The staff of life -- revised

I've been baking flat bread today, which made me think of the phrase "Bread is the staff of life," and it occurred to me that I had no idea what it really meant. A staff is a walking stick -- so are we saying that bread is the walking stick of life? In what way is it a walking stick? Does it support life as it hobbles along? 

Online Etymology Dictionary explains the origin of the term:

Staff of life "bread" is from the Biblical phrase "to break the staff of bread" (Lev. xxvi.26), transl. Heb. matteh lekhem.

This is translated into Latin as baculum panis, literally the walking stick or staff of bread. The walking stick of BREAD? Are we talking about a really long baguette here?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, however, this is not (as I thought at first) a physical description of a long loaf of bread: to break the staff of bread is to cut off the supply of bread. It's a strange metaphor -- to break bread's walking stick -- so it's probably not all that unusual that it was rephrased in a later era. And indeed, by the seventeenth century, "supply, the walking stick of bread" becomes "bread, the walking stick of life," in other words its support and mainstay.

Here are the early uses of the phrase "staff of life" listed in the OED:

1638 PENKETHMAN Artach. Ajb, Bread is worth all, being the Staffe of life.

1656 J. HAMMOND Leah & Rachel (1844) 9 Corn (the main staffe of life).
1698 FRYER Acc. E. India & P. 35 For Corn, they have Rice the Staff of the Land.
1860 All Year Round No. 45. 440 Barley bannocks and oat cake long remained the staff of life in villages in Scotland.
1901 D. SLADEN In Sicily I. 372 Broad beans form one of the staves of life in Sicily.n any event,

I'm still not particularly happy with my history of this phrase, and I plan to do more research into it soon. Or maybe I'll strike it lucky and someone who knows a lot more than I do will just leave a comment and clarify everything. In the mean time, though, I'm very happy with the bread I made. See above.

Comments

[Julie]

You have got to stop thinking so much. I'm doing an intervention. You're living in a sorority house for the rest of the summer.

[prairie biker]

A priest and a nun are traveling by camel across the desert and are soon running low on water. They travel many days without seeing an oasis and finally the camel succumbs.

The priest, having been an honorable and chaste man his whole decides that he doesn't wish to die without ever having known the pleasures of flesh. He drops his pants, grabs his member in his hand and says, "Sister! Do you know what this is?"

The nun, having also lived a chaste life since dedicating herself to the church at an early age replies, "No Father. I surely don't."

"Well Sister, with this rod here in my hand I can bring forth life upon this planet. This is the Staff of Life!"

The sister looks at him for a minute then answers, "Well Father, don't just stand there. Stick that up that camel's ass and let's get a move on!"

[Locust Eater]

So, don't be selfish, post your flatbread recipie! I am desparate to cook flat bread. I hear it is the pillow of life.

[JWebb]

I would bake bread, but I prefer to loaf.

[Julie]

You could at yeast give it a rye, JWebb.

[JWebb]

Dough!!

[Julie]

Exquisite.

[CraigC]

A guy goes into a bathroom to take a leak, and there's a dwarf at the urinal next to him. The guy can't help but notice that the little guy has a huge schlong. He says, "I don't want to sound queer, but man you have a big dick. I wish I had one that big."

The little guy says, "Well, you're in luck, then. It just so happens that I'm a leprechaun, and I can grant your wish. If you give me some head, I'll give you a nine-incher." The guy says, "Uh, no, I don't want one that bad."

They're standing at the sinks washing their hands, and the guy thinks to himself, "Yannow, I really do want one that bad." So he gives the the little guy some head, and after he's done, he says, "Man, I can't believe I'm getting a nine-inch dick!"

Little guy says, "Man, I can't believe you thought I was a leprechaun!"

[JWebb]

I can't decided whether that joke lampoons pumpernickel or pullman loaf...

[Jake]

Hey, if you put some sauce and cheese and pepperoni on that staff of life then Pizza would be the new staff of life... Just a pointless observation..