2 Kings 18:32. A land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey.
An American missionary in Turkey states that in some districts grapes are so plentiful that, with oil and bread, they form the chief nourishment of the people. Thus it was, according to the text, in Palestine and in Assyria in the days of Hezekiah. Each was “a land of bread and vineyards.”
The same writer, in speaking of the various uses of the grape as a staple food of the people, enumerates fifteen different articles made from that fruit.
Among them are preserves, jellies, and confectionery, made of the fresh juice; pickles, molasses, and sugar; besides wine and brandy, and other more familiar preparations. See Bibliotheca Sacra, vol. 5, pp. 283, 287.