GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



GENEMAL COMMESPONDENCE 



BIBLICAL REFERENCES TO HONEY 



BY W. P. ROOT 



The first mention of honey in the Bible 

 is in Genesis 43:11. Jacob sends some to 

 the unknown Egyptian ruler who is after- 

 ward revealed as his lost son Joseph. Egypt 

 then, as now, was practically destitute of 

 honey flora, while Palestine abounded in it 

 as well as in countless places in the rocks 

 where bees could find excellent shelter all 

 the year. " A land flowing with milk and 

 honey " is a frequent description of Pales- 

 tine as recorded in the Bible. 



In Exodus 16 :31 we find the oldest refer- 

 ence to honey as an integral part of human 

 food. The passage would imply the use of 

 honey as a staple article of food in con- 

 junction with other things. 



In Leviticus 2 :11 is an injunction against 

 the use of honey in burnt offerings. This 

 arises from the difficulty of burning it in 

 the first place, and also from the disagree- 

 able smoke that would necessarily arise 

 from honey on hot coals. The passage in- 

 dicates a peculiar regard which the Jews 

 had for honey in connection with religious 

 rites. 



In Deuteronomy 8 :8 honey is referred to 

 as one of the great staples of the promised 

 land. The same idea is repeated in II. 

 Kings 18:32, but in connection with or rela- 

 tion to Assyria, the blasphemous Rab-Sha- 

 keh tempting the Jews to submit to the king 

 of Assyria, saying his country had honey as 

 well as Palestine. 



In Deuteronomy 32:13, among the bless- 

 ings conferred on Jacob as a nation he is 

 said to be caused to suck or derive honey 

 from the rock — a graphic reference io the 

 habits of bees in that respect. John the 

 Baptist doubtless obtained his "wild honey" 

 in the same way, as recorded in Matthew 

 3:4. 



In Judges 14 we find the remarkable 

 account of Samson finding a colony of bees 

 in the desiccated carcass of a lion — an indi- 

 cation of the great number of bees then to 

 be found in Palestine. As Samson had 

 killed the lion but a few days before, it 

 might be deemed an unsuitable place for 

 bees; but as many carnivorous animals and 

 insects abound there, it is no uncommon 

 thing to find a dead animal entirely remov- 

 ed in a few hours, all but the bones. This 

 work would be greatly hastened by the in- 

 tensely warm and dry air of that climate. 

 Later on at a social gathering Samson chal- 



lenges the company to mention anything 

 sweeter than honey. 



In I. Samuel we read that Saul's army 

 was distressed by hunger, as he had forbid- 

 den his men under penalty of death to eat 

 before sundown. They came to a place 

 where honey was found " on the ground," 

 or, as some might understand it, Avithin easy 

 reach. Jonathan, a son of Saul, not know- 

 ing of his father's inhibition on food, stuck 

 a rod in some comb honey, and, eating it, 

 was gTeatly strengthened and revived. When 

 told of what his. father had said, he said he 

 wished they had all eaten of the honey so 

 that they might have punished the Philis- 

 tines more severely. Later, when Saul in- 

 sisted on his inhuman order being carried 

 out, the people arose and prevented it. The 

 incident shows the salutary effect of honey, 

 even when eaten in large quantities on an 

 empty stomach, as was doubtless the case 

 with Jonathan. 



In II. Samuel 17 :29 we read that Shobi, 

 an Ammonite, one ~ of a nation very - un- 

 friendly to Israel, with others brought to 

 David, when he was fleeing from his son 

 Absalom, a large quantity of delicacies, 

 among which is mentioned honey. This in- 

 dicates a more general use of honey than 

 we now witness. 



In I. Kings 14:3 we learn that the wife 

 of Jeroboam the king was directed to take 

 with her a cruse of honey when she went to 

 confer with the prophet Ahijah. This would 

 imply that honey was a fit gift even for 

 royalty itself to offer; and the prophets 

 then were held in greater eseteem than 

 king's. 



During a great religious revival under 

 Hezekiah, as recorded in II. Chronicles 31, 

 a prodigious quantity of the best of the 

 land was brought to Jerusalem to make a 

 national holiday, and honey is mentioned 

 as being one of the food supplies ; and even 

 to this day the Jews make much use of 

 honey in their numerous festivals, all of 

 which are of a religious nature. 



In Job 20, Zophar, in replying to Job, 

 says the wicked shall not see the bi'ooks 

 (streams) of honey, this indicating, prob- 

 ably as long ago as the time of Abraham, 

 that honey was a staple article of food. 



In Psaim 19 David compares the judg- 

 ments of God to honey as if that were the 

 highest form of praise for what he consid- 



