palouse region, in Washington andIdaho, produces virtually all the lentilsgrown in the United States - more than135 million pounds annually.Planted in the spring, lentils areallowed to dry naturally on the vine inthe summer sun, then harvested in latesummer. A mechanical processseparates pods from the seeds. Finally,lentils are sifted for uniform size.

Plants of the Bible:

Audience:

First Presbyterian

Version:

2.0

Created by

: Michael Roeder

Date:

January 2005

Bible Version:

NIV