Bible Dictionary
Cheese
Cheese in the Bible refers to various forms of curdled or coagulated milk. The references may include pressed curds, dried curd, or other dairy products rather than one precisely defined modern kind of cheese.
Definition
Cheese in Scripture refers to several forms of coagulated or curdled milk. The biblical terms may describe sections of curd, curdled milk, or dried coagulated buttermilk rather than one precisely defined modern kind of cheese.
Biblical Usage
David carried ten cheese-like portions to his brothers, a gift involving curd. “Cheese of kine” may mean curdled milk from cattle, while Job’s imagery refers to milk curdling. Each passage uses a different Hebrew term.
Historical Background
The supplied material notes that these products expressed different degrees of coagulation. A substance made from coagulated buttermilk was dried hard, ground, and eaten mixed with butter among Arab communities.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(A.S. cese). This word occurs three times in the Authorized Version as the translation of three different Hebrew words: (1.) 1 Sam. 17:18, “ten cheeses;” i.e., ten sections of curd. (2.) 2 Sam. 17:29, “cheese of kine” = perhaps curdled milk of kine. The Vulgate version reads “fat calves.” (3.) Job 10:10, curdled milk is meant by the word.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
is mentioned only three times in the Bible, and on each occasion under a different name in the Hebrew. (1 Samuel 17:18; 2 Samuel 17:29; Job 10:10) It is difficult to decide how far these terms correspond with our notion of cheese, for they simply express various degrees of coagulation. Cheese is not at the present day common among the Bedouin Arabs, butter being decidedly preferred; but there is a substance closely corresponding to those mentioned in 1Sam 17, 2Sam 17, consisting of coagulated buttermilk, which is dried until it become quite hard, and is then ground; the Arabs eat it mixed with butter.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>chez.</p><p>See FOOD; MILK.</p>