Only in the New Testament books of Matthew and Luke are the lesser herbs mentioned; however, the Jews were very particular in paying the tenth demanded of them. Three varieties are known to grow in the area around Israel. They are garden mint, peppermint and pennyroyal. Mint was served with meat dishes, especially at the spring Feast of Paschal Lamb.
The herb grows wild in ditches and on banks throughout the Holy Land and also grows abundantly in Syria on its hills. As a plant it is larger than the garden variety and much finer. Although it originated and belongs to the Old World, it is now generally grown for its valuable medicinal uses.
A wild horsemint is native to southern Europe. It has a very strong scent. The Greeks called it mintha, a word later latinized into mentha. Pliny gives forty-one remedies with mint as a primary ingredient. The ancient Greeks, Hebrews and Romans used mint, and a writing from A.D. 37 states that mint was mentioned often in a book of recipes from that time. The Jews strewed their synagogue floors with mint so that each step taken would scent the place of worship.
Matthew 23:23 (KJV) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
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