RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
AgTicola Agriculture
bers and melons are also mentioned as delicacies of which the Israelites were deprived in the wilderness (Num. xi. 5). Both are particularly refreshing in hot countries, and the poor live for months on bread and cucumbers or melons alone. Of condiments and spices the Old Testament mentions two varieties of cumin (Heb. kammon, kezah, Isa. xxviii. 25; the former used also as medicine) and the coriander (Ex. xvi. 31; Num. xi. 7, often mentioned in the Talmud). The New Testament adds: dill (Eng. versions, " anise," Matt, xxiii. 23), mint (ib.; Luke xi. 42), rue (Luke xi. 42), and mustard (Matt. xiii. 31, xvii. 20; Mark iv. 31; Luke xiii. 19, xvii. 6). The mustard-seed was proverbial as the smallest of seeds. The mustard plant grows quickly and reaches a height of ten feet. To these food-producing plants must be added flax (Josh. ii. 6; Isa. xix. 9; Hos. ii. 5, 9, and elsewhere) and cotton. The former of these is not much cultivated to-day; but it was of great importance to the ancient Israelites, as, together with wool, it supplied the material for their clothing. In the Greco- Roman period it was one of the chief articles of trade. The importance of the flax-cultivation can be inferred from the statement of the Talmud, that it was permissible to put a flax-bed under water on semi-holy days in order to destroy injurious insects (Mo'ed Katan i. 6). Linen-manufacture was carried on especially in Galilee. How early the cotton-plant was introduced into Palestine is not known. The Hebrew terms shesh and buz do not necessarily mean linen, but include cotton cloth, or a mixed material like the Greek byssos. The foreign word karpas (Gk. karpasos) is used for cotton in Esther i. 6 and in the Talmud. In Greco- Roman times cotton was grown and exported (cf. Pausanias, V. v. 2). For wine and oil see the separate articles.
Palestine is praised in Deut. viii. 7, xi. 10-11, as
a " land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths
that spring out of valleys and hills,"
Climatic which has no need of artificial irriga- Conditions. tion because it " drinketh water of the rain of heaven." Compared with the neighboring countries, it can not, indeed, be called poorly watered. In normal years the natural precipitation suffices for a great part of the fields. Land thus naturally watered is called in the Mishnah " house of the Baal " or " field of the house of the Baal," and the name is kept to this day (cf. Smith, Rel. of Sem., p. 97). But the ancient Israelites knew that watercourses and underground water were indispensable (cf. Ps. i.; Deut. viii. 7; Isa. xxxii. 20; Ezek. xvii. 8), and that the rain alone was not always sufficient; they therefore appreciated the pools made by the Canaanites and added to them (see Water Supply in Palestine). *or these favors of nature the Israelite ever felt his immediate dependence upon Yahveh (cf . Deut.
v\14;uJer' m- 3> v- 2i> Joel u-23; Zech- x- !)•
xahveh's blessing shows itself in his sending the nrst rain and the latter rain in due season; in the rain his mercy is seen, in the drought his
fh8!1"' j he proves himseU indeed the Baal of
tne land, who waters and fertilizes it (cf. Smith, I.e.). v '
The Israelites learned agriculture from the Canaanites. How rapidly they made the transition from the nomadic stage can not
CultiTa- be determined; it seems to have been tion. practically complete at the beginning of the regal period (cf. I Sam. xi. 5; II Sam. xiv. 30, which indicate that high and low were then engaged in the cultivation of the soil), although certain tribes of the south and the East- Jordan country retained more or less of the nomadic character till the Exile. That the religious observances, preeminently the great festivals, rest upon an agricultural basis is significant. Irrigation was not the only artificial improvement that was necessary. The land had to be cleared of thorns and weeds, and stones had to be removed (cf. Isa. v. 2; Matt. xiii. 3-7), although the fellahs to-day often allow the stones to remain because they help to retain moisture. Extensive terracing was indispensable to retain the thin soil on the steep hillsides. Manuring and burning were practised (Isa. v. 24, xxv. 10, xlvii. 14; Joel ii. 5; Ob. 18), but probably neither extensively nor annually. Dried dung is more valuable to-day as fuel, and it was so used in the ancient time (Ezek. iv. 15). The usual method of renewing the strength of the soil was fallowing (Ex. xxiii. 11, and elsewhere). The winter crops (wheat, barley, lentils, etc.) were sown as soon as the early rain had softened the ground — from the end of October to the beginning of December. The sowing of the summer crops (millet, vetches, etc.) followed, and lasted (in the case of cucumbers) till after the winter harvest. Well-watered fields bear two crops. The surface of the soil was scratched by a very primitive plow, drawn by oxen or cows (Judges xiv. 18; I Kings xix. 19; Job i. 14; Amos vi. 12), sometimes in light soils by an ass (Deut. xxii. 10; Isa. xxx. 24). The furrow to-day is from three to four inches deep. The driver's goad (Judges iii. 31) served also to break the clods. According to the usual assumption, the field which a yoke of oxen (Heb. zemedh) could plow in a day was the unit of land-measurement, as the present unit, the feddan (22-23 acres), represents a season's plowing. It is more probable, however, that they measured land by the amount of seed sown, as is done in the Talmud, and that zemedh is properly a measure of capacity and then designates a piece of ground of such size that it required a zemedh of seed. The surface was evened with an implement resembling a stone-boat or with a roller (Job xxxix. 10; Isa. xxviii. 24-25; Hos. x. 11). The seed was sown by hand; wheat, barley, and spelt were often carefully laid in the furrow. In the time of the Mishnah, as at present, it was plowed in. At present, seed is sown rather thinly. An estimate of the amount of land under cultivation in ancient times is impossible. Large tracts in Palestine can never have been used for anything but pasturage; the " deserts " were extensive, as their frequent mention shows ; and there was more wooded land than now (Josh. xvii. 15, 18; II Kings ii. 24). These facts make it probable that the extent of cultivated land did not materially exceed that of to-day.
Agriculture Ahab