Jews who lived during the First Temple period used to eat non-kosher food, a study published Monday by Tel Aviv University revealed.
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The study was co-authored by two researchers. Dr. Yonatan Adler is affiliated with Ariel University. His colleague Professor Omri Lernau, is from the University of Haifa in Israel. The journal, Tel Aviv, is a publication of Tel Aviv University.
The findings shed light on the origins of the laws of kashrut in the Torah. According to these laws, fish that lacks fins and scales, is prohibited.
As part of their research, archeologists analyzed remains from 30 sites throughout the southern Levant that date back more than 2,000 years.
"The prohibition of fish with no fins and scales deviated from traditional Jewish dietary habits," co-author of the study, Adler, said.
Types of fish such as "catfish and sharks appear to have been banned despite the fact that these species are often found in Jewish menus. There is no reason to assume that the basis of the prohibition in the Torah lies in some ancient taboo," he said.
The prohibition of eating certain types of fish appears in the Torah twice, in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. In both cases, the ban to eat non-kosher fish is preceded by the prohibition of eating pork.
Having presented their preliminary conclusions, the archeologists plan to research when Judeans began to avoid eating finless and scaleless fish and what the level of adherence to this prohibition is in modern times.
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