Farm (ctypoq, elsewhere usually rendered " field"), a plot of arable land (Jiatt. xxii, 5). Moses, follow- ing tlic example of the Egyptians, made agriculture tlic basis of the Hebrew state. He accordingly ap- jiortioncd to every Hebrew a certain qaantity of land, and gave him the right of tilling it himself, and of transmitting it to his heirs (Num. xxvi, 33-54). This equal distribution of the soil was the basis of the He- brew agrarian law. As in Egypt the lands all be- longed to the king, and the husbandmen were not the proprietors of the fields which they cultivated, but farmers or tenants wlio were obliged to give to the king one fifth of their produce (Gen. xlvii, 20-25), just so i\[o8cs represents Jehovah as tlie sole possessor of the soil of the Promised Land, in which he was about to place the Hebrews bj' his special providence ; and this land the}- held independent of all temporal supe- riors, by direct tenure from Jehovah their king (Lev. XXV, 23). Moses furtlier en;ictcd that for the land tlie Hebrews .should pay a kind of quit-rent to Jeho- %-ah, the sovereign proprietor, in tlie form of a tenth or tithe of the produce, which was assigned to the priest- hood. The condition of military service was a'lso at- tached to the land, as it appears that everj^ freeholder was obliged to attend the general muster of the na- tional army, and (with few exceptions, Deut. xx, 5-9)
to serve in it, at his own expense, as long as the occa- sion required. The Hebrews appear to luive accjuired in Egj'pt considerable knowledge of agriculture; but the physical circumstances of tlie land of Canaan were in many respects essentially different, as it was not a land rarel}' refreshed with rain as Egypt (Deut. xi, 10-15). The Hebrews, notwithstanding the richness of the soil, endeavored to increase its fertility in vari- ous waj'S. In order to avert the aridity which the summer droughts occasioned, the}' watered the soil by means of aqueducts communicating with tlie brooks, and thereb}' imparted to their fields a garden-like ver- dure (Psa. i, 3; Ixv, 10; Prov. xxi, 1; Isa. xxxii, 2, 20). In the hilly part of the country terrace cultiva- tion was practised, so that the hills otherwise barren were rendered fertile (Deut. xi, 11 ; Psa. Ixxii, IG ; civ, 10: Isa. xxx, 25). "With the use of manure the He- brews were undoubtedly acquainted ; and that the soil might not be exhausted, it was ordered that every seventh and every fiftieth j-ear the whole land should lie fallow. The dung, the carcasses, and the blood of animals were used to enrich the soil (2 Kings ix, 37 ; Psa. Ixxiii, 10; viii, 2; Jer. ix, 22). Salt, "either by itself, or mixed in the dunghill in order to promote putrefaction, is specially mentioned as a compost (Matt. V, 13 ; Luke xiv, 34, 35). The soil was enriched, also, bj' means of ashes, to which tlie straw, stubble, husks of corn, brambles, grass, etc., that overspread the land during the fallow or sabbatical year, were reduced bj' fire. The burning over the surface of the land had also the good effect of destroying the seeds of noxious herbs (Prov. xxiv, 31 ; Isa. xxx, 25). The soil of Pal- estine is very fruitful, if the dews of spring, and the rains of autumn and winter are not withheld. "Nev- ertheless," observes Hengstenberg, '"it is to be con- sidered that the Canaan of which Moses speaks is in a manner an ideal land. It was never what it might have been, since tlie bond of allegiance, in conse- quence of which God had promised to give the land its rain in its season, was always far from being per- fectly complied witli." Among the Hebrews the oc- cupation of the husbandman was held in high honor, and even distinguished men disdained not to put their hands to the plough (1 Sam. xi, 5-7 ; 1 Kings xix, 19; 2 Chron. xxvi, 10). The esteem in wliicii agriculture was held diminished as luxury increased, but it never wholly ceased ; even after the exile, when many of the Jews had become merchants and mechanics, the es- teem and honor attached to this occupation still con- tinued, especially under the dynasty of tlie Persians, who were agriculturists from religious motives. See Land.
In ancient Egypt, the peasants or husbandmen, like the modern ye/Za^s of the same country, seem to have formed a distinct class, if not caste, of society (Willcin- son. Anc. Egijft. ii, 1, 2). The government did not in- terfere directly with the peasants respecting tlie n<a- ture of the ]iroduce they intended to cultivate, and the vexations of later times were unknown under the Pha- raohs. They were thought to have the best opportu- nities of obtaining, from actual observation, an accu- rate knowledge on all subjects connected with hus- bandrj'; and, as Diodorus observes, "being from their infancy brought up to agricultural pursuits, tliey far excelled the husbandmen of other countries, and had become acquainted with the capabilities of the land, the mode of irrigation, the exact season for sowing and reaping, as well as all the most useful secrets connect- ed with the harvest, which they had derived from tlieir ancestors, and had improved by their own experience." "They rente()," says the same liistorian, "the arable lands belonging to the kings, the priests, and the mili- tarj' class, for a small sum, and employed their whole time in the tillage of their farms;" and the lal)orers who cultivated land for the rich peasant, or other land- ed proprietors, were superintended liy the steward or owner of the estate, wlio had authority over them, and