>Nathan MacDonald, a Lecturer in Old Testament at the University of St. Andrews has written a new book in which he examines some of the rich imagery about food and drink in the Old Testament. MacDonald’s book, Not Bread Alone: The Uses of Food in the Old Testament will be published by Oxford University Press in January 2006.

According to a press release reviewing the book, MacDonald’s work is designed to “contribute towards a better appreciation of the lives and ideas of ancient Israelites, as well as shedding new light on many parts of the Bible.” MacDonald said:

Too often the Bible has only been read for its profound intellectual and spiritual ideas, and the apparently mundane matters relating to food and physical appetite have been overlooked. But for the ancient Israelites most of their lives were spent in growing and processing food.

As a result different foods and the acts of eating and feasting become some of the most important symbols in the Bible. There is hardly a page in the Bible that does not mention food in some way.

This is another book that I want to add to my reading list. I enjoy reading about the social life of ancient Israelites. The sociological study of ancient Israel helps us gain a better understanding of what we read in the Old Testament.

Buy the book at Amazon.com.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tag: Bible, Food

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