Arts of The: Baker
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In biblical times, the role of the baker was a significant and respected profession, essential for daily sustenance and religious practices. The art of baking is mentioned in various contexts throughout the Scriptures, highlighting its importance in ancient society.

Biblical References:

1. Genesis 40:1-23: The account of Pharaoh's chief baker is one of the earliest mentions of a baker in the Bible. The chief baker, along with the chief cupbearer, was imprisoned and had a dream interpreted by Joseph. This narrative illustrates the baker's role within the royal household, responsible for preparing bread and baked goods for Pharaoh. The baker's dream, involving baskets of bread, underscores the centrality of bread in Egyptian and Hebrew culture.

2. Exodus 12:39: During the Exodus, the Israelites baked unleavened bread as they fled Egypt. "They baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves." This passage highlights the necessity and urgency of baking in times of transition and survival.

3. 1 Samuel 8:13: When Samuel warns the Israelites about the implications of having a king, he mentions that the king will take their daughters to be "perfumers, cooks, and bakers." This indicates that baking was a specialized skill, often performed by women, and was integral to the functioning of a royal household.

4. Jeremiah 37:21: During the siege of Jerusalem, King Zedekiah orders that Jeremiah be given a loaf of bread daily from the bakers' street until all the bread in the city was gone. "So King Zedekiah gave the order for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread from the street of the bakers each day until all the bread in the city was gone." This reference to the "street of the bakers" suggests a designated area for bakers, indicating the organized nature of this trade in urban settings.

5. Hosea 7:4: The prophet Hosea uses the imagery of a baker to describe the moral decay of Israel. "They are all adulterers, like an oven heated by the baker who ceases to stir the fire from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened." Here, the baker's process of heating the oven and preparing dough serves as a metaphor for the people's unchecked passions and sins.

Cultural and Religious Significance:

In ancient Israel, bread was a staple food, and the process of baking was both a daily necessity and a ritualistic act. The preparation of unleavened bread during Passover, as commanded in Exodus 12, is a prime example of the religious significance of baking. The unleavened bread, or matzah, symbolizes purity and the haste of the Israelites' departure from Egypt.

Bakers were responsible for producing various types of bread, including leavened and unleavened, for everyday consumption and religious offerings. The "showbread" or "bread of the Presence," placed in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple, was a sacred offering that required precise preparation by skilled bakers (Leviticus 24:5-9).

Tools and Techniques:

The art of baking in biblical times involved several tools and techniques. Bakers used stone or clay ovens, often built into the ground or as freestanding structures. These ovens were heated with wood or dried dung, and the dough was placed on the hot surfaces to bake. Kneading troughs and grinding stones were also essential tools for preparing the dough.

The process of leavening, using natural yeasts, was well understood, although unleavened bread was preferred for certain religious observances. The skill of the baker lay in managing the fermentation process, controlling oven temperatures, and producing consistent, quality bread.

In summary, the art of the baker in biblical times was a vital and respected craft, deeply intertwined with daily life and religious practice. The baker's role, as depicted in Scripture, reflects the broader cultural and spiritual significance of bread in ancient Israelite society.
Torrey's Topical Textbook
Genesis 40:1
And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

1 Samuel 8:13
And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Several Degrees and Stations in an Internal Life; as the Three ...
... For as we see in all arts and sciences, as (for example) music or poetry, a person
that sets himself to learn them is at the first obliged to make use of a ...
/.../chapter i several degrees and.htm

Of the Mortification of the Affections of the Will...
... though to ordinary human reason it may seem an offence against prudence and truth
for one (for example) that knows himself to be skilled in arts, prudent, noble ...
/.../chapter xiii of the mortification.htm

Conditions Required to Affective Prayer: of which the First Is...
... Besides, it is not with prayer as with other arts or habits; a student by cessation
from study doth not presently lose nor so much as diminish the knowledge ...
/.../chapter iv conditions required to.htm

A Strong Resolution Necessary in the Beginning. ...
... other, but that nature will continually struggle against the spirit; especially
being enflamed by the devil, who will not fail to employ all his arts, all his ...
/.../chapter iv a strong resolution.htm

Holy Exercises of Resignation.
... 2. For Thy love I renounce all complacency in any kind of endowment or skill in
any arts (as far as any of these are in me), consecrating all that by Thy free ...
/.../holy exercises of resignation.htm

Through-The-Week Activities for Boys' Organized Classes
... Promote an educational trip. Teach elementary arts and crafts. Conduct discussion
of practical citizenship. ... Baker."Indoor Games and Socials for Boys (.75). ...
/.../the boy and the sunday school/x through-the-week activities for boys.htm

On Mr. Rudyard Kipling and Making the World Small
... He sings the arts of peace much more accurately than the arts of war ... he is military,
Kipling at his best and clearest has preached that the baker baking loaves ...
//christianbookshelf.org/chesterton/heretics/iii on mr rudyard kipling.htm

Archelaus's Ethnarchy is Reduced into a [Roman] Province. The ...
... them are sent away by their curators, to exercise some of those arts wherein they ...
holy temple, and quietly set themselves down; upon which the baker lays them ...
/.../chapter 8 archelauss ethnarchy is.htm

Of the Holy Basilius, Bishop of C??sarea, and the Measures Taken ...
... base arts raised the meanest persons to the highest dignities." Dict. Chris. Biog.
sv But the chief cook may have been a high functionary like the chief baker ...
/.../the ecclesiastical history of theodoret/chapter xvi of the holy basilius.htm

Ephesians iv. 17
... Take up the art of cookery thyself, become a baker if thou wilt, or a coppersmith,
for nothing can be more honorable than these arts, since these are they that ...
/.../homily xii ephesians iv 17.htm

Resources
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Subtopics

Arts

Arts of The: Apothecary or Perfumer

Arts of The: Armourer

Arts of The: Baker

Arts of The: Blacksmith

Arts of The: Brazier

Arts of The: Brick-Maker

Arts of The: Calker

Arts of The: Carpenter

Arts of The: Carver

Arts of The: Confectioner

Arts of The: Dyer

Arts of The: Embalmer

Arts of The: Embroiderer

Arts of The: Engraver

Arts of The: Founder

Arts of The: Fuller

Arts of The: Gardener

Arts of The: Goldsmith

Arts of The: Husbandman

Arts of The: Mariner

Arts of The: Mason

Arts of The: Musician

Arts of The: Potter

Arts of The: Refiner of Metals

Arts of The: Rope Maker

Arts of The: Ship Builder

Arts of The: Silversmith

Arts of The: Smelter of Metals

Arts of The: Spinner

Arts of The: Stone Cutter

Arts of The: Tailor

Arts of The: Tanner

Arts of The: Tent-Maker

Arts of The: Weaver

Arts of The: Wine-Maker

Arts of The: Writer

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Arts of The: Armourer
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