26 LuU, Viticulture and Brewing. 



Ages. According to the Mishna Oeruchim and Chatulim pro- 

 duced the best grades of wine. Next follow the wines of Beth 

 Rima and Beth Laban in the mountain, and Kefar Signa in 

 the plain. These places were probably situated in the plain 

 of Sharon. MKil. 6, 5 mentions also the vineyard of Kefar 'Aziz 

 (vr^ I&D); b Sabb. 147 b mentions the wine of Perugitha 

 ( >tn""M"iB"i ,X"i^n). Regarding the wine of the valley of Genne- 

 saret see Neubauer, Geogr. 45. 21 5. Solomon possessed a A^ine- 

 yard in Baal-Hamon ("ji^an bS'S) ', The vineyards of Shilo are 

 mentioned in Jdg. 21, IQff. According to II. Chron. 2, 9, 14 the 

 people of Tyre were furnished with Judaean wine during the 

 building operations of the first temple, while at the time of 

 the second temple this wine was furnished to both the people 

 of Tyre and of Sidon 2. Viticulture about the city of Lachish 

 is attested by a representation of the Assyrian king Senna- 

 cherib, in which the king is shown seated upon his throne in 

 a hill-country, planted with figtrees and vines (see Illustr. No. 2). 



In the Inscription of Una lines 24 and 25 we read U'wwwij^ 



IWf" ^';-=^ "this army returned in safety (after) it had cut down 

 its figs (and) its vines", referring to the country of the Herusha 



, that is Southern Palestine. The wine 



of Haru or Northern Palestine is not infrequently mentioned 

 by the Egyptians '. 



The wines of Palestine, as well as those of Syria, were 

 very sweet, like syrup. The wine of the plain of Sharon 

 was extremely strong. After it had been mixed in the pro- 

 portion of V3 wine to ^'^ water it still was equal in strength 

 to undiluted Carmel-wine. Different kinds of wines were 

 known to the Hebrews. The Babylonian Talmud * men- 

 tions the hihston (i]Xiootov), a sweet and weak new wine. 



i) Cant. 8, II. 2) Esra 3, 7. 



3) See for instance Pap. Anast. 3, verso 2; 4. 16, i and Pitomstele 17 



_ A T 1 T l>^^i "prima wine of Kharu". 



U 66 Ci Xq ill 



4) Baba Bathra 97 a ff. 



