1 Samuel 14:25
in 1 Samuel 14Then all the troops entered the forest, and there was honey on the ground.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the people came into the forest; and there was honey upon the ground.
KJV
And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground.
⋯
This verse in 1 Samuel 14
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
All they of the land - literally, all the land, probably meaning all those named in 1Sa 14:21-22, who now flocked to the wood as a rendezvous.
This site's exposition
Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening
on 1 Samuel 14:24-26
Saul turns a day the LORD had already won into a test of his own devising, an oath sworn for his own vindication, that I may be avenged on mine enemies, laid on men already faint from fighting. The people keep it even in a wood dripping with honey, no man put his hand to his mouth, because they fear the oath more than they trust their own hunger. The vow costs nothing yet and will cost everything by the chapter's end.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
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.
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.
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 Awakening2 voices
And all they of the land came to a wood,....
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.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey--The honey is described as "upon the ground," "dropping" from the trees, and in honeycombs--indicating it to be bees' honey. "Bees in the East are not, as in England, kept in hives; they are all in a wild state.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+odd-straight-quotes
There was honey upon the ground - There were many wild bees in that country, and Judea is expressly said to be a land flowing with milk and honey.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָאָ֖רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| בָּ֣אוּ | bau | they went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בַיָּ֑עַר | vaiyaar | in the forest | H3293 → | 59 times |
| וַיְהִ֥י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| דְבַ֖שׁ | devash | honey | H1706 → | 54 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֥י | penei | [the] surface of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃ | hasadeh | the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
הָאָ֖רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
בָּ֣אוּthey went
bauH935 →2568 times
בַיָּ֑עַרin the forest
vaiyaarH3293 →59 times
וַיְהִ֥יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
דְבַ֖שׁhoney
devashH1706 →54 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֥י[the] surface of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃the field
hasadehH7704 →334 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Exodus 3:8I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and…
it leads to
- Exodus 3:17
And I have promised to bring you up out of your affliction in Egypt, into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 13:5
And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites—the land He swore to your fathers that He would give you, a land flowing with milk and…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 50:24
Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely visit you and bring you up from this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac,…
- Genesis 15:18–21
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
- Deuteronomy 1:25
They took some of the fruit of the land in their hands, carried it down to us, and brought us word: “It is a good land that the LORD our God is giving us.”
- Exodus 3:17
Through
Numbers 13:27And they gave this account to Moses: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and indeed, it is flowing with milk and honey. Here is some of its fruit!
it leads to
- Exodus 3:8
I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and…
- Exodus 33:3
Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people; otherwise, I might destroy you on the way.”
- Exodus 3:8
Through
Deuteronomy 9:28Otherwise, those in the land from which You brought us out will say, ‘Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land He had promised them, and because He hated them,…
it leads to
- Numbers 14:16
‘Because the LORD was unable to bring this people into the land He swore to give them, He has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’
- Numbers 14:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Against Jovinianus 2.15; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Tertullian, ON FASTING 10 and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).