Honey

Honey - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

(1.) Heb. ya'ar, occurs only 1 Sam. 14:25, 27, 29; Cant. 5:1, where it denotes the honey of bees. Properly the word signifies a forest or copse, and refers to honey found in woods.

(2.) Nopheth, honey that drops (Ps. 19:10; Prov. 5:3; Cant. 4:11).

(3.) 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.

(4.) Tsuph, the cells of the honey-comb full of honey (Prov. 16:24; Ps. 19:10).

(5.) "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" (Ex. 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 (Cant. 4:11).

Honey - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

HON'EY, n. hun'y.

1. A sweet vegetable juice, collected by bees from the flowers of plants, and deposited in cells of the comb in hives. Honey, when pure, is of a moderate consistence, of a whitish color,tinged with yellow,sweet to the taste, of an agreeable smell, soluble in water, and becoming vinous by fermentation. In medicine, it is useful as a detergent and aperient. It is supposed to consist of sugar, mucilage, and an acid.

2. Sweetness; lusciousness.

The king hath found

Matter against him, that forever mars

The honey of his language.

3. A word of tenderness; sweetness; sweet one.

HON'EY, v.t. To talk fondly. [Little used.]

1. To sweeten.

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 (De 32:13; Jud 14:8,9; 1Sa 14:25,26,29,43), 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 (De 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 (Ge 43:11; 1Ki 14:3). Honey was used in baking sweets (Ex 16:31). It was forbidden to be offered with the meal offering (Le 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 (Mt 3:4; Mr 1:6).

Figurative: "A land flowing with milk and honey" suggested a land filled with abundance of good things (Ex 3:8,17; Le 20:24; Nu 13:27; De 6:3; Jos 5:6; Jer 11:5; Eze 20:6,15). "A land of olive trees and honey" had the same meaning (De 8:8; 2Ki 18:32), and similarly "streams of honey and butter" (Job 20:17). Honey was a standard of sweetness (So 4:11; Eze 3:3; Re 10:9,10). It typified sumptuous fare (So 5:1; Isa 7:15,22; Eze 16:13,19). The ordinances of Yahweh were "sweeter than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb" (Ps 19:10; 119:103). "Thou didst eat .... honey" (Eze 16:13) expressed Yahweh's goodness to Jerusalem.

James A. Patch

Definition

“Honey” is the sweet, sticky, edible substance that honeybees make out of flower nectar. Honeycomb is the waxy frame where the bees store honey.

• Depending on the kind, honey can be yellowish or brownish in color.
• Honey can be found in the wild, such as in the hollow of a tree, or wherever bees make a nest. People also raise bees in hives in order to produce honey to eat or sell, but probably the honey mentioned in the Bible was wild honey.
• Three people that the Bible specifically mentions as eating wild honey were Jonathan, Samson, and John the Baptist.
• This term is often used figuratively to describe something that is sweet or very pleasurable. For example, God’s words and decrees are said to be “sweeter than honey.” (See also: Simile, Metaphor)
• Sometimes a person’s words are described as seeming sweet like honey, but instead result in deceiving and harming others.

(See also: John (the Baptist), Jonathan, Philistines, Samson)

Bible References

• 1 Kings 14:1-3
• Deuteronomy 6:3
• Exodus 13:3-5
• Joshua 5:6
• Proverbs 5:3

Word Data

• Strong’s: H1706, H3293, H3295, H5317, H6688, G31920