Keeping Kosher in Iron IIA Jerusalem (and Philistia)

When were biblical kosher laws instituted? When were they written, and when did they begin to be followed? Detailed instructions for keeping kosher are found in the Torah (Leviticus 11; Deuteronomy 14) and thus are ascribed traditionally to the hand of Moses (during the mid-to-late second millennium b.c.e.).

But were Israelites really “keeping kosher” so early in their history? A growing body of evidence suggests they were, particularly within Iron iia Jerusalem, and potentially even influencing surrounding regional entities to do the same.

It is generally well known that pig remains from Israelite sites are next to none compared to the neighboring Philistines (who were prolific pork consumers). But that is only part of the picture, as Prof. Avraham Faust revealed in his 2021 Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology paper, “The ‘United Monarchy’ on the Ground.”

During the transition into the Iron ii (Israelite kingdom) period, there is a “significant decrease in the consumption of pork” within Philistine sites (aside from the chief Philistine city of Gath). This is in contrast to the prior Iron i period, which is marked by “extremely high consumption [of pork] by the Philistines ….” (Faust noted a Philistine adoption of “local script,” the Hebrew-Phoenician alphabet, at this time as well.)

What central power would have influenced such a “kosher” revolution in these peripheral Philistine areas? Perhaps the same one the Bible identifies as quieting the Philistines at the start of this Iron ii period: that of King David.

Unclean land animals, however, are only part of the picture. In Dr. Eilat Mazar’s The Summit of the City of David Excavations, 2005–2008: Final Reports Vol. I, archaeozoologist Omri Lernau notes a striking lack of catfish remains in the capital city during this Iron iia period—compared to the end of the Iron iib period, just before the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar’s armies (notably, a time when the biblical prophets were decrying the consumption of unclean foods).

Lernau writes: “Catfish, as mentioned, were deemed non-kosher by Judaic laws in the Bible. Apparently, Iron iia Israelites in Jerusalem, whose food remains were found in the ‘pool,’ did in fact refrain from eating catfish, while the inhabitants of the later buildings above the dumps in Area G did not. The reason for the latter could be connected to a reduced adherence to biblical tradition …” (Chapter 16, “Fish Bones”).

In sum, it appears that not only were the leaders of the united monarchy “keeping kosher,” they were possibly even influencing others to do the same. Perhaps that is unsurprising for a king who “delight[ed] in the law [Torah] of the Lord, meditating on it day and night” (Psalm 1:2; New Living Translation).