One of this year’s scientific sensation was that scientists apparently managed to save forever the Judean palm that was thought to be extinct centuries ago. This is a great feeling because the seeds of Jesus’ day sprouted and began to grow successfully in Israel.
These sweet, large-grained dates have been a staple food in the Kingdom of Judea for thousands of years, serving as a tree of refuge and shade, and last but not least, the country’s most important export. It is no coincidence that Judea is famous become a symbol. In Roman times, palm forests 24 meters high and 11 kilometers wide covered the Jordan River valley. It grew rich all over the Dead Sea, in the north all the way to the Sea of Galilee and the Hula Valley. Because of this, the ancient biblical city of Jericho also arose, and the fruit is sung even in the psalms and appears on many ancient coins.
In their description, Pliny the Elder and Herodotus also praised the distinctness, delicate flavor and one of the most distinguishing qualities of Judean dates: unlike other types of dates, they can be stored for a long time. Therefore, it may have become one of the common commodities in world trade at that time. Herod, for example, used to send it every year to the Roman emperor.
Then in the Middle Ages, it was Climate fluctuations (From 1000 BC, the climate became cooler and wetter, until the seventeenth century, when a century of hot and dry periods ensued) slowly made growing water-intensive crops impossible. It was accelerated and exacerbated by the destruction of Mamluk and Ottoman rule and the complete collapse of the agricultural economy.
After germinating seeds in recent years from a number of locations, including King Herod’s castle near the Dead Sea (six in number), they can begin original wood restoration. This plant has not only scientific and symbolic value, but also its medicinal value. In ancient times, it was also widely used to treat infections, and it was convinced that as an agronomic agent, Judean dates are one of the secrets of longevity.
(Cover photo: A man harvests dates in Deir al-Balah on September 23, 2021. Photo: Ahmed Zakout/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)
