Locusts

[Iollain]

Aren't locusts forbidden under the Law to eat? I was wondering cause John the Baptist ate them. Is that all he ate, locusts and honey?

[Wags]

Nope they are kosher - John would not have done anything to violate Torah.

Leviticus 11:22 You may eat these:the various kinds of locust, the various kinds of katydid,the various kinds of cricket,and the various kinds of grasshopper.

[Iollain]

I found it strange that John would not follow the Law.

lol, i didn't know those bugs were Kosher:) thanks Wags

[Iollain]

Anyone ever try one? :)

[plum]

hehe no i've never tried them! i'm not really a fan of insects in general :D

[Vaneeza Malkah]

:sick: never had them and don't plan on it.

[Aethelsige]

Not all insects are kosher. The Torah gives the requirements to determine which insects are Kosher.

[DrMcDonald]

Not all insects are kosher. The Torah gives the requirements to determine which insects are Kosher.

Just for clarification :)

LEVITICUS/Vayikra 11
21 Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth;
22 Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind.
23 But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.
24 And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even.

[jgonz]

I've thought about those people on Survivor who eat all sorts of bugs and spiders... and it totally grosses me out. This current season one of the tribes is eating ants and termites for protein. :sick:

[Iollain]

Oh come on people, try just one grasshopper:)

[Wags]

Oh come on people, try just one grasshopper:)

No way! :sick:
Not even if it was dipped in chocolate!

[CovenantRay]

Shalom,

If I were starving, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch! Otherwize, I'll pass, thanks!

CovenantRay :prayer:

[jgonz]

Yah, Ray, that's my opinion, too! LOL

[debi b]

Ya know tho - if there was a famine at least there would still be something to eat :P

[visionary]

Anyone see the movie....Hiladgo.... based on a true stories.... great movie for horse lovers... especially mustangs.... even horses will eat grasshoppers if they must.

[Sephania]

Most likely it was not the insect 'Locust' that John ate ( even though as pointed out they are Kosher) . For if that were so he would not have eaten very well as they are not always available. They only appear certain times of the year. It it more likly he ate something we know today as Carob.

This was the same thing referred to in Luke as 'husks' eaten by the prodigal son when he was feeding the pigs ( this was swine food back then and still today) .

The word translated "husks" from the Greek word 'Keration' means:

1.a little horn
2. the name of the fruit, Ceratonia silqua or carobtree (called also John's Bread [from the notion that its pods, which resemble those of the "locust", constituted the food of the Baptist]. This fruit was shaped like a horn and has a sweet taste; it was and is used not only for fattening swine, but as an article of food by the lower classes.


AKA St. Johns Fruit:

Carob Tree or Ceratonia siliqua, is a small tree of the Mediterranean coasts. It furnishes the St. John's Bread which probably corresponds to the husks of the Prodigal Son parable, and the seed which is said to have been the original jewellers' carat weight. The Spaniards call it Algaroba, and the Arabs Kharoub, hence Carob or Caroub Pods, Beans, or Sugar-pods. It is also called Locust Pods. These pods are much used in the south of Europe for feeding domestic animals and, in times of scarcity, as human food. Being saccharine, they are more heatgiving than nourishing. The seeds or beans were used as fodder for British cavalry horses during the Spanish campaign of 1811-12.


In Luke 15:16, in the parable of the Prodigal Son, it designates the beans of the carob tree, or Ceratonia siliqua. From the supposition, mistaken, however, that it was on the husks of this tree that John the Baptist fed, it is called "St. John's bread" and "locust tree." This tree is in "February covered with innumerable purple-red pendent blossoms, which ripen in April and May into large crops of pods from 6 to 10 inches long, flat, brown, narrow, and bent like a horn (whence the Greek name keratia, meaning 'little horns'), with a sweetish taste when still unripe. Enormous quantities of these are gathered for sale in various towns and for exportation." "They were eaten as food, though only by the poorest of the poor, in the time of our Lord." The bean is called a "gerah," which is used as the name of the smallest Hebrew weight, twenty of these making a shekel.

This shows how John could live on this and honey, ( which was probably date honey)



Seedpods - raw or ground into a powder. The seedpods are filled with a saccharine pulp and can be eaten both green or dried. They are very sweet but fibrous, the pulp can be used as a chocolate substitute in cakes, drinks etc. It is rich in sugars and protein. The pods contain about 55% sugars, 10% protein and 6% fat.

Seed - rich in protein. A flour is made from them which is 60% protein, it is free from sugar and starch and is suitable for baking. It can be used as a chocolate substitute. An edible gum is extracted from the seed, a substitute for Gum Tragacanth (Astragalus species). A stabilizer and thickening agent, it is also used as an egg substitute. The roasted seed is a coffee substitute. http://www.geocities.com/nutriflip/Naturopathy/Carob.html

Here's a picture of the bean pods http://candles.genwax.com/candle_style_scents/carob.jpg

Being used as a fodder for swine we can determine that if eaten by a human it was the cheaper and lowest food one could eat, a paupers meal.

[jgonz]

Interesting! ... so this carob Is the same as the carob sold as a chocolate substitute... :yum:

[Sephania]

Yup, one and the same, and he ate it with honey so it was sweetened, so he was like on a Chocolate high all the time! ( J/K) ;)

[jgonz]

and he ate it with honey so it was sweetened, so he was like on a Chocolate high all the time! ( J/K) ;)

:thumbsup: ^_^

[Yovel]

When I was in the Navy I once ate a chocolate covered grasshopper. Crunchy yum!

[Vaneeza Malkah]

interesting about the carob.
chocolate grasshoppers? maybe if it was just chocolate in the shape of a grasshopper. it is my goal generally not to even touch the things that "creepith and crawleth" ugh.

[Wags]

Well I like Keebler grasshopper cookies! Does that count? LOL