777. A single large olive tree in Biblical times provided an entire family with all of the oil it needed for food and lamps, as much as half a ton of it a year. The tree gave a year-round crop because both the unripe and the ripe fruit are edible. So the olive leaf in the dove's beak promised a rebirth of life to Noah and his family.
778. The ordinary food of the average Hebrew of Bible times was bread, olives, oil, buttermilk, and cheese from their flocks, fruits and vegetables from their orchards and gardens, and meat on rare occasions.
779. The eating of raw grain is a modern custom in Palestine that dates back to very ancient days. Contemporary Arabs often pick the heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat them. Some pharisees approached Jesus and His disciples as they ate raw grain in the fields. "One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and His disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels" (Luke 6:1).
780. When grain in the wheat field has passed the "milk stage" and begins to harden, it is called "fereek" and is considered delicious eaten raw. For centuries the unwritten law of hospitality has been that wayfarers may eat some of the wheat as they pass by or through a field, but they must not carry any away with them. The Law of God allowed this same privilege in Deuteronomy 23:35.
781. Parched grain is another common food eaten in Bible times. It is prepared with grains of wheat that are not fully ripe. They are roasted in a pan or on an iron plate. The grain is eaten with or without bread. Jesse sent some of it with David to his older sons in the army (1 Sam. 17:17). Abigail included some in her gift to David (1 Sam. 25:18), and David received some from friends after he had fled from Absalom (2 Sam. 17:28).
782. Besides wheat and barley, millet and spelt ("rie" in some translations) were also grown. Wheat was the first choice of people, with barley reserved for the poor. Spelt is actually a weak strain of wheat.
