Mint, Dill, Cumin, and Rue

~Matthew 23.23 "How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You give God a tenth of your spices, like mint, dill and cumin. But you have not practiced the more important things of the law, like fairness, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the last things without failing to do the first.

I wrote about the Luke 11 version of this saying on July 6, but here it is again in Matthew. (Looks like the chronological Bible has chosen the bigger setting for placing this passage.) The point is the same; the herbs are different. For my purpose, that's great. We broaden the picture of what was used during the first century. So add dill and cumin to the list of mint and rue. I love dill and have grown it successfully except that it goes to seed rather quickly. Wikipedia says cumin is "the second most popular spice in the world," behind black pepper. It's the seasoning commonly used in chili powder and its smell makes me think tacos.

PS Generally, I like the New Living Translation, but here I'm disappointed. It just says "herb gardens" in this verse. Give me the details!

Tea

Now that cooler weather is here, I enjoy putting a pot of water on the stove for tea. This past weekend Steve and I had a fun group of Chinese grad students over and the subject of tea came up. Did Jesus and the disciples ever share a pot of tea? It would seem not. Neither the New International nor King James concordances have a reference for it and a quick online check confirms no record of tea's appearance in the Middle East until long after the time of Christ.

Herb Garden

~Luke 11.42 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

Herbs add so much flavor and variety to food. Mint is delightfully light and refreshing. Rue I know little of, but read that it has a "pleasant musky flavor" and can also serve as a bitter medicinal herb, "excellent protection against plagues and pestilence, and used . . . to ward off poisons and fleas" http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/rue.php. So apparently the choice of these two would cover a range of culinary and medicinal plants. Jesus here gives no evaluation of herbs, but just a glimpse of the fact that they were commonly grown and used.