There are many different foods mentioned in the Bible. Some are common, some are rare and others are plain disgusting to us today. Though there are more than twice this many different foods mentioned in the Bible, here is a look at 20 of them. And, no, I am not going to reveal what the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was because I don’t know.
Here are 19 common foods found in the Bible (and 1 not so common) with some verses. There are more references for some of these foods than what I include.
Almonds
Genesis 43:11 “And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds:”Numbers 17:8 “And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.”
Figs
Numbers 13:23 “And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.”1 Samuel 25:18 “Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.”
Grapes
Genesis 40:10, 11 “And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes: And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.”Nehemiah 13:15 “In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals.”
Salt
Leviticus 2:13 “And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.”Ezra 6:9 “And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail:”
Olives
Judges 15:5 “And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.”Deuteronomy 6:11 “And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;”
Raisins
1 Samuel 25:18 “Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.”1 Chronicles 12:40 “Moreover they that were nigh them, even unto Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen, and meat, meal, cakes of figs, and bunches of raisins, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep abundantly: for there was joy in Israel.”
Bread
There are more than 300 instances of the word bread in the Bible. Here are the first and last verses I found which mentioned bread.
Genesis 3:19 “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”2 Thessalonians 3:12 “Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.”
Flour
Exodus 29:2 “And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them.”1 Chronicles 9:29 “Some of them also were appointed to oversee the vessels, and all the instruments of the sanctuary, and the fine flour, and the wine, and the oil, and the frankincense, and the spices.”
Wheat
Numbers 18:12 “All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the LORD, them have I given thee.”Judges 6:11 “And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.”
Fish
Numbers 11:5 “We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:”Matthew 14:17, 19 “And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”
Calf
Genesis 18:7 “And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.”Luke 15:23 “And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:”
Goat
Genesis 27:9 “Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:”Deuteronomy 14:4, 5 “These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois.”
Lamb
2 Samuel 12:3, 4 “ But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.”Ezekiel 39:18 “Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.”
Sheep
Psalm 44:11 “Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen.”Isaiah 22:13 “And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.”
Butter
Genesis 18:8 “And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.”Isaiah 7:22 “And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land.”
Cheese
2 Samuel 17:29 “And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.”Job 10:10 “Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese?”
Milk
Exodus 3:8 “And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.”Judges 4:19 “And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.” [Then she drove a spike through his head. True story!]
Eggs
Job 6:6“Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?”Luke 11:12 “ Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?”
Honey
Exodus 3:17 “And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.”Judges 14:8, 9 “And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion. And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.”
Locust
Yes, this is the gross one I mentioned earlier. Both these verses are talking about John the Baptist living on a diet of locusts and honey. When the Bible talks about locusts it is commonly referring to what we call grasshoppers today.
Matthew 3:4 “And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.”Mark 1:6 “And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;”
I was teaching about John one time in Mexico when I read these verses. The word for grasshopper and the word for lobster in Spanish is the same word, “langosta.” I asked the teenagers in church if they liked “langosta” and then I indicated that I was talking about lobster. One of the boys said that it was ok, but not his favorite food. Then when I told them that the verse was talking about grasshoppers and not lobster, this same boy’s eyes lit up. He replied, “Oh! Those are very good with chocolate.”
Just because we don’t think of them as food does not mean other people don’t enjoy them.
In my study I learned that this is fewer than half of the food items mentioned in the Bible. It would be a fun project to highlight all the references to food when you are reading through your Bible. You could have a special color pen or pencil that you use for this purpose.
Resources,
The Holy Bible, King James Version (KJV)
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