Skip to main content

The God factor and the pistachio tree

The Atlantic pistachio tree is not only a source of food and a lesson in mutuality, thanks to a very strange symbiotic relationship it has with an insect. It was also a goddess, at least once upon a time. In Israel, fall doesn't trumpet its arrival in a cacophonous changing of leaves. A rare one whose leaves do turn russet in the best tradition of more northern climes is the wild terebinth, a.k.a. the Atlantic pistachio – oft-mentioned in the bible and a source of superfood for the locals before they were even human.

Some terebinths are low and bushy, like in the Valley of Elah, where David fought Goliath (1 Sam. 17:2 - elahis the name of this tree in Hebrew). Yet others have broad girths and wide crowns, in the rare places where deforestation over the centuries was avoided.

The Pistacia atlantica nuts among the “choice fruits” of Canaan that Jacob instructed his sons to take back to Egypt (Gen. 43:11) were pistachios (although the Hebrew word used in that verse, botnim, is today translated as “peanuts”). Today we know that Jacob did the Egyptians a favor – the true pistachio, a relative of the Atlantic pistachio, is now widely touted as a superfood.

Then there’s the grisly tale of the death of Absalom, son of King David. The Bible says it was from the boughs of a “great terebinth” (some versions say oak) that Absalom found himself caught by his famously heavy tresses, when his father’s general, Joab, found him and ran him through (2 Sam. 18:9–15).


See pictures and read article at -- http://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-1.629771

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why did they lay their coats at Saul's feet?

The witnesses, laying their coats at the feet of Saul, were the men that would cast the first stones at Stephen in Acts 7. Why did they all lay their coats at Saul’s feet? The Talmud contains a very interesting account of the act of stoning that may provide the answer. “When the trial was over, they take him [the condemned person] out to be stoned. The place of stoning was at a distance from the court, as it is said, ‘Take out the one who has cursed.’ [i] A man stands at the entrance of the court; in his hand is a signaling flag [Hebrew   sudarin = sudar , ‘scarf, sweater’]. A horseman was stationed far away but within sight of him. If one [of the judges] says, ‘I have something [more] to say in his favor,’ he [the signaler] waves the   sudarin , and the horseman runs and stops them [from stoning him]. Even if [the condemned person] himself says, ‘I have something to say in my favor,’ they bring him back, even four of five times, only provided that there is some substance to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Are Saul and Paul the Same Person?

There has always been some confusion over whether Saul and Paul is the same person. The confusion begins in the Book of Acts. ● “Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul . . . he brought him to Antioch . . . for a whole year they taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called ‘ Christians ’ in Antioch .” ( Acts 11:25-26 ) ● “ Then Agrippa said to Paul , `You almost persuade me to become a Christian .’” ( Acts 26:28) ● “ Then Saul , who also  is called   Paul . . . ” ( Acts 13:9a ) Based on the three verses above, we would assume they are references to the same person – but is he the Paul we read about in the Epistles? The name “ Saul ” doesn’t appear in the Epistles. In order to answer that question we must examine the stories of the “ conversion experiences ” of Saul in Acts and Paul in Galatians . Pay close attention to the time periods and places mentioned in both accounts. Saul’s experience is found in Acts 9 and...
Post a Comment
Read more

Light: The Creator’s Gift to the Entire Creation!

  Traditionally, this is called the “creation of light,” but in verses that follow, the Creator will speak again, but nothing will be created. Therefore, we shifted our focus to the Hebrew word translated “light.” The Hebrew word has two additional meanings, other than “light.” Continue reading at - http://mailchi.mp/6b8feacc4ba8/light-the-creators-gift-to-the-entire-creation
Post a Comment
Read more