Proverbs 24:13
in Proverbs 24Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
My son, eat thou honey, for it is good; And the droppings of the honeycomb, which are sweet to thy taste:
KJV
My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:
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This verse in Proverbs 24
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Honey entered largely into the diet of Hebrew children Isa 7:15, so that it was as natural an emblem for the purest and simplest wisdom, as the “sincere milk of the word” was to the New Testament writers. The learner hears what seems to be a rule of diet - then Pro 24:14 the parable is explained.
This site's exposition
eat thou honey, because it is good
on Proverbs 24:13-14
My son, eat thou honey, because it is good returns to the father's direct address and uses the collection's favorite image for wisdom's sweetness, the honeycomb pleasant to taste and to the palate proof enough of its worth. So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul makes the comparison explicit, and thy expectation shall not be cut off repeats the promise already given at 23:18, a hope that outlasts present appearances. Gill reads the doubled promise as deliberate reinforcement rather than mere repetition.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Eat, my son, honey, for it is good, etc. It is very clear why he compares the doctrine of wisdom to honey and the honeycomb, because certainly, as the former surpasses foods, so the latter surpasses other teachings in sweetness. But there is a difference …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
My son, eat thou honey, because it is good,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And the honey-comb - I have often had occasion to remark how much finer the flavour of honey is in the honey-comb than it is after it has been expressed from it, and exposed to the action of the air. But it has been asserted that the honey-comb is never eaten; it must be by those who have no acquaintance with the apiary. I have seen the comb with its contained honey eaten frequently, and of it I have repeatedly partaken. And that our Lord ate it, is evident from Luk 24:42. Nor can any man who has not eaten it in this way feel the full force of the allusions to the honey-comb and its sweetness in several parts of the sacred writings. See 1Sa 14:27; Psa 19:10; Pro 5:3; Pro 16:24; Pro 27:7; Son 4:11; Son 5:1; and the place before us.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Eat honey, my son It is customary for people to eat honey because it is good; so too know wisdom for your soul, and just as you run to eat honey, so should you run to know wisdom.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
will you say Heb. כי תאמר. And this instance of כי is used as an expression of “perhaps.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֱכָל־ | ʾekhol- | eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| בְּנִ֣י | beni | O son my | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| דְבַ֣שׁ | devash | honey | H1706 → | 54 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| ט֑וֹב | tov | [it is] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| וְנֹ֥פֶת | venofet | and honey from [the] comb | H5317 → | 5 times |
| מָ֝ת֗וֹק | matok | [is] sweet | H4966 → | 12 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| חִכֶּֽךָ׃ | chikekha | palate your | H2441 → | 18 times |
אֱכָל־eat
ʾekhol-H398 →810 times
בְּנִ֣יO son my
beniH1121 →4930 times
דְבַ֣שׁhoney
devashH1706 →54 times
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
ט֑וֹב[it is] good
tovH2896 →538 times
וְנֹ֥פֶתand honey from [the] comb
venofetH5317 →5 times
מָ֝ת֗וֹק[is] sweet
matokH4966 →12 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
חִכֶּֽךָ׃palate your
chikekhaH2441 →18 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
Matthew 3:4John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 1:8
“He was a hairy man,” they answered, “with a leather belt around his waist.” “It was Elijah the Tishbite,” said the king.
- Matthew 11:8
Otherwise, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who wear fine clothing are found in kings’ palaces.
- Leviticus 11:22
Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket, or grasshopper.
- 2 Kings 1:8
Through
Song of Solomon 5:1I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk.…
it leads to
- Song of Solomon 6:2
My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens and to gather lilies.
- Song of Solomon 4:16
Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind. Breathe on my garden and spread the fragrance of its spices. Let my beloved come into his garden and taste its choicest fruits.
- Song of Solomon 6:2
Through
Isaiah 7:15By the time He knows enough to reject evil and choose good, He will be eating curds and honey.
it leads to
- Isaiah 7:22
and from the abundance of milk they give, he will eat curds; for all who remain in the land will eat curds and honey.
- Isaiah 7:22
Through
Proverbs 25:16If you find honey, eat just what you need, lest you have too much and vomit it up.
it leads to
- Proverbs 25:27
It is not good to eat too much honey or to search out one’s own glory.
- Ephesians 5:18
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
- Proverbs 25:27
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).