Cheese

Cheese is mentioned three times in the Old Testament, reflecting its place in the pastoral economy of ancient Israel. Jesse sent David to take ten cheeses to the commander of his brothers' regiment at the front lines facing Goliath (1 Sam. 17:18). When David fled from Absalom, his supporters brought him honey, butter, sheep, cheese, and other provisions to Mahanaim (2 Sam. 17:29). Job employs the image of cheese to describe God's fashioning of the embryo in the womb: Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese? (Job 10:10). The Hebrew terms used suggest curdled milk or a form of soft cheese rather than aged hard cheese.