{"id": "card_n_f62f8f772da4", "kind": "note", "title": "Easton: Honey", "body": "(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).", "source": {"label": "Matthew Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary (1897)", "url": "/encyclopedia.html?ref=Honey", "ref": "Honey", "authority_tier": "external_aligned"}, "shelf": "dictionary", "box": "easton_concept_e_h", "bands": ["easton", "bible_dictionary", "concept"], "connections": [{"to_card_id": "card_n_b3d286d98c09", "relationship": "cites", "via_connection_card_id": "card_c_7411687e10c1"}], "author": "engine", "created_at": "2026-05-19T13:11:10.647575+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-05-19T19:50:29.612102+00:00", "visibility": "public", "lifecycle_stage": "public", "volatility": "permanent", "metrics": {"paperclips_count": 0, "helpful_count": 0, "not_helpful_count": 0, "cite_count": 2, "walks_through_count": 0, "flagged_count": 0}, "source_hash": "e4663e90a0420517ef5a143ee4b3f798cc76b8d524b07fa19117d74306cf7a52", "witnesses": [{"class": "manuscript_tradition", "label": "Original 1897 publication — Thomas Nelson, London", "ref": "Easton-1897"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "Project Gutenberg — Easton's Bible Dictionary", "url": "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45696", "ref": "PG-45696"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "Internet Archive — multiple scans", "url": "https://archive.org/details/eastonsillustra00east", "ref": "IA-Easton"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "CCEL — Easton's Bible Dictionary", "url": "https://www.ccel.org/e/easton/ebd/", "ref": "CCEL-Easton"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "Blue Letter Bible — searchable Easton's", "url": "https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/easton/", "ref": "BLB-Easton"}], "witness_status": "passed", "witness_status_reason": "5 witnesses across 2 independence classes: ['manuscript_tradition', 'republication']", "surface": "secular"}