Jul 10, 2021 09:00:00

It turns out that the ancient Jews normally ate foods prohibited by the law

In areas where religion is the basis of life, the dietary habits are often strictly regulated by religious discipline, and the

Jewish food discipline that is worshiped mainly in Israel is called 'kosher food'. Called and known for being extremely strict. Such Jewish discipline stipulates that 'you must not eat fish without fins and scales ,' but it turned out that ancient Jews often ate fish without scales.

Full article: The Pentateuchal Dietary Proscription against Finless and Scaleless Aquatic Species in Light of Ancient Fish Remains
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03344355.2021.1904675

Ancient Judeans ate non-kosher fish, archaeologists find | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/ancient-judeans-non-kosher-fish.html

In Judaism, there is a strict distinction between what you can and cannot eat in Kashroot. You should not eat squid, octopus, shrimp, crab, shellfish and other seafood without fins and scales, pigs and their blood, rabbits and horses. Judaism is also one of the most disciplined religions in the world, as it is forbidden in Judaism to eat meat that has not been properly processed, or to eat dairy products and meat dishes at the same time. It is said that.

It is said that the reason why Judaism prohibits eating fish without fins and scales is derived from the description in

the Torah ( Pentateuch ) of Tanaha ( Old Testament). For example, in Leviticus chapter 11 , 'Of all that is in the water, what you can eat is: the sea, the river, all that are in the water: And some of the fins and scales can eat this. All the ones that flock to the water, and all the creatures in the water, that is, all in the sea and in the river, the fins and scales. 'What is not is detestable to you,' and Leviticus chapter 14 says, 'Of all the things in the water, the following can be eaten: all fins. And you can eat something with scales. You must not eat anything without fins and scales. This is dirty. '

According to Jonathan Adler, a senior lecturer in the Department of Archeology at Ariel University, the Pentateuch is believed by archaeologists to have been written and edited during the Achaemenid Persian period between 539 and 332 BC. Adler said he focused on archaeological records to find out when the 'don't eat fish without scales' commandment spread to Judaism.

Adler and

Omri Lernau, a researcher at the University of Haifa's Zinman Archaeological Institute, examined data from 20,000 fish bones from 30 previously identified archaeological sites. The target archaeological sites ranged from the late Bronze Age and Iron Age (1550 BC to 1130 BC) to the Byzantine Empire (324 to 640).

As a result of verification, it was found that from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, many bones of 'scaleless fish' such as catfish, sharks, and rays were also contained. At one archeological site, 48% of the fish bones found were catfish. Catfish were the most popular bones of fish without scales excavated, and sharks and rays were also excavated. The image below is a catfish bone actually excavated in Jerusalem.

In addition, eel bones were also found in Jerusalem and Teruyokuneam. From the excavation results, Mr. Adler said that the discipline regarding fish without uroko was not 'the content of the Bible reflected the lifestyle of the Jews at that time', but 'the life of the Jews at that time by being described in the Bible'. He argued that 'the style had changed significantly' and that 'at least during the Akemenes Persian era, when the Pentateuch would have been written, uroko-free fish were generally widely eaten even among Jews. I think it was. '

On the other hand, pig bones were not found in most of the times. Mr. Adler pointed out that the pigs themselves were hardly eaten due to the difficulty of raising pigs at that time, and in the Jewish precepts, 'items prohibiting pigs' and 'items prohibiting fish without scales' are I presume that it was originally established separately.

Mr. Adler will be able to clarify why the contents that ban catfish and sharks that have been eaten in general are written in the Pentateuch, and when it was banned by the precepts. It is stated as a research subject.