This years harvest from Hannahproduced almost 700 dates (after 111 during last years first harvest), which were pollinated by Methuselah and two other ancient date palms named Adam and Jonah. Some of the fruit were tasted, and some were sent for further research. The ancient fruit made tonics for longevity, laxatives, and aphrodisiacs; lore claims they could cure infections. During 19631965, excavations at Herod the Great's palace on Masada, Israel, revealed a cache of date palm seeds preserved in an ancient jar. It is not clear whether there was ever a single distinct Judean cultivar, but dates grown in the region have had distinctive reputations for thousands of years, and the date palm was anciently regarded as a symbol of the region and its fertility. Ages in months at time of photograph (AtoC) Adam (110 months), Jonah (63 months), and Uriel (54 months). Its mentioned in the Bible as one of the seven species found in the ancient Land of Israel. They nicknamed the tree Methuselah after Noahs grandfather, the oldest person who ever lived. 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. her team just so happens to have one other Judean date palm on hand in . See how the latest updates in Jerusalem and the world are connected to the prophecies we read in the Bible. Who Destroyed the Great Library of Alexandria? Scientists Grew Palm Trees From 2,000-Year-Old Seeds Judean dates were once renowned for their size and flavor Brigit Katz Correspondent February 7, 2020 These palms are a modern variety. The Judean Date Palm symbolized ancient Judah and was mentioned in the Bible but when the nation it symbolized was conquered and sent into exile in 70 CE, cultivation of dates in the region began to decline. The dates flavor is similar to medjool, semi-dry with honey tones. No. Were available 24/7. The Judean date palm is a date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) grown in Judea. 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. Hundreds of seeds were collected between 1963 and 1991. Once the Roman Empire took control of the kingdom in 70 AD, the date palms were destroyed in an attempt to cripple the Jewish economy. [13][15] Three of the seeds were subsequently planted at Ketura, Israel, in the Arabah in southern Israel. Fruit of the date palm was considered a staple food in the Judaean Desert, as it was a source of food and its tree of shelter and shade for thousands of years, and became a recognized symbol of the Kingdom of Judah. Scientists determined that Methuselah was of the Hayany breed originally from Egypt. At the heart of the ceremony was a small package of dates. As a result, the tithing ceremony was held on Friday. Germinated ancient Judean date seedlings. But they're not the original date tree that grew here, Sallon said. Joanna completed a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) degree in Australia and published research in the field of Educational Psychology. Archaeobotanical records suggest that the earliest exploitation and consumption of dates is from the Arabian Neolithic some 7000 years before the present., The plump, golden-brown dates hanging in a bunch just above the sandy soil were finally ready to pick., The answer, Im happy to say, is sweeter than you think. In 2005, Dr. Sarah Sallon challenged her friend and fellow scientist, Dr. Elaine Solowey from the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, to see if they could get any of the date palm seeds to grow. Great piece I had no idea about such amazing botanical work going on. 1. The site of the ceremony was not happenstance. [26] They may have shared the same wild ancestor. Fancy Sipping a Pint in a 1700-Year-Old Tree? They are similar in taste and form to the modern day zahidi dates. One was separated out as a control. It became the Jews symbol of grace and elegance and was often bestowed by them to women. For example, Davids beautiful daughter was named Tamar. We're talking about the resurrection of 2000-year-old plus ancient date seeds that come from the Judean Desert and from Masada and which are part of a scientific experiment, said Sarah Sallon, Director and Founder of The Natural Medicine Research Center at Hadassah Medical Organization, Jerusalem. According to the researchers, they look similar to the Medjool date, but have a sweeter, honey-like flavor. So far, we have five males and two females seven altogether, and I've tried lots of seeds and most of them are deader than door nails, Solowey said. 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. The remaining 33 were carefully soaked in water and fertilizer to encourage germination. Elaine Solowey of the Arava Institute of Environmental Studies with the tree named 'Judith. This seed, among others, was found during the excavations of Masada in the mid 1960s. According to historical sources, the taste of them was something splendid. You can view our live recording of the harvesthere. Home Judean Date Palm Grown From 2,000 Year Old Seed Bears Fruit. On August 23rd, 2021, Arava Institute staff harvested three bunches of dates from our world-famous ancient date palms. A date harvest from 2000-year-old seeds. [5], Climatological research has proven that immediately after 1000, the climate became colder and more humid, reaching a peak around 1600, followed by a century of severe heat and drought, and then again by colder times with more rainfall. Three weeks later, the oldest tree to be successfully germinated sprouted. If this is indeed a specific species, the author should make that clear and name the species. She has a rich and varied career, ranging from teaching Read More. The experiment worked. God is everywhereeven in the news. YWAM Founder Loren Cunningham Diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer. She has another goal she hopes to accomplish as soon as possible: Publishing a childrens story she wrote to encourage childrens curiosity with science. Help us continue to be a voice for truth in the media by supporting CBN News for as little as $1. 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. A little, young-looking palm tree named Judith was planted on Kibbutz Ketura recently. A little, young-looking palm tree named Judith was planted on Kibbutz Ketura recently. Many books and videos show depictions of vast work forces hewing blocks of stone in the hot desert sun and carefully setting them into place. And it is blossoming on Kibbutz Ketura in the Arava region, 40 minutes north of Eilat. The researchers conducted a series of tests to verify the age of the seeds, and it was confirmed through carbon 14 dating that they were more than 2,000 years old. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.. Microsatellite genotyping of germinated seeds indicates that exchanges of genetic material occurred between the Middle East . (Guy Eisner) Scientists have cultivated plants from date palm seeds that languished in ancient ruins and caves for 2,000 years. Masada was the last stand of a small band of Jewish rebels who held out against three Roman legions for several years before committing mass suicide in 73 AD. Germination of 2000-year-old seeds of Phoenix dactylifera from Judean desert archaeological sites provides a unique opportunity to study the Judean date palm, described in antiquity for the quality, size, and medicinal properties of its fruit, but lost for centuries. Methuselah, Adam, and Hannah date back to the first to fourth centuries BCE. After being kept in storage for over 40 years, a project initiated by Dr. Sallon, aimed to germinate ancient seeds found on archaeological sites in an effort to reintroduce extinct plants previously grown in the region. Genesis 5:25-27 says that Methuselah lived 969 years! Hannah wassprouted from a 2,000 year-old seed, and pollinated by another Ancient Judean date tree. So, for the kibbutz, it's a big venture, Sallon said. But Dr. Sarah Sallon of the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem began to look for more Judean date palm seeds and 30 of the ancient seeds were recovered from Qumran, the same location where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the desert. Dr. This is the second year of harvesting fruit from this previously extinct tree, brought back to life by Dr. Elaine Solowey. The seeds were germinated by warming and hydrating them slowly and gradually. The genome sequences of the ancient Judean date palms were compared to those of 110 contemporary Phoenix dactylifera varieties and other wild Phoenix species . [10] The plant was nicknamed "Methuselah" after the longest-lived person listed in the Bible. Growing in a greenhouse for the last nine years,Judith was recently transplanted in what Kibbutz Ketura calls the Ancient Judean Date Orchard. As of February 2020, Adam was 1.5 meters high (1.6 yards). Date Palm Sprouted from Ancient Seed Gives Fruit Like That of Bible Times, Jerusalem Dateline: 8/4/17 How the Dead Sea Is Giving Life, Revival Goes Nationwide, Hits Theaters After 'Jesus Revolution' Film as Well as ORU, Portland, Ohio State, Teen Witch Collapses on Church Doorstep, Finds Freedom from 'Torment' After Deal with the Devil, 'Great Peace in Jesus': Kelsey Grammer Gets Real About His Faith Journey with Jesus. The Israeli scientists and horticulturists are now trying to find a way to use the tissue culture and make hundreds of thousands of exact replicas of Hannah, the date-palm tree germinatedfrom a seed dating back two millennia. Phoenix dactylifera and over 1000 other quality seeds for sale. Both Adam and Jonah have produced flowers. 32 additional intact seeds were chosen, out of which 6 sprouted. You Can at The Baobab Tree Bar, The Power of the Flying Rowan Tree, Woe of the Witches, https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/extinct-tree-resurrected-ancient-seeds-now-dad-002838, https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/science/.premium-israeli-researchers-mate-2-000-year-old-date-seeds-hope-for-fruit-1.8503447, https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Seed-of-extinct-date-palm-sprouts-after-2-000-2628668.php, https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/6/eaax0384, https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/palm-tree-0013259, Seleucid Sling Stone Sheds New Light on Jewish Hannukah Story, Rogue Priest Second Temple Silver Coin Found By Girl in Jerusalem, Evidence of Hannukah Story Found in Razed Hellenistic Fortress, New Study Reveals How Legendary Assyrian Siege Ramp Overcame Lachish, Mesopotamian Superpowers Laying Waste To The Ancient Near East. until the 11th century C.E.but then it went extinct centuries ago. She has grown plants and herbs used in Tibetan, Chinese, and biblical medicine, as well as traditional folk remedies from other cultures to see whether their effectiveness can be scientifically proved. Nevertheless, the taste and shape of these revived dates are consistent with the history of the dates that the two women have derived from their genetic research. Why? She was planted in 2019. As the researchers hoped would be the case with their revived date palms, plants irrigated from the Jerusalem waters would be uniquely vibrant and grant special medicinal qualities. So valued was the tree that it became recognized as a symbol of good fortune in Judea. And though shes just nine-years-old, she carries an ancient heritage. 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. Recently, Hannahs fruit was harvested for the first time. 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. Haaretz.com, the online English edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, gives you breaking news, analyses and opinions about Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World. For conservation, Sallon, who moved from England to Israel, tells NoCamels. The two stories are related, she said, because people destroyed the trees and now the land. Theres a resurrection story you probably havent heard coming out of Judea. It is chronicled in the Bible, Quran, and ancient literature for its diverse powers. 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. They dont read science journals, she tells NoCamels, noting that her friend, Jane Goodall, wrote the introduction to her unpublished childrens book. She lives in Ashland, Ohio, with her husband, Brandon, and their four children, Lydia, Elvis, Henry, and Izzy (their Westie). 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. For more information and/or interview requests, please contact Institute Deputy Director Eliza Mayo. And here we are actually planting history at the Arava Institute. Its possible that they brought the seeds with them on their return to Zion, she said. You can help bring hope today! This opens the door to thousands of potential experiments. The harvested fruit is currently being analyzed for its nutritional value. We need a lot of data to do research on, to work out the properties, what the nutritional value is, says Sallon, a pediatric gastroenterologist who directs the Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center at the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, as to why the bulk of the date harvest was taken to research labs. All kinds of trees for food will grow up on both banks of the stream. Most of the dates will go to research, but those that were tasted had, as Dr. Soloway said, a honey or caramel aftertaste., Methuselah is a date palm that Dr. Elaine Solowey sprouted from a 2,000-year-old date seed. ( The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies ). The first leaves were plagued with white spots, which the researchers put down to insufficient nutrients, and it was thought that the plant would never survive. Dr. Elaine Solowey, director of the Center for Sustainable Agriculture of the Arava Institute, and Dr. Sarah Sallon, director of the Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center of Hadassah Hospital, harvested these ancient dates in the culmination of an ambitious, decades-long experiment to raise the biblical-era Phoenix dactylifera date palm from the dead. How could it be?" On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The first of the ancient date seedlings, Methusaleh, is named for the oldest person mentioned in the Bible. In time, Hannah gave birth to a son, Samuel, who was the nazirite that chose Saul and David, the first two kings of Israel, for Gods people (1 Samuel 1). Thanks Jo. After six years of growth Hannah flowered and researchers got excited at the possibility of resurrecting the Judean date after 2,000 years. cultivation of dates in the region began to decline. 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. They are drier and sweeter than the medjool date and taste like natural honey. Ancient Chinese Earthquake Detector Invented 2,000 Years Ago Really Worked! 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? This week the Arava Institute celebrated the first Judean Dates ever to be grown into fruit since the time of King Herod." Are the Misty Peaks of the Azores Remnants of the Legendary Atlantis? They were the first dates to ripen from date palms grown from seeds that are more than 2,000 years old. Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd. All Rights Reserved. In ancient times the Judean date palm was a staple source of food, shelter, and shade. And then I realized that many of these species had actually disappeared. The Romans eventually succeeded and by 500 AD the once plentiful date palm had almost completely disappeared, driven to extinction for the sake of conquest. [8] Asaph Goor, in his 21-page article History of the Date through the Ages in the Holy Land, never mentions any such Roman devastation of the date palms, but rather cites numerous contemporary accounts attesting to the continuing extent of date cultivation through the Roman period. The fruit of the tree symbolised life and prosperity and was praised in ancient . 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. But now, after 2,000 years, the Judean date palm is back and the sweet ancient fruit has been harvested once again. Researchers hold a date tree grown by a 2,000-year-old seed retrieved from archaeological sites in the Judean Desert, in Ketura, Israel, September 2, 2020. Luckily two of the subsequent. Actually, this one came from Qumran -- was found in the caves -- and much to our astonishment, she also sprouted, said Elaine Solowey, the botanist who coaxed the seeds to grow. 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). They selected 34 seeds they thought were the most viable. It grew around the Dead Sea in the south, to the Sea of Galilee and the Hula Valley regions in the north. We hope that one day these trees that came from 2,000 years ago will be the hope of peace in our region, Abu Hamed said. 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? Seeds found in Judean desert are male and female, leading to hopes of producing dates. Now more have been grown and genetic analysis finds a twist in the origin story of the 'Judean date' A resurrected Judean date palm tree called Adam. In ancient times, date palms were used for their supposed medicinal properties to cure many diseases and infections, promoting longevity and acting as a mild aphrodisiac. 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. I clicked on the link from Facebook because I remember date palms being grown and harvested in the San Diego area in the early 60's. Source: Haaretz, Holloway, A. 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.
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