God Drank Beer, Says Biblical Archaeology Review

Online, September 16, 2010 (Newswire.com) - According to the Hebrew Bible, the Israelite God Yahweh drank a six-pack of beer each day (through ritual libation offerings) and even more on the Sabbath.

So why doesn't the word "beer" appear in most English translations of the Bible? In the September/October 2010 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR), author Michael M. Homan offers three explanations in his article "Did the Ancient Israelites Drink Beer?": (1) the Hebrew word for beer (shekhar) has been misunderstood and mistranslated; (2) there is a general snobbery among academics that causes them to scorn beer drinking as uncivilized and uncouth, preferring to paint the Israelites as sophisticated wine drinkers; (3) it is difficult to identify beer making in the archaeological record because the process so closely resembles bread production.

Professor Homan's article in the latest issue of BAR, now available in bookstores and on newsstands, is a unique look at beer and its central role in Israelite religion and as a staple of the ancient Near Eastern diet. He examines the fascinating textual, archaeological and artistic evidence to show that the ancient Israelites certainly drank beer-and plenty of it.

Michael M. Homan is an archaeologist and associate professor of Hebrew Bible at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans.

For more information, please contact BAR managing editor Dorothy D. Resig at [email protected] or 1.800.221.4644. ext. 242.

To view the September/October 2010 issue of BAR online or to subscribe, visit our Web site at www.biblicalarchaeology.org.