Jonas at the table

Among the Israelites of the Northern Kingdom in the 8th century BCE, there is neither appetizer nor dessert: the meal is organized around bread (lehem), made from barley or wheat, torn by hand. They dip a legume porridge into it, and accompany it with olive oil, goat cheese, olives, onions, and dried fruits. Wine mixed with water is passed around. Fish and poultry remain rare, reserved for feast days and the Sabbath. Everything is eaten sitting low, around a common dish.

The "honey" of the land "flowing with milk and honey" is almost never bee honey: it is dvash, a thick syrup extracted from dates (and sometimes from figs or grapes). The sweetener par excellence of the ancient Levant, it sweetens cakes, binds offerings, and softens wine. It is the sweetness that marks Jonah's table.