BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Ancient Egyptian Beer Brewery

A 5,000-year-old brewery, the oldest yet found, has been discovered in Abydos, Southern Egypt.

Photo: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities

On February 13th, the Egyptian Antiquities Ministry announced the discovery of what may be the oldest large-scale beer brewing operation. In Abydos, Southern Egypt, they found the remains of eight massive vats, each containing dozens of pottery basins, which according to secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, were used to heat the grains and water in the process of creating beer. The find is 5,000 years old, approximately the time of King Narmeer, the pre-dynastic ruler who is said to have peacefully united Upper and Lower Egypt.

Photo: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities

Beer features prominently in the Bible. As Michael Homan explains in “Did the Ancient Israelites Drink Beer?”, they drank a lot of beer. Yahweh drank freely, even moreso on the Sabbath (Numbers 28:7–10). Beer was advised as a treatment for depression (Proverbs 31:6). And distress can be defined as beer tasting bitter (Isaiah 24:9).

The cooperative effort of Egyptian and American archaeologists is co-led by Matthew Adams of New York University, and Deborah Vischak, of Princeton University. Abydos, the site of the discovery, is an ancient burial ground in the desert, about 280 miles south of Cairo.

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Gluttony and Drunkenness in Ancient Israel by Rebekah Welton

Deuteronomy 21:18-21 describes a legal case of a mother and father with a rebellious son who will not listen to them. When the parents take their son to the city elders, they announce that the son is not only rebellious but also a glutton and a drunkard. At least that is what English translations tell us. The son is then sentenced to death by stoning, so that the evil may be purged from the community and that all Israel may hear and fear.

Narmer’s Enigmatic Palette: What Does It Tell Us About Egypt’s First Kings? by David O’Connor

Rarely do I come across works of art that make my blood run almost cold with excitement. One such image, carved on a stone cosmetic palette some 5,000 years ago, has fascinated Egyptologists as the first fully articulated example of Egyptian royal representation—so that it seems to stand as a symbol of dynastic Egypt itself.

Did the Ancient Israelites Drink Beer? by Michael M. Homan

Ancient Israelites, with the possible exception of a few teetotaling Nazirites and their moms, proudly drank beer—and lots of it. Men, women and even children of all social classes drank it. Its consumption in ancient Israel was encouraged.