Image Details

Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz/Art Resource, NY

It is clear from countless ancient texts and paintings (such as this one of an old man drinking beer through a long straw from Egypt, c. 1350 B.C.E.) that beer was a common—and even celebrated—part of everyday life in both Egypt and Mesopotamia. But what about Israel? Despite its apparent absence from the Bible in most modern translations, author Michael Homan argues that the ancient Israelites also produced and drank beer, much like their Near Eastern neighbors.