Honey

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HONEY.—The appreciation of honey by the Hebrews from the earliest times, and its abundance in Canaan, are evident from the oft-recurring description of that country as a ‘land flowing with milk and honey’ (Exo_3:8; Exo_3:17 onwards). In the absence of any mention of bee-keeping in OT, it is almost certain that this proverbial expression has reference to the honey of the wild bee (see Bee). The latter had its nest in the clefts of rocks, hence the ‘honey out of the rock’ of Deu_32:13, in hollow tree-trunks (1Sa_14:26, but the Heb. text is here in disorder), and even, on occasion, in the skeleton of an animal (Jdg_14:8 ff.). In later times, as is evident from the Mishna, bee-keeping was widely practised by the Jews. The hives were of straw or wicker-work. Before removing the combs the bee-keepers stupefied the bees with the fumes of charcoal and cow-dung, burnt in front of the hives.
In Bible times honey was not only relished by itself (cf. Sir_11:3 ‘the bee is little, but her fruit is the chief of sweet things’), and as an accompaniment to other food (Mat_3:4, Mar_1:6 ‘locusts and wild honey,’ Luk_24:42, AV [Note: Authorized Version.] with fish), but was also largely used in the making of ‘bakemeats’ and all sorts of sweet cakes (Exo_16:31), sugar being then, of course, unknown. Although it formed part of the first-fruits presented at the sanctuary, honey was excluded from the altar, owing to its liability to fermentation.
Honey for domestic use was kept in earthen jars (1Ki_14:3 EV [Note: English Version.] ‘cruse’), in which, doubtless, it was also put for transport (Gen_43:11) and export (Eze_27:17). Many scholars, however, would identify the ‘honey’ of the two passages last cited with the grape syrup (the Arab. [Note: Arabic.] dibs, equivalent of the Heb. debash, ‘honey’) of ‘Honey’ in EBi [Note: Encyclopædia Biblica.] col. 2105). Indisputable evidence of the manufacture of dibs in early times, however, is still lacking.
In addition to the proverbial expression of fertility above quoted, honey, in virtue of its sweetness, is frequently employed in simile and metaphor in Heb. literature; see Psa_19:10; Psa_119:103, Pro_16:24; Pro_24:13 f., Son_4:11; Son_5:1, Sir_24:20; Sir_49:1 etc.
A. R. S. Kennedy.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909

(See BEE.) Bees deposit it in the crevices of rocks (Psa_81:16), and in hollow trees. Its "dropping" symbolizes speech, sweet, loving, and profitable (Son_4:11). The word of God (Psa_19:10). As wine and meat express strong spiritual nourishment in faith, so honey and milk sometimes symbolize incipient faith (Son_5:1). The vegetable honey exuded from trees, as the Tamarix mannifera, and is found only in small globules which must he carefully collected and strained, so that it cannot be what Jonathan ate in the wood (1Sa_14:25), or the "wild honey" which John Baptist ate (Mat_3:4). Honey was forbidden in meat offerings, for it soon turns sour and was used for making vinegar (Pliny, 21:48). It produces fermentation, which is a symbol of the working of corruption in the heart (Lev_2:11-12; 1Co_5:7).
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.

Honey. The Hebrew, debash in the first place applied to the product of the bee, to which exclusively we give the name of honey. All travellers agree in describing Palestine as a land "flowing with milk and honey," Exo_3:8, bees being abundant even in the remote parts of the wilderness, where they deposit their honey in the crevices of rocks or in hollow trees. In some parts of northern Arabia, the hills are so well stocked with bees that no sooner are hives placed than they are occupied.
In the second place, the term debash applies to a decoction of the juice of the grape, which is still called dibs, and which forms an article of commerce in the East. It was this, and not ordinary bee-honey, which Jacob sent to Joseph, Gen_43:11, and which the Tyrians purchased from Palestine. Eze_27:17.
A third kind has been described by some writers as a "vegetable" honey, by which is meant the exudations of certain trees and shrubs, such as the Tamarix mannifera, found in the peninsula of Sinai, or the stunted oaks of Luristan and Mesopotamia. The honey which Jonathan ate in the wood, 1Sa_14:25, and the "wild honey" which supported John the Baptist, Mat_3:42, have been referred to this species. But it was probably the honey of wild bees.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863

דבש . It is probable, that it was is order to keep the Jews at a distance from the customs of the Heathen, who were used to offer honey in their sacrifices, that God forbade it to be offered to him, that is to say, burnt upon the altar, Lev_2:11; but at the same time he commanded that the first-fruits of it should be presented. These first-fruits and offerings were designed for the support and sustenance of the priests, and were not consumed upon the altar. In hot weather, the honey burst the comb, and ran down the hollow trees or rocks, where, in the land of Judea, the bees deposited great store of it. This, flowing spontaneously, was the best and most delicious, as it was quite pure, and clear from all dregs and wax. The Israelites called it יערה , wood honey. It is therefore improperly rendered “honeycomb,” 1Sa_14:27; Son_5:1; in both which places it means the honey that has distilled from the trees, as distinguished from the domestic, which was eaten with the comb. Hasselquist says, that between Acra and Nazareth, great numbers of wild bees breed, to the advantage of the inhabitants; and Maundrell observes of the great plain near Jericho, that he perceived in it, in many places, a smell of honey and wax as strong as if he had been in an apiary. Milk and honey were the chief dainties of the earlier ages, and continue to be so of the Bedoween Arabs now. So butter and honey are several times mentioned in Scripture as among the most delicious refreshments, 2Sa_17:29; Job_20:17; Son_4:11; Isa_7:15. Thus Irby and Mangles, in their Travels, relate, “They gave us some honey and butter together, with bread to dip in it, Narsah desiring one of his men to mix the two ingredients for us, as we were awkward at it. The Arab, having stirred the mixture up well with his fingers, showed his dexterity at consuming, as well as mixing, and recompensed himself for his trouble by eating half of it.” The wild honey, μελι αγριον, mentioned to have been a part of the food of John the Baptist, Mat_3:4, was probably such as he got in the rocks and hollows of trees. Thus, “honey out of the stony rock,”
Psa_81:16; Deu_32:13.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.

hun?i (דּבשׁ, debhash; μέλι, méli): One familiar with life in Palestine will recognize in debhash the Arabic dibs, which is the usual term for a sweet syrup made by boiling down the juice of grapes, raisins, carob beans, or dates. Dibs is seldom, if ever, used as a name for honey (compare Arabic 'asal), whereas in the Old Testament debhash probably had only that meaning. The honey referred to was in most cases wild honey (Deu_32:13; Jdg_14:8, Jdg_14:9; 1Sa_14:25, 1Sa_14:26, 1Sa_14:29, 1Sa_14:43), although the offering of honey with the first-fruits would seem to indicate that the bees were also domesticated (2Ch_31:5). The bees constructed their honeycomb and deposited their honey in holes in the ground (1Sa_14:25); under rocks or in crevices between the rocks (Deu_32:13; Psa_81:16). They do the same today. When domesticated they are kept in cylindrical basket hives which are plastered on the outside with mud. The Syrian bee is an especially hardy type and a good honey producer. It is carried to Europe and America for breeding purposes.
In Old Testament times, as at present, honey was rare enough to be considered a luxury (Gen_43:11; 1Ki_14:3). Honey was used in baking sweets (Exo_16:31). It was forbidden to be offered with the meal offering (Lev_2:11), perhaps because it was fermentable, but was presented with the fruit offering (2Ch_31:5). Honey was offered to David's army (2Sa_17:29). It was sometimes stored in the fields (Jer_41:8). It was also exchanged as merchandise (Eze_27:17). In New Testament times wild honey was an article of food among the lowly (Mat_3:4; Mar_1:6).
Figurative: ?A land flowing with milk and honey? suggested a land filled with abundance of good things (Exo_3:8, Exo_3:17; Lev_20:24; Num_13:27; Deu_6:3; Jos_5:6; Jer_11:5; Eze_20:6, Eze_20:15). ?A land of olive trees and honey? had the same meaning (Deu_8:8; 2Ki_18:32), and similarly ?streams of honey and butter? (Job_20:17). Honey was a standard of sweetness (Son_4:11; Eze_3:3; Rev_10:9, Rev_10:10). It typified sumptuous fare (Son_5:1; Isa_7:15, Isa_7:22; Eze_16:13, Eze_16:19). The ordinances of Yahweh were ?sweeter than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb? (Psa_19:10; Psa_119:103). ?Thou didst eat ... honey? (Eze_16:13) expressed Yahweh's goodness to Jerusalem.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.

In the Scripture there are three words denoting different sweet substances, all of which are rendered by 'honey' in the Authorized Version. These it is necessary to distinguish.
1. Yaar, which only occurs in 1Sa_14:25; 1Sa_14:27; 1Sa_14:29; Son_5:1; and denotes the honey of bees, and that only.
2. Nopeth, honey that drops, usually associated with the comb, and therefore bee-honey. This occurs in Psa_19:10; Pro_5:3; Pro_24:13; Pro_27:7; Son_4:11.
3. Debesh. This is the most frequent word. It sometimes denotes bee-honey, as in Jdg_14:8, but more commonly a vegetable honey distilled from trees, and called manna by chemists; also the syrup of dates, and even dates themselves. It appears also sometimes to stand as a general term for all kinds of honey.
We shall here confine our remarks to honey in general, and that of bees in particular, referring for the vegetable honey to Manna, and for the date-honey to Drink, Strong.
It is very evident that the land of Canaan abounded in honey. It is indeed described as a 'land flowing with milk and honey' (Exo_3:8, etc.); which we apprehend to refer to all the sweet substances which the different Hebrew words indicate, as the phrase seems too large to be confined to the honey of bees alone. Yet the great number of bees in Palestine has been noticed by many travelers; and they were doubtless still more common in ancient times when the soil was under more general cultivation [BEE; FOOD].
The 'wild honey' which, with locusts, formed the diet of John the Baptist, was probably the vegetable honey, which we refer to Manna.
Honey was not permitted to be offered on the altar (Lev_2:11). As it is coupled with leaven in this prohibition, it would seem to amount to an interdiction of things sour and sweet. Aben Ezra and others allege that it was because honey partook of the fermenting nature of leaven, and when burnt yielded an unpleasant smell?qualities incompatible with offerings made by fire of a sweet savor unto the Lord. But Maimonides and others think it was for the purpose of making a difference between the religious customs of the Jews and the heathen, in whose offerings honey was much employed. The first fruits of honey were, however, to be presented, as these were destined for the support of the priests, and not to be offered upon the altar.
Under the different heads to which we have referred, the passages of Scripture relating to honey are explained. The remarkable incident related in 1Sa_14:24-32, requires, however, to be here noticed. Jonathan and his party coming to the wood, find honey dropping from the trees to the ground, and the prince extends his rod to the honeycomb to taste the honey. On this the present writer is unable to add anything to what he has stated elsewhere (Pictorial Bible, in loc.), which is to the following effect:?First, we are told that the honey was on the ground, then that it dropped, and lastly, that Jonathan put his rod into the honeycomb. From all this it is clear that the honey was bee-honey, and that honeycombs were above in the trees, from which honey dropped upon the ground; but it is not clear whether Jonathan put his rod into a honeycomb that was in the trees or shrubs, or into one that had fallen to the ground, or that had been formed there.
Where wild bees are abundant they form their combs in any convenient place that offers, particularly in cavities, or even on the branches of trees. In India particularly, and in the Indian islands, the forests often swarm with bees. We have good reason to conclude, from many allusions in Scripture, that this was also, to a considerable extent, the case formerly in Palestine. The woods on the western coast of Africa, between Cape Blanco and Sierra Leone, and particularly near the Gambia, are full of bees, to which the negroes formerly, if they do not now, paid considerable attention for the sake of the wax. They had bee-hives, like baskets, made of reeds and sedge, and hung on the out-boughs of the tree: which the bees easily appropriated for the purpose of forming their combs in them. In some parts these hives were so thickly placed that at a distance they looked like fruit. There was also much wild honey in the cavities of the trees. As to the other supposition, that the honeycomb had been formed on the ground, we think the context rather bears against it; but the circumstance is not in itself unlikely, or incompatible with the habits of wild bees. For want of a better resource they sometimes form their honey in any tolerably convenient spot they can find in the ground, such as small hollows, or even holes formed by animals.
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.

Exo_3:8 (b) Honey and milk are the products of life. The one comes from the living bee, the other from the living cow. The land of Canaan represents that place in the Christian's life wherein by utter consecration he begins to receive his richest blessings from the living Lord on the throne. (See Deu_8:8).

Deu_32:13 (a) The rock represents the Lord JESUS, and the honey represents the sweetness, the loveliness and all those precious graces which one receives from CHRIST by faith.

Lev_2:11 (c) Here honey represents natural human sweetness. In the sacrifices to the Lord, nothing is acceptable to GOD except the virtues of CHRIST. All the natural graces which we admire in one another are to be completely omitted from everything that pertains to sacrifice for sins or for merit before the Lord. Honey is a type of all that is good and best in the human heart and which some desire to offer as a sacrifice for sin.

Jdg_14:9 (c) The lion represents the Lord JESUS and the honey represents the lovely and delightful sweetness which the believer enjoys as he comes and takes out of CHRIST's heart and life the blessings which are so freely given.

Job_20:17 (b) This evidently refers to an abundance of comforts, the luxuries of life, things over and above the natural blessings.

Psa_19:10 (b) The Word of GOD is to the soul what honey is to the body. The Scriptures are frequently referred to as honey and the honeycomb. (See Psa_119:103; Eze_3:3; Rev_10:9).
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types
press 1957.

Honey
(דְּבִשׁ, debash', sometimes rendered “honeycomb,” in composition with , יר, ya'ar or צוּ, tsuph; while נֹפֶת, no'pheth, singly, is sometimes translated “honey-comb;” Greek μέλι) is represented by several terms, more or less accurately, in the original languages of Scripture.
1. יר, ya'ar, which only occurs (in this sense) in 1Sa_14:25; 1Sa_14:27; 1Sa_14:29; Son_5:1; and denotes the honey of bees, and that only. The word properly signifies a copse or forest, and refers to the honey found in the woods.
2. נֹפֶת, no'pheth, honey that drops (from נוּ, to sprinkle or distil), usually associated with the comb, and therefore bee-honey. This occurs in Psa_19:10; Pro_5:3; Pro_24:13; Pro_27:7; Son_4:11.
3. דְּבִשׁ, debash' (from its glutinous nature). This is the most frequent word. It sometimes denotes beehoney, as in Jdg_14:8, but may also refer to a vegetable honey distilled from trees, and called manna by chemists; also the sirup of dates, and even dates themselves. It appears also sometimes to stand as a general term for all kinds of honey, especially the sirup of grapes, i.e. the newly-expressed juice or must boiled down. At the present day this sirup is still common in Palestine, under the same Arabic name dibs (Robinson's Researches, 2:442, 453), and forms an article of commerce in the East; it was this, and not ordinary bee-honey, which Jacob sent to Joseph (Gen_43:11), and which the Tyrians purchased from Palestine (Eze_27:17). The mode of preparing it is described by Pliny (14:11): the must was either boiled down to a half (in which case it was called defurutum), or to a third (when it was called siracum, or sapa, the σίραιος οϊvνος, and ἕψημα of the Greeks): it was mixed either with wine or milk (Virg. Georg. 1, 296; Ovid, Fast. 4:780): it is still a favorite article of nutriment among the Syrians and has the appearance of coarse honey (Russell, Aleppo, 1, 82). It was used for sweetening food, like sugar with us (Exo_16:31).
4. צוּ, tsuph (literally a flowing), denotes rather the cells of the honey- comb full of honey (Pro_16:24; Psa_19:11).
5. The “wild honey” (μέλι ἄγριον) which, with locusts, formed the diet of John the Baptist, was, according to some, the manna or vegetable honey noticed under debash (No. 3, above), but may very naturally refer to the honey stored by bees in the rocks of Judaea Deserta, in the absence of the trees to which they usually resort. Such wild honey is clearly referred to in Deu_22:13; Psalm 81:17. Josephus (War, 4, 8, 3) specifies bee-honey among the natural productions of the plain of Jericho: the same Greek expression is certainly applied by Diodorus Siculus (19:94) to honey exuding: from trees; but it may also be applied, like the Latin mel silvestre (Pliny, 11:16), to a particular kind of bee honey. A third kind has been described by some writers as “vegetable” honey, by which is meant the exudations of certain trees and shrubs, such as the Tamnarix mannifera, found in the peninsula of Sinai, or the stunted oaks of Luristan and Mesopotamia. A kind of honey is described by Josephus (1. c.) as being manufactured from the juice of the date.
Honey was not permitted to be offered on the altar (Lev_2:11). As it is coupled with leaven in this prohibition, it would seem to amount to an interdiction of things sour and sweet. Aben Ezra and others allege that it was because honey partook of the fermenting nature of leaven, and when burnt yielded an unpleasant smell-qualities incompatible with offerings made by fire of a sweet savor unto the Lord. The prohibition appears to have been grounded on the fermentation produced by it, honey soon turning sour, and even forming vinegar (Pliny, 21:48). This fact is embodied in the Talmudical word hidbish “to ferment” derived from debash. Other explanations have been offered, as that: bees were unclean (Phil. 2, 255), or that the honey was the artificial dibs (Bahr, Symbol. 2, 323). But Maimonides and others think it was for the purpose of making a difference between the religious customs of the Jews and the heathen, in whose offerings honey was much employed. The first fruits of honey were, however, to be presented, as these were destined for the support of the priests, and not to be offered upon the altar (2Ch_31:5). It is related in 1Sa_14:24-32, that Jonathan and his party, coming to the wood, found honey dropping from the trees to the ground, and the prince extended his rod to the honey-comb to taste the honey. From all this it is clear that the honey was bee-honey, and that honey-combs were above in the trees, from which honey dropped upon the ground; but it is not, clear whether Jonathan put his rod into a honey-comb that was in the trees or shrubs, or into one that had fallen to the ground, or that had been formed there (Kitto's Pict. Bible, ad loc.). Moreover, the vegetable honey is found only in small globules, which must be carefully collected and strained before being used (Wellsted, 2, 50).
In India, “the forests,” says Mr. Roberts, “literally flow with honey; large combs maybe seen hanging on the trees as you pass along, full of honey” (Oriental Illustrations). We have good reason to conclude, from many allusions in Scripture, that this was also, to a considerable extent, the case formerly in Palestine. It is very evident that the land of Canaan abounded in honey. It is indeed described as “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exo_3:8, etc.); which we apprehend to refer to all the sweet substances which the different Hebrew words indicate, as the phrase seems too large to be confined to the honey of bees alone. Yet the great number of bees in Palestine has been noticed by many travelers; and they were doubtless still more common in ancient times, when the soil was under more general cultivation. Where bees are very numerous, they sometimes resort to places for the deposit of their honey, which we would little think of. The skeleton of a lion, picked clean by birds, dogs, and insects, would afford no bad substitute for a hive, as in Jdg_14:8-9 (Kitto's Daily Bible Illus. ad loc.). A recent traveler, in a sketch of the natural history of Palestine, names bees, beetles, and mosquitoes as the insects, which are most common in the country (Schubert, Reise im Morgenlande, 2, 120). In some parts of Northern Arabia the hills are so well stocked with bees that no sooner are hives placed than they are occupied (Wellsted's Travels, 2:123). Dr. Thomson speaks of immense swarms of bees in the cliffs of wady Kum, and compares Deu_22:13 (Land and Book, 1, 460). Prof. Hackett saw hives in several places in Palestine (Illustrations of Script. p. 96). Milk and honey were among the chief dainties in the earlier ages, as they are now among the Bedawin; and butter and honey are also mentioned among articles of food (Isa_7:15). The ancients used honey instead of sugar (Psa_119:103; Pro_24:13); but when taken in great quantities it causes nausea, a fact employed in Pro_25:16-17, to inculcate moderation in pleasures. Honey and milk are put also for sweet discourse (Son_4:11). The preservative properties of honey were known in ancient times. Josephus records that the Jewish king Aristobulus, whom Pompey's partisans destroyed by poison, lay buried in honey till Antony sent him to the royal cemetery in Judsea (Ant. 14, 7, 4). SEE BEE.

CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.

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