1 Samuel 14:26
in 1 Samuel 14And when they entered the forest and saw the flowing honey, not one of them put his hand to his mouth, because they feared the oath.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when the people were come unto the forest, behold, the honey dropped: but no man put his hand to his mouth; for the people feared the oath.
KJV
And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath.
⋯
This verse in 1 Samuel 14
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAnd when the people came into the wood, behold, the honey dropped,.... Either from trees, which produced it; so Diodorus Siculus (t) speaks of trees in some countries which produce honey; or from the sugar canes, as Jarchi; or rather from the honeycombs which were framed in trees by bees; so Hesiod (u) speaks of bees making their nests or combs in trees.
This site's exposition
Saul had placed the troops under an oath
on 1 Samuel 14:24-26
Saul turns a day the LORD had already won into a test of his own. The troops keep it in a forest with honey on the ground, "because they feared the oath." The vow costs nothing yet and will nearly cost everything by the chapter’s end.
This site's exposition
saw the flowing honey
John Gill thought the honey dripped from combs that wild bees had built in the trees. Adam Clarke wrote that he had seen honey lying thick on trees and long grass, and had eaten it himself. The food lay within reach of starving men.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
At all events, Saul himself, when engaged in battle, clearly enjoined this duty: "Cursed (be) the man who shall have eaten bread until evening, until I am avenged against my enemy"; and his whole company did not taste (food), and (yet) the whole earth was breakfasting! So solemn a sanction, moreover, did God confer on the edict which enjoined that station, that Jonathan the son of Saul, although it had been in ignorance of the fast having been appointed till a late hour that he had allowed himself a taste of honey, was both presently convicted, by lot … and with difficulty was exempted from punishment through the prayer of the people: for he had been convicted of gluttony, although of a simple kind.
Saul, as it is written in the first book of Kings [Samuel], pronounced a curse on him who ate bread before the evening, and until he had avenged himself upon his enemies. So none of his troops tasted any food while all the people of the land ate.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4 · Written before 604.
proposed
There follows: (Verses 25, 26) "And all the common people of the land came into a forest, in which there was honey upon the surface of the field. And so the people entered the forest, and flowing honey appeared, and no one put his hand to his mouth." A forest is a wooded and hilly place. By this name, indeed, the hearts of worldly people are fittingly designated, because while they serve external cares with all their attention, like wooded places, they are not cultivated for the fruit of good work by the plowshare of preaching.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Those are worthy of the name of Israelites that can deny themselves and their own appetites even when they are most craving, and the delights of sense most tempting, for fear of guilt and a curse, and the table becoming a snare.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The honey dropped - It seems to have dropped from the trees on the ground. Honey dews, as they are called, are not uncommon in most countries; and this appears to have been something of this kind. I have seen honey in considerable quantity on the trees and long grass in the fields, and have often eaten of it.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The honey dropped - Rather, “Behold a stream of honey.” The same thing may be seen in Spain, where in woody and rocky ground copious streams of honey are often found.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֤א | vaiyavo' | and it came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הָעָם֙ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַיַּ֔עַר | haiyaar | the forest | H3293 → | 59 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֖ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| הֵ֣לֶךְ | helekh | a flowing of | H1982 → | |
| דְּבָ֑שׁ | devash | honey | H1706 → | 54 times |
| וְאֵין־ | veein- | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מַשִּׂ֤יג | masig | [was one who] reached | H5381 → | 50 times |
| יָדוֹ֙ | yado | hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| פִּ֔יו | piv | mouth his | H6310 → | 498 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יָרֵ֥א | yare' | it feared | H3372 → | 315 times |
| הָעָ֖ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַשְּׁבֻעָֽה׃ | hashevuah | the oath | H7621 → |
וַיָּבֹ֤אand it came
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
הָעָם֙the people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַיַּ֔עַרthe forest
haiyaarH3293 →59 times
וְהִנֵּ֖הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
הֵ֣לֶךְa flowing of
helekhH1982 →
דְּבָ֑שׁhoney
devashH1706 →54 times
וְאֵין־and there not
veein-H369 →789 times
מַשִּׂ֤יג[was one who] reached
masigH5381 →50 times
יָדוֹ֙hand his
yadoH3027 →1618 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
פִּ֔יוmouth his
pivH6310 →498 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יָרֵ֥אit feared
yare'H3372 →315 times
הָעָ֖םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַשְּׁבֻעָֽה׃the oath
hashevuahH7621 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ecclesiastes 9:2It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices…
it leads to
- Malachi 3:18
So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”
- Ecclesiastes 2:14–16
The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both.
- Psalms 73:3
For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
- Job 9:22
It is all the same, and so I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
- Malachi 3:5
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud…
- Malachi 3:18
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4; Jerome, Against Jovinianus 2.15; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Tertullian, ON FASTING 10 and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).