Jewish vegetarianism The pious Jewish youths Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego became vegan according to the Bible story found in Daniel 1:8-16. At Daniel's request, the four boys were subjected to a test; they were fed vegetables and water for ten days. At the end of the ten days, the four boys were in better condition than the other boys who ate a non-vegan diet. Consequently, they remained on the vegan diet after the test concluded. According to Clement of Alexandria, Matthew the Apostle was a vegetarian. Clement wrote: "Matthew partook of seeds, and nuts, and vegetables, without flesh." James the brother
On the Reliability of the Old Testament the Old Testament. The book opens with an introductory chapter surveying the history with which it intends to deal, the continuous narrative in the Hebrew Bible from the Genesis creation narrative to the return of the Jews to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity in the early days of the Persian Empire in the 5th century BC. The author claims that this history was written at the same time as the events it describes in its various sections, and that this can be confirmed by comparing the Old Testament with non-Biblical sources, both written and archaeological. He clarifies by stating that