Salt and ..... ?

 Hello Friends

I wanted to “spice” things up a bit today, and you may be thinking I’m going to a lot of work to find the spiritual reference, but trust me: it’ll be worth it.

You may have to look at today's blog as more of a travel log of our recent trip through Europe.  The subject I'm talking about first came to mind a couple of months ago, while traveling through Amsterdam’s canals. It was pointed out that many of the buildings on either side of these beautiful narrow waterways are very old, dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries. It seems pretty obvious when you notice that quite a few of them don't stand straight up, due to the constant moving and sinking into the soft soil. In fact, some buildings have begun to depend on the building next door for support, which then requires laws about what a person can and cannot do to his property if it might cause the adjacent building to fall down.

Just about every three to four-story building has a familiar prominent hook out the front, right out under the eves.  We probably all have the same image of heavy pianos being lifted to the top floors thanks to those hooks, working with appropriate blocks and tackles. If you go inside the building and see the tiny steep stairs, usually spiralling, you further realize why this hook would be necessary.

But our guide pointed out that in many cases the hooks were created with security in mind; storing the owners’ most valuable possessions up high and out of reach.

And in those days, the most valuable possession, by far, was … wait for it … Pepper! Therefore, the common name for those devices, in fact, are “Pepper Hooks”.

Ounce for ounce, at one time, pepper was more valuable than gold.

It had been in use for some time already in South East Asia and Egypt, as well as India, where it originated, but in Europe it was a newcomer, and hard to come by, making it very valuable.

But why all the fuss over just another seasoning? As it turns out, the first use of pepper in recorded history was for anything BUT spice.

In ancient Egypt, pepper was thought to hold life-giving magical qualities. When examining the mummified remains of Ramses II, whole peppercorns were found in his nostrils; apparently, they were part of the preparation for the afterlife.

It was a known fact during biblical times that pepper was valuable as an anticoagulant for internal bleeding. Because of its mysterious properties, it was also associated with many magical incantations.

And of course, it goes great with salt on the dinner table. If you live in Asia long enough, you develop a real taste for it.  

So that started me thinking about pepper’s place in Scripture. A Bible concordance won’t turn up much, and not surprisingly early Israelites didn’t even have a name for pepper. Hebrew scholars tell us that indirect references to pepper occur in the Old Testament at least 31 times; right up there with the 35 references to “salt”. But hey, I’m way out of my depth here. I would just urge you to do some research on your own and share with me what you discover.

Because, as my very proper and dear departed aunt used to say, “When someone asks for the salt always include the pepper; one gets lonesome without the other.”

Have a great week. Please let me know if you think up some spiritual applications for this spice!  

As always, Marsha