Milk

Milk was a staple of the ancient Israelite diet, produced from cows, goats, sheep, and camels. It was consumed fresh, curdled into yogurt (hemah), or made into cheese. The phrase a land flowing with milk and honey (first used in Exodus 3:8) became the standard biblical epitome for the abundance and fertility of Canaan, evoking pastoral and agricultural prosperity. Milk is also a symbol of doctrinal nurture in the New Testament: Peter urges new believers to desire the pure milk of the word (1 Peter 2:2), while Paul uses the milk/solid food contrast to distinguish elementary teaching from mature theology (1 Corinthians 3:2; Hebrews 5:12–14).

The law's prohibition you shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk (Exodus 23:19; Deuteronomy 14:21) has been widely understood as the basis for the Jewish dietary custom of separating meat and dairy, though its original intent may have been to prohibit a specific Canaanite cultic practice.