Honey
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Heb. ya’ar, occurs only 1 Sam 14:25, 27, 29; Song 5:1, where it denotes the honey of bees. Properly the word signifies a forest or copse, and refers to honey found in woods.
Debash denotes bee-honey (Judg 14:8); but also frequently a vegetable honey distilled from trees (Gen 43:11; Ezek 27:17). In these passages it may probably mean “dibs,” or syrup of grapes, i.e., the juice of ripe grapes boiled down to one-third of its bulk.
Tsuph, the cells of the honey-comb full of honey (Prov 16:24; Ps 19:10).
“Wild honey” (Matt 3:4) may have been the vegetable honey distilled from trees, but rather was honey stored by bees in rocks or in trees (Deut 32:13; Ps 81:16; 1 Sam 14:25-29).
Canaan was a “land flowing with milk and honey” (Exod 3:8). 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 (Ps 119:103; Prov 24:13); but when taken in great quantities it caused nausea, a fact referred to in Prov 25:16, 17 to inculcate moderation in pleasures. Honey and milk also are put for sweet discourse (Song 4:11).
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
hun'-i (debhash; meli): 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 (Deut 32:13; Judg 14:8; Judg 14:9; 1 Sam 14:25; 1 Sam 14:26; 1 Sam 14:29; 1 Sam 14:43), although the offering of honey with the first-fruits would seem to indicate that the bees were also domesticated (2 Chr 31:5). The bees constructed their honeycomb and deposited their honey in holes in the ground (1 Sam 14:25); under rocks or in crevices between the rocks (Deut 32:13; Ps 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; 1 Kgs 14:3). Honey was used in baking sweets (Exod 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 (2 Chr 31:5). Honey was offered to David's army (2 Sam 17:29). It was sometimes stored in the fields (Jer 41:8). It was also exchanged as merchandise (Ezek 27:17). In New Testament times wild honey was an article of food among the lowly (Matt 3:4; Mark 1:6).
Figurative: "A land flowing with milk and honey" suggested a land filled with abundance of good things (Exod 3:8; Exod 3:17; Lev 20:24; Num 13:27; Deut 6:3; Josh 5:6; Jer 11:5; Ezek 20:6; Ezek 20:15). "A land of olive trees and honey" had the same meaning (Deut 8:8; 2 Kgs 18:32), and similarly "streams of honey and butter" (Job 20:17). Honey was a standard of sweetness (Song 4:11; Ezek 3:3; Rev 10:9; Rev 10:10). It typified sumptuous fare (Song 5:1; Isa 7:15; Isa 7:22; Ezek 16:13; Ezek 16:19). The ordinances of Yahweh were "sweeter than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb" (Ps 19:10; Ps 119:103). "Thou didst eat .... honey" (Ezek 16:13) expressed Yahweh's goodness to Jerusalem.
James A. Patch
Kilde: Easton's Bible Dictionary (M.G. Easton, 1897) og International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (red. James Orr, 1915/1939), public domain. Oversat til dansk med AI og endnu ikke gennemlæst (helt eller delvis). Koblinger til personer og steder: Theographic Bible Metadata (CC BY-SA 4.0).