Meat.— I. It does not appear that the word " meat" is use.l in anv one instance in the Authorized Version *^"''''" "^'''®'® ^^^
isniissing left Tpo<pi) and jSpioixa (with its kindred words, liptZaic, etc.), both words bearing the widest possible significa- tion, and meaning everything that can be eaten fir can nourish the frame. The former is most used in the (iospcls and Acts. The latter is found in John and in the Epistles of Paul. It is the word employed in the famous sentences, "for meat destroy not the work of God," "if meat make my brother to offend," etc. — Smith, s. V. See Alisgema.
II. Meat, however, in the jiropcr modern sense ("ITUS,
basar', flesh, as it is rendered in the Auth.Vcrs.),i. e. of
), namely, lambs (Isa. liii, 7; Amos
of either the O. or N.Testament in the sense whi<-h it now almost exclusively hears of animal food. The lat- ter is denoted uniformly by " flesh."
1. Tiie only possible exceptions to this assertion in the O. T. are: {a) Gen. xxvii, 4, etc., "savory meat;" Gen. xlv, 23, "corn and bread and meat." Here the He- brew word, D*^^"— ^, matammim' , which in this form appears in this chapter only, is derived from a root
vi. 4), calves (1 Sam. xxviii, 24; Gen. xviii, 7; Amos vi. 4 ; Luke xv, 23 ; comp. Kussell, -4 hppo, i, 145), oxen ( Isa. xxii. 13 ; Prov. xv, 17; 1 Kings iv, 23 ; Matt, xxii, 4\ kids (1 Sam. xvi, 20; Judg. vi, 19), also venison (1 Kings iv, 23), and poultry (1 Kings iv, 23; sec Ge- senius, Thes. Ileb. p. 715 ; Jliehaelis.'j/os. liecht. iv, 198), was a favorite dish among the Hebrews, either roasted entire, or cooked with choice vegetables and eaten with bread (2 Sam. vi, 19; 1 Kings xvii, 6) ; yet only royal
which has exactly the force of our word "taste," and is | personages partook of it dailv (1 Kings iv, 23; keh! v, emiiloyed in reference to the manna. In the passages in | j„)^ t,,e ip^s wealthv merelvon festive occasions (Luke (luesiiou the word "dainties" would be perhaps more ^v, 23; comp. Nielnihr, liesch. p. 52). especiallv at the apiiropnatc. {b) In Genesis the original word is one of ^^rcat sacrificial festivals; and we find that the" modem almost equal rarity, 'pT-a, mazon'; and if the Lexicons Arabs, namely, tlie I5edouin, as a general rule, but sel- did not show that this had only the general force of /borf dom eat tlesli (Sliaw, Trar. p. 169; conij). Ihirckhardt, in all the other Oriental tongues, that would be estab- t Trar. ii, 1003; Wellsted, i, 248; those of the peninsula lished in regard to Hebrew by its other occurrences, } of Sinai live mostly on sour milk, dried dates, and un- viz. 2 Chron. xi, 23, where it is rendered "victual;"; leavened bread. Hii]ipel, p. 203; but among tlie ancient and Dan.ix., 12, 21, where the meat spoken of is that to \ Egyjitians flesh was very commonly eaten, Exod. xvi, be furnished by a tree. , 3 ; comp. Kosellini, Mouum. cir. i. 151). The shoulder
2. The only real and inconvenient ambiguity caused | was the most esteemed piece of the animal (1 Sam. ix,
MEAT
24 ; comp. Harmar, i, 31 1) . Flesh which contained the blood was forbidden (Lev. iii, 17 ; vii, 26 ; xvii, 10 ; Deut. xii, 16, 27), because the life was regai'ded as re- siding in the blood (Gen. ix, 4; comp. Oedmann, vi, 89 sq.). See Blood. The pieces of flesh were taken by each guest from the common dish with his fingers. See Eat ; Meal-ti JIE. The Jews were very careful to avoid the flesh of heathen victims (^Aboda Sara, ii, 3).— "Winer, i, 375. See Clean ; Offering.
III. As above noted, in the English version the word " meat" means food in general ; or when confined to one species of food, it always signifies meal, flour, or grain, but never fesh, which is now the usual acceptation of the word. ' See Flesh. A "meat-offeriny" in the Script- ures is always a vegetable, and never an animal offer- ing; and it might now be rendered a hread-ojfenng, or o meal-offering, instead of a meat-offering. It does not appear that the ancient Hebrews were very nice about the dressing of their food. We find among them roast meat, boiled meat, aud ragouts. See Cook. Their man- ner of living would be much like that of the ancient Egyptians, among whom they had long resided. Wil- kinson says, "No tray was used on the Egyptian ta- ble, nor was it covered by any linen ; like that of the Greeks, it was probably wiped with a sponge or napkin after the dishes were removed, and polished by the serv- ants when the company had retired. The dishes con- sisted of fish ; meat, boiled, roasted, and dressed in va- rious ways; game, poultry, and a profusion of vege- tables and fruit, particularly figs and grapes during the season ; and a soup or pottage of lentils. Of figs and grapes they were particularly fond. Fresh dates during the season, and in a dried state at other periods of the year, were also brought to table." See Food. Among the Hebrews meats that were offered were boiled in a pot (1 Sam. ii, 14, 15). They were forbidden to seethe a kid in the milk of its dam (Exod. xxiii, 19; xxxiv, 26). They might not kill a cow and its calf on the same day ; nor a sheep or goat and its young one at the same time. They might not cut off a part of a living animal to eat it, either raw or dressed. If any lawfid beast or bird should die of itself or be strangled, and the blood not drain away, they were not allowed to taste of it. He that by inadvertence should eat of any animal that died of itself, or that was killed by any beast, was to be unclean till the evening, and was not purified till he had washed his clothes. They ate of nothing dressed by any other than a Hebrew, nor did they ever dress their victuals with the kitchen imple- ments of any but one of their own nation.