Raisins Fruit
Raisins were produced by soaking grapes in a mixture of oil and water and drying them in the sun. This preserves a fool supply that can last in the heat of the day and for long trips.
Raisins was used as a peace offering. Raisins were also used to sustain life and for celebrations. They also had medicinal properties according to Pliny the Elder.
Used as a Peace Offering:
Then Abigail took an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses. She presented the food as a peace offering to David. And in so doing prevented David and his four hundred men from slaughtering Nabal’s household. (1 Samuel 25:18).
Used to Sustain Life:
David was in pursuit of Amalekites who took his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail captives. They found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water. And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. Eventually because of the Egyptian David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives. (1 Samuel 30:1-18).
And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth (son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul) met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundreds of summer-fruits, and a bottle of wine. And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, the asses be for the king’s household to ride on; and the bread and summer-fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in the wilderness may drink. (2 Samuel 16:1-2).
Used for Celebration:
When David was made king over Israel all these men of war, that could keep rank, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, The rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king. They ate and drank for three days eating and drinking. Issachar, 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. (1 Chronicles 12:38-40).
Used for Medicinal Purposes:
According to Pliny the Elder are helpful to the stomach, abdomen and intestines as well as for the trachea and the kidneys. (Pliny. 1855 pp 4463–4464..).
Reference:
Pliny the Elder. (1855). The Natural History, ed. John Bostock (Medford, MA: Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street.
Cite Article Source
MLA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne “Raisins Fruit:.” Becker Bible Studies Library Feb 2015.< https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2379,>.
APA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2015, January) “Raisins Fruit:.” Becker Bible Studies Library. Retrieved from https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2379,.
Chicago Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2015) “Raisins Fruit:.” Becker Bible Studies Library (February), https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2379, (accessed).