Two grains, five fruits, seven species, the Lord promises to the people of Israel before they ever reach Canaan:
“For the Lord your God brings you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills;
A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey… (Deuteronomy 8:7-8)
I’ve called it Israel’s agricultural counterpart to the seven wonders of the world, because, after all, we’re talking the desertified Southern Levant. Or are we?
Through phytolithic research, ancient seeds and pollens reveal that Israel experienced climate fluctuations, resulting in dry eras and wet eras. So the Israelites were pretty stoked about entering a land so lush and verdant.
Among the other crops mentioned, the pomegranate appears. Again, as in our previous discussion of ancient honey, the pomegranate’s health benefits are widely known. God does things right!
Maybe that’s why the high priest’s robe had pomegranates surrounding his every footstep into the presence of the Lord in the Temple. It could be that pomegranates, like the others of the seven species, were included in the list of first fruit offerings for their uniquely-evident abundance of seeds. It’s never stated specifically in the Bible, but God never developed seedless fruits—man did.
The pomegranate is said to contain 613 individual seeds, illustrating the 613 mitzvot or commandments found in the Hebrew Bible.
Yowza! Is somebody really counting commandments and seeds? That’s either somebody with time on their hands, or someone with children who are driving them nuts! “Here, Moshe, count the number of seeds in this pomegranate! And you, too, Hannah, here’s one for you! When the numbers in both of your fruits come out to be the same, let me know. Just be sure to group the seeds in clusters of ten, so we can check and double-check your calculations….”
My own highly-scientific investigations inform that: each fruit has a whole lot of seeds inside! And that notion of fruitfulness is very cool and very Biblical with so many applications.
Archaeologically, representations of pomegranates have been found. Chronologically, one of the oldest comes from a 1600 BC Hyksos tomb in Jericho. A pomegranate-shaped box contained six entire pomegranates inside! Therefore, the 17th century BC tomb reinforces the reality that there would be pomegranates waiting in the land for the 15th century BC arrival of the Israelites.
Even as God promised.
His word can be trusted. Settle it in your heart and be willing to press forward: he has good waiting ahead!
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