Agriculture

Abstract

Agriculture is the cultivation of the soil for the production of food and other useful and valuable growth from the land, including products of fields, gardens, and orchards. Its practice includes all activities, installations, and tools used by the farmer in connection with the cultivation, caring for the land, and the plants, and the production of all foodstuffs and by-products. In biblical times, agriculture was the main source of livelihood, followed by animal husbandry. Practiced by villagers and to a certain extent by city dwellers as well, the influence of agriculture on many facets of daily life was very strong. Echoes can be discerned not only in the economy but also in religious beliefs and practice, customs and law, and social behavior as well.

The Agricultural Background of the Harvest Logion in Matthew 9.37–8 and Luke (Q) 10.2

“…108 Some grapevines were planted in mixed orchards with other trees, although vineyards were much more common. 109 Olive oil had multiple uses, including culinary, medicinal, cosmetic, fuelling lamps, anointing kings, and offering libation. 110 Wine was the most common beverage in Palestine, sometimes even outperforming water, which was often contaminated.…”

“…112 In addition to making wine, grapes could be eaten as they were, pressed to make grape juice, used to make vinegar, and dried to make raisins. 113 In modern Palestine, wealthier peasant families tend to also prepare grape molasses, jam, and marmalade for the winter. 114 Olives were initially only used to make oil, but started being eaten raw when pickling or salting was introduced during the Greco-Roman period.…”

“…114 Olives were initially only used to make oil, but started being eaten raw when pickling or salting was introduced during the Greco-Roman period. 115 Other fruit trees were often combined in the same terrace or in an orchard near the house and included trees of pomegranate, apple, fig, sycamore, apricot, carob, date, blackberry and black mulberry. 116 Apart from being eaten or squeezed for juice, these fruits were also used to make dried fruit (which was sometimes pressed into cakes), marmalade-like products, honey-like syrup, and even alcoholic drinks.…”

“…118 A very popular category of field crops was legumes, which included fenugreek, lentils, peas, fava beans, broad beans, chickpeas, bitter vetch, and grass-peas. 119 Besides legumes, other vegetables were also grown, often in the same groves as the fruit trees or in vegetable gardens near the house, including melons, carrots, gourds, cucumbers, garlic, musk, onions, and leeks. 120 Other agricultural produce included sesame and flax seeds, as well as spices like cumin, coriander, and dill.…”

For Whom the Plowshares and Pruning Hooks Toil: A Tradition-Historical Reading of Joel 4.10

“…57 Oded Borowski explicates that is one of the essential tools for cultivating vines in mountainous regions, such as the hill country, because could be used between the rows. 58 Second, vines must be pruned in order to maximize their productivity. Pruning was done with , which resembled , a sickle.…”