During 19631965, excavations at Herod the Great's palace on Masada, Israel, revealed a cache of date palm seeds preserved in an ancient jar. There are other types of dates in the world, but according to Pliny the Elder (writing in the first century AD), none were as succulent or as sweet as the Judean date palm. The date was so important to the region that it featured on ancient coinage, and even on Israel's 10-shekel coin today. In experiments praised by the Dalai Lama, for example, Dr. Sarah Sallon has shown that ancient Tibetan cures for cardiovascular disease really do work. I wrote about the date, from the point of view of the date, he goes to sleep during the siege of Masada and literally wakes up in a laboratory. Dr. Solowey successfully germinated one of these seeds, which sprouted into a young date palm today, Methuselah has a permanent home in the Arava Institute research park on Kibbutz Ketura. The Judean Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is known from historical accounts for its sweet, large fruit, which even had medicinal properties. This has been reissued in recently years as a 10 shekel coin. The fruits from these seven species were the only acceptable plant offerings in the Temple and their first fruits were brought to be eaten in Jerusalem. They are drier and sweeter than the medjool date and taste like natural honey. Date Palm Sprouted from Ancient Seed Gives Fruit Like That of Bible Times In the middle of Israel's Arava Desert, a farming community is bringing trees back to life that's bearing fruit from the time of the Bible. Other date seeds were found in caves near the Dead Sea. It played a significant role in the Judean economy for about two millenniaat the least from the fifth century B.C.E. Methuselah was chosen to father the fruit and pollen from his plant was placed onto Hannah's flowers. [citation needed] The tree so defined the local economy that the Roman emperor Vespasian celebrated the reconquest after the First Jewish Revolt (6670 AD) by minting Judaea Capta coinage, a series of coins sometimes depicting Judaea as a mourning woman beneath a date palm. Hannah wassprouted from a 2,000 year-old seed, and pollinated by another Ancient Judean date tree. Between 2011 and 2014 Ms. Solowey planted the seeds and six more have sprouted over the years. Cultivation of dates in the region almost disappeared after the fourteenth century CE from a combination of climate change and infrastructure decay but has been revived in modern times. Judean date palms were wiped . [26] They may have shared the same wild ancestor. We are going to be testing those dates in the future to see actually what they do and whether they differ from other commercial varieties of modern dates. Sarah M. Wells is the author ofThe Family Bible Devotionaland two collections of poems,Between the Heron and the MossandPruningBurning Bushes. The experiment worked. Nature has this immense power to renovate itself, to rejuvenate itself. During the Byzantine and Arab periods (4th to 11th century AD) the Judean date palms were barely holding on and the continued waves of conquest and destruction meant that by the 19th century, no traces of these historic plantations remained, according to a study conducted about the trees in 2020. A land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs, and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey. And it is blossoming on Kibbutz Ketura in the Arava region, 40 minutes north of Eilat. In February of this year, the latest scientific paper published about the germination of these seeds inScience Advances,revived new interest in these dates, says Sallon. How could it be?" Israel365 News is the only media outlet reporting on it. We are planting our second, female date tree, who was sprouted from an ancient seed. The part that does is home to hundreds of millions of people, from the Atlantic coast of Morocco across North Africa and Egypt to Mesopotamia and east to India., TEL972-8-6356618FAX972-8-6356634EMAILinfo@arava.org, 1320 Centre Street, Suite 206Newton Centre, MA 02459, USATEL1-617-266-7100EMAILinfo@friendsofarava.org, Their names are Adam, Jonah, Uriel, Boaz, Judith, and Hannah, and their ages are well, actually, this ones a bit complicated., Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation, Energy Security: The Role of Renewable Energy Sources, Practical Challenges of Photovoltaic Systems in the Rural Bedouin Villages in the Negev, Center for Transboundary Water Management, Evidence-based wastewater monitoring and policy for addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, Decentralized Wastewater Management and Governance, Long Term Ecological Monitoring (LTER) in Wadi Shita, Offshore Zionism: Israel-Africa and Green Development, Jordan-Israel Center for Community, Environment & Research, Research in Political Ecology in the Middle East, The Last Straw: Conservation, Control, and the Eco-Political Life of Camels in the Negev Highlands, Sense of Place in an Era of Metabolic Rift, Daniel Fischel & Sylvia Neil Research & Visitors Park, Origins and insights into the historic Judean date palm based on genetic analysis of germinated ancient seeds and morphometric studies, The Albert B. Glickman Peace-building Leadership Seminar, Daniel Fischel & Sylvia Neil Outdoor Research & Visitors Park, Arava Alumni Peace & Environmental Network, Center for Applied Environmental Diplomacy, Applied Environmental Diplomacy: Pathways to Sustainability in the Jordan River Basin, Annual Cross-Border Environmental Cooperation Conference, Annual Reports, Financial Statements & Publications, After 2,000 Years, These Seeds Have Finally Sprouted, Scientists in Israel grow date plants from 2,000-year-old seeds, Dates Like Jesus Ate? However, its value was also the source of its demise and eventual extinction. Scientists Revive Ancient Trees From 2,000-Year-Old Seeds, Aided by Modern Ingenuity, a Taste of Ancient Judean Dates, Scientists pick and taste ancient dates for first time since the Second Temple, Dates from time of Maccabees & Jesus are revived, bring Jewish, Arab unity, Date Seeds Unearthed From the Time of Jesus Are Revived, Adding Fruit to Jewish, Arab Unity, Scientists grow fresh dates from a 6th BCE seed, What do 2,000-year-old Ancient Judean Dates taste like? Were available 24/7. A previous experiment with the seeds produced a single male plant that sprouted in 2005 which the researchers named Methuselah. While the scientific and agricultural communities celebrated this landmark harvest, only Sallon, Solowey, a handful of the other scientists involved in the revival project and a few kibbutz members got to sample bits of this long-lost variety of dates, last tasted back in the times of Jesus and the Maccabees. After all, date palms are praised in the Bible - as well as in Islam, Greek and Roman civilizations as symbols of beauty, fertility, peace, and victory. For more information and/or interview requests, please contact Institute Deputy Director Eliza Mayo. The Iliad can provide new insights on the role of motherhood among the ancient Greek gods, and by extension, amongst ancient mortal Greek women themselves. They called him Methuselah after the oldest person in the Bible. The species of palm was thought to be extinct for 800 years but hundreds of seeds of Phoenix dactylifera were collected from Judean desert archaeological sites such as an ancient palace-fortress built by King Herod and caves located in southern Israel at Masada, Qumran, Wadi Makukh, and Wadi Kelt, located in the Judean desert between the Judean Hills and the Dead Sea. Spanish conquistadors couldn't believe their eyes while exploring the rugged terrain of the Andes during their invasion of Peru. Dr. Sarah Sallon, the director of the Borick Natural Medicine Research Center at Hadassah University Hospital, and Dr. Elaine Solowey, who runs the Center for Sustainable Agriculture at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies at Kibbutz Ketura, have so far successfully managed to germinate seven seeds, among dozens that they have attempted to revive. Solowey has nurtured more than 100 rare or near-extinct species back to life as part of a 10-year project to study plants and herbs used as ancient cures. [24], Researchers at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies at Kibbutz Ketura plan to grow dates resurrected from seeds found at archaeological sites in the Judaean Desert and Masada in large quantities using tissue culture, and then establish them in commercial plantations.[25]. In biblical times, the Judean date palm was revered throughout the region for its medicinal qualities. In the future, the hope is for Methuselah, a male tree, to be bred with a female to produce the same date variety eaten commonly in ancient Judea, where it was valued as much for its delicious flavor as for its medicinal properties., We all know the resurrection story from 2,000 years ago described in the pages of the Christian bible. It took me some time to figure out how I might do it because you only have one chance with each seed, Dr. Elaine Solowey, who runs the Center for Sustainable Agriculture at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Kibbutz Ketura, says in an Israeli Foreign Ministry video made back in 2016 before it was known whether these trees would even bear fruit. (Guy Eisner / Sciencemag). The remaining 32 seeds were planted in a quarantined site at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Kibbutz Ketura in southern Israel. Already in the fifth century BC, Herodotus noted that the greatest importance of the Judean dates was that they were drier and less perishable than those from Egypt and thus suitable for storage and export, which is still an important distinction today. This study, which confirms the long-term survival of date palm seeds, provides a unique opportunity to rediscover the origins of a historic date palm population that existed in Judea 2,000 years ago. The first of the ancient date seedlings, Methusaleh, is named for the oldest person mentioned in the Bible. This is the second year of harvesting fruit from this previously extinct tree, brought back to life by Dr. Elaine Solowey. The tree and its fruit caused Jericho to become a major population center and are praised in the Hebrew Bible possibly several times indirectly, such as in Psalms (Psalms 92:1215), "The righteous himself will blossom forth as a palm tree does", and date clusters (Hebrew: .mw-parser-output .script-hebrew,.mw-parser-output .script-Hebr{font-family:"SBL Hebrew","SBL BibLit","Taamey Ashkenaz","Taamey Frank CLM","Frank Ruehl CLM","Ezra SIL","Ezra SIL SR","Keter Aram Tsova","Taamey David CLM","Keter YG","Shofar","David CLM","Hadasim CLM","Simple CLM","Nachlieli",Cardo,Alef,"Noto Serif Hebrew","Noto Sans Hebrew","David Libre",David,"Times New Roman",Gisha,Arial,FreeSerif,FreeSans}) are mentioned in the Song of Songs (Song of Songs 7:8). When compared with three other cultivars of date palm, genetic tests showed the plant to be closely related to the old Egyptian variety Hayani, 19% of its DNA[clarification needed] being different, and an Iraqi cultivar (16% different DNA). Home Judean Date Palm Grown From 2,000 Year Old Seed Bears Fruit. The seven ancient Judean date palm accessions originate from the germination of date palm seeds collected during archaeological excavations of three sites in the Judean desert (21, 22). After devising a method to sprout them, Solowey succeeded in sprouting seeds found in other places such as the Qumran caves in the area where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Norimitsu Odachi: Who Could Have Possibly Wielded This Enormous 15th Century Japanese Sword? But now, after 2,000 years, the Judean date palm is back and the sweet ancient fruit has been harvested once again. Those date palms of modern day Israel are modern and they were imported after the founding of the State in the 1950s. We are committed to delivering quality independent Christian journalism you can trust. The Judean date palm is a date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) grown in Judea. The seeds were held in storage for 40 years at Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan.. Israeli scientists found out, The Resurrection of 2000-Year-Old Ancient Date Seeds: New Fruit Sprouts from Bible Times Source. By bringing together top experts and authors, this archaeology website explores lost civilizations, examines sacred writings, tours ancient places, investigates ancient discoveries and questions mysterious happenings. Ancient Judean date palm trees resurrected from ancient seeds. I too wonder if this is a specific species as date palms have been cultivated forever. The skin of the fruit is light brown and it is reported to be less sweet, and more fibrous and chewy than the Medjool date commonly grown in Israel today. Please check your information and try again or call us at 1-800-759-0700. Help us continue to be a voice for truth in the media by supporting CBN News for as little as $1. But the plant went extinct due to waves of conquest and intentional destruction. So valued was the tree that it became recognized as a symbol of good fortune in Judea. . It is chronicled in the Bible, Quran, and ancient literature for its diverse powers. It is sometimes claimed that date growing as a commercial fruit export stopped at the end of 70 AD, when the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans. The fruit sprouted from seeds 2,000 years old. www.vivaspress.com. [17][20] By 2015 Methuselah had produced pollen that has been used successfully to pollinate female date palms. On Friday, an unusual ceremony was held on a hilltop overlooking the Old City in Jerusalems Abu Tor neighborhood. This opens the door to thousands of potential experiments. In 2011, the plant produced its first flowers and today, the living archaeological treasure continues to grow and thrive. In the Kingdom of Judea it was a source of food, shelter, medicine, and shade. According to Jewish tradition, the Children of Israel came out of Egypt with date palm saplings that were eventually planted in the land of Israel. The characteristics of the Judean date palm may shed light on aspects of ancient cultivation that contributed to the quality of its fruit and is thus of potential relevance to the agronomic improvement of modern dates, the authors write. [16] Methuselah flowered in March 2011 and is male. Ancient Chinese Earthquake Detector Invented 2,000 Years Ago Really Worked! Modern day studies have shown dates benefit digestion, lower cholesterol, improve memory, increase blood production, have aphrodisiac properties, and strengthen the nervous system. The first dates to ripen came from a palm tree named Hannah, which was grown from a seed about 10 years ago. The genome sequences of the ancient Judean date palms were compared to those of 110 contemporary Phoenix dactylifera varieties and other wild Phoenix species . Ages in months at time of photograph (AtoC) Adam (110 months), Jonah (63 months), and Uriel (54 months). God is everywhereeven in the news. An ancient date seed (Phoenix dactylifera L.) excavated from Masada and radiocarbon-dated to the first century Common Era was germinated. Methusaleh and all the ancient date trees can be visited by contacting Keren Kolot. Dr. Solowey - and that at least one is a female! Joanna completed a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) degree in Australia and published research in the field of Educational Psychology. Sallon, who lives in Jerusalem, offered one to a friend, but because she is an observant Jew, she couldnt accept it because it wasnt properly tithed, as Jewish religious law requires. Growing in a greenhouse for the last nine years,Judith was recently transplanted in what Kibbutz Ketura calls the Ancient Judean Date Orchard. In this age of global warming and species loss, I thought its important to try and bring back to life these ancient varieties. This extraordinary achievement demonstrates the kernels' long-term vitality after being nestled in succulent Judean dates, a fruit variety that has been lost for millennia. [13] She challenged her friend, Dr. Elaine Solowey from the Center for Sustainable Agriculture at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, with the task[14] and in 2005 Dr. Solowey managed to sprout several seeds, after slowly hydrating them in a common baby bottle warmer, then pretreating them in an ordinary solution of fertilizer and growth hormone. We seek to retell the story of our beginnings. In ancient times the Judean date palm was a staple source of food, shelter, and shade. You can help bring hope today! And lo, it came to pass that out of the earth Hannah and Judith sprouted. The species has earned the new name Judean date palm, along with the scientific name Phoenix dactylifera. After six years of growth Hannah flowered and researchers got excited at the possibility of resurrecting the Judean date after 2,000 years. The date palms are named for Biblical figures. ***Please sign up forCBN Newslettersand download theCBN News appto ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***. But I will secretly plant one of the seeds from Hannah here and hope that in another 20 years, it will produce fruit.. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing. Ezekiel 47:12. Stay informed with the latest from CBN News delivered to your inbox. How Credible Are the Superstitions Surrounding the Mystical Irish Fairy Trees? Now that the Judean date palm has been brought back to life and its fruit has even been harvested, researchers finally have the opportunity to study if the ancient medicinal claims are true. They were then dosed with Gibberellic acid, a growth-promoting plant hormone, and enzymatic fertilizer. The species is widely cultivated and is naturalized in . Dr. Sarah Sallon came up with the initiative to germinate some ancient seeds[12] and persuaded the archaeological storage at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to share some. Cultivation of dates in the region almost disappeared after the fourteenth century AD from a combination of climate change and infrastructure decay but has been revived in modern times. The Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is an important symbol in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.Methuselah represents a variety of date palm that was grown in ancient Judea but disappeared many hundreds of years ago. Methuselah the Judean Date Palm is still going strong even after sprouting from a 2,000-year-old seed. The Judean dates from the time of Christ had long been considered extinct. But it takes a lot of hard work, time, and money to do what we do. She was also interested in how plants can be used for medicine. [3] Modern studies have been done in an attempt to confirm their medicinal value. [17] By November 2011 it was 2.5 metres (8ft 2in) high, having been transplanted from pot to earth. Thats why we view every news story through the lens of faith. Hannah was the first female tree. Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, "New Life, From an Arctic Flower That Died 32,000 Years Ago", "After 2,000 Years, These Seeds Have Finally Sprouted", "2000-Year-Old Date Pit Sprouts In Israel", "2,000-Year-Old Seed Sprouts, Sapling Is Thriving", "Extinct Judean Date Palm Grows After 1500 Years", "1.4.8 The Crusader period and Little Ice Age, 1.0 ka to 0.4 ka BP, and 1.4.9 The Moslem-Ottoman period, 0.4 ka to 0.1 ka BP", "From Extinction to Resurrection: The Judean Date Palm Tree", "Origins and insights into the historic Judean date palm based on genetic analysis of germinated ancient seeds and morphometric studies", "Researchers confirm age of "Methuselah" tree", "2000-Year-Old Date Pit Sprouts in Israel", "Medicinal date palm from oldest known seed planted", "Date palm grown from 2,000-year-old seed is a dad", "Israeli researchers grow new date plants from 2,000-year-old seeds", "The genomes of ancient date palms germinated from 2,000 y old seeds", "Scientists Resurrect Mysterious Judean Date Palms From Biblical Era", "Extinct tree from the time of Jesus rises from the dead", How King Solomon and the Romans Shaped the Judean Date Palm, "Germination, Genetics, and Growth of an Ancient Date Seed", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Judean_date_palm&oldid=1142182782, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2018, Articles with disputed statements from July 2018, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from December 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 23:58. A handful of date seeds from fruit that ripened around the time of Jesus have been successfully planted and grown in southernIsrael, researchers have revealed., The worlds most remarkable date palm trees might not exist if Sarah Sallon hadnt gotten sick while working as a doctor in India in 1986. After this process, one seed was found to be damaged and was subsequently discarded. Groves of Judean dates once flourished in Israel, as described by Pliny and Josephus, and were famous across the Roman Empire. As soon as the ancient Judean date palm had grown into a tree, Ms. Solowey used genetic testing on it to confirm if it was indeed male and thus incapable of producing fruit. Sallon says the dates seem to offer hope in todays world of uncertainty. Its mentioned in the Bible as one of the seven species found in the ancient Land of Israel. In ancient times, the classical writers described in detail, the dates of ancient Judea. The findings suggest that it might be a good option for examining the lifetime of plant seeds. Solowey soaked the seeds in enzymatic water and fertilizer and planted them in sterile potting soil in pots in a greenhouse. The first complete mapping of a Neanderthal genome took place about five years ago - supporting the human-Neanderthal hook-up and also showing that Neanderthal DNA in humans is a thing. Female plants need male pollen to produce fruit, and all six of the new date palm trees are female, Sallon explains. They were given the names Jonah, Uriel, Boaz, Judith, Hannah, and Adam. The remaining 33 were carefully soaked in water and fertilizer to encourage germination. [18] By May 2015, the palm was 3.0 metres (9.8ft) tall and was producing pollen. They all sat in storage for over 40 years. Five years ago, National Geographic reported that Methuselah was over ten-feet tall and had been used to pollinate a wild modern female date palm.
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