This article examines cuneiform and biblical evidence for the consumption and ritual use of locusts, its various species, and in some cases similar insects (grasshoppers and crickets). In cuneiform letters and economic documents from Mesopotamia of the Old Babylonian period (1st half of the 2nd millennium BC), the delivery of locusts and similar insects as a food product is repeatedly mentioned, along with fish, herbs, cereals, legumes, bakery products. These sources attest to the consumption of locust varieties designated by the Akkadian terms erbu, ṣarṣar, ergilu and erḫizzu. In ritual texts, locusts erbu, ḫilimmu and ergilu often appear as an ingredient in various potions and ointments, in particular, as part of a fermented sauce for treating kidney and urinary tract diseases, in the form of dried locust powder for treating dermatological diseases, as an ingredient in ointments for horses. Another important evidence of the consumption of locusts as food is the listing of insects permitted for consumption in Leviticus (Lv 11:21–22), where four Hebrew lexemes arbä, sålåm, ḥargol and ḥågåb are mentioned. The description provided allows us to clearly identify these terms as designations for locusts, grasshoppers and crickets. The particularity of this list and other lists of animals in Leviticus and Deuteronomy may indicate a close connection with the Mesopotamian lexicographical tradition.